Registered Patent Search

Patents are a helpful tool for business development. Business entrepreneurs often base their business on an invention, making patent registration is crucial to the success of many business enterprises and their outcomes. Inventors can do a search of registered patents independently and at no cost, as many patent search engines are open to the general public. Thus, the inventor can search through inventions in different fields independently and at no expense. In the age of the internet, this information is available and accessible to all, and it is advantageous for the inventor to carry out a free patent search at no cost, using keywords that correspond to his needs. Often, the inventor does not have enough technical knowledge as to how to implement his invention, so many inventors initially make a fundamental concept design and once they have enough information, and they have  defined and characterized their invention, they once again search through the public free patent databases.

The next stage is to start the registration process for a patent for the invention. The patent registration process is usually handled by a patent attorney who can formulate and edit the application to be submitted to the Patent Authority in Israel or elsewhere in the world. Registered patents appear in patent databases in Israel and throughout the world, and patent attorneys word the application to ensure that the patent examiner, on behalf of the patent authority, will accept the invention as a patent and will issue a patent certificate at the end of the process.

Cooperation between the inventor, the technical staff and the patent attorney can influence the extent of rights that will be awarded to the patent applicant. The patent examiner, on behalf of the Patent Authority, carries out his own practical patent search. The examiner searches publications of previous patents before he can grant the patent to the new patent applicant.  Although a search has already been carried out, whether nothing was found, or whether similar patents were found, the patent examiner will not necessarily notice these same publications that have already been discovered. The same patent application can be filed to several patent examiners through the world, with the same wording, but patent examiners from different countries can find different patents in the same field, and the examiners will indicate the patent they found in the examination report they send to the patent applicant, who must respond to the examiner how his invention improves upon the one that the patent examiner found.

Whether the inventor carries out his own free patent search, or whether he is aided by a company who carries out a paid search on his behalf, the patents discovered in these searches are not the only patents in the area, and often the patent examiner will find additional related patents. In some countries, such as the USA and Israel, the patent applicant is obligated to report previous patents existing in the field, if they have discovered any. If this information has not been discovered, he cannot be bound to report what he does not know. Some countries, however, do not require the inventor to provide this information.

Each case should be examined on a case-by-case basis, therefore it is advisable to consult a patent attorney who is familiar with patent law, and can help the inventor secure his patent.