The USPTO Patent Search Strategy: Step 6— Expand Your Search
Last step … go beyond the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. And that involves more than just a “Google search” … broaden your search with foreign patents, non-patent literature and/or a patent professional’s search.
The USPTO Patent Search Strategy: Step 5— Citation References
Why not enlist the help of others that have already done the work to help you along in your search for prior art?
The USPTO Patent Search Strategy: Step 4— Classification Search
Expand the prior art search with relevant Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) assignments.
The USPTO Patent Search Strategy: Step 3— Patent Literature Review
So you feel pretty good about your keyword search results and you are ready to investigate just how closely (or not) the patents you have uncovered match your invention.
The USPTO Patent Search Strategy: Step 2 — Keyword Searching
Step 2 of the USPTO Patent Search Strategy is as follows: conduct a keyword search using Patent Public Search.
The USPTO Patent Search Strategy: Step 1 — Brainstorming
This is a shallow dive into the first step of the six that the USPTO recommends in how to undertake a successful prior art search.
The USPTO Patent Search Strategy: An Introduction
So you have an idea that you believe is worth patenting. Fantastic. What are your next steps?