Some frequently asked questions about Prior Art.
What exactly is the
process to obtain a patent?
The patent process differs from land to land, but usually consists
of a patent application, an overview of the application by that nation’s patent office and granting or refusal of the patent. While this
basic procedure might sound like a piece of cake, it is in essence, often
complicated and very expensive. It could take, say, between a couple of months
to a year to draft a complex patent application and, in the United States, it
can take 2-5 years for the patent office to grant or deny a patent.
What is Prior Art?
Prior art is one of the key concepts in patent applications and
litigation. Prior art encompasses all information that has been disclosed to
the publicly, in any form, anywhere in the world, about an invention before a
given date, usually the filing date of the particular patent. Prior art includes
not only previous patents, but also any other published materials, including
scientific papers (in patent lingo, any publications/journals unearthed in a prior
art search that aren’t patents are called non-patent literature or
NPL).
If an invention was described in prior art, a patent on that invention
is not valid. Therefore, patent applications must include relevant prior art
and prove that the prior art does not apply directly to the pending invention.
Likewise, someone trying to prove that a specific patent is invalid can do so
by finding prior art -- a mention of the invention in any publication -- from
before the patent was filed/submitted.
What are the types of Prior Art Searches?
Prior art searches are undertaken for a variety of reasons. Here
are the main types of prior art searches:
Patentability/Novelty: A search conducted to determine whether an invention
is novel i.e. new and therefore, patentable. These types of searches aim to
determine if important elements of a new technology have previously been disclosed
in any publication. They are generally performed when an inventor or company is
deciding to submit an application for a patent and by patent office personnel while
reviewing patent applications.
Validity/Invalidity Searches: A search conducted after a patent has
been issued, to ascertain whether or not the patent office overlooked existing
prior art, which could invalidate the said patent. These searches are conducted
by businesses accused of infringing on a patent. If they can prove the patent
invalid, there is nothing to infringe on. They are also undertaken by businesses
with a financial risk in a patent (contemplating buying or licensing it).
Clearance or Freedom to Operate Search: A search of issued patents
to see whether an idea infringes on any existing patents. If it does, the
inventor may make an effort to invalidate those patents, design a work-around
or even abandon the idea altogether. Also, a clearance/freedom to operate
search may reveal that an idea is covered by patents in certain nations around
the world, but not others, and enable} an inventor to act accordingly.
State of the Art: A search that aims to establish the overall “state
of the art” for a particular invention or field, such as patent and non-patent literature.
Generally, organizations perform these sorts of searches to understand the
present situation in a given field and their place within it. They are able to
identify the latest technology, see what competitors are upto and create their
plan for moving forward.
Patent Landscape: These searches are comprehensive analysis of all
the patents related to a certain technology/technological innovation. They
generally start with a state of the art search to find the relevant patents and
then include further evaluation of the patents involved. Patent landscape searches
generally include graphical representation of information regarding the
patents.
TT Consultants offer the most exhaustive prior art searches in India. In our 7 years of being in the IP field, we have
helped several US and Asian companies save huge litigation costs by uncovering
highly useful prior arts. We have Mandarin, Japanese and Korea native searching
capability. We are a preferred choice for companies involved in complex patent
litigation and have represented many Joint Defense Groups (JDGs) in such cases
to identify relevant prior art for invalidating potentially dangerous patents.
