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.
You’re ready for Step 3 of the USPTO Patent Search Strategy:
Conduct an in-depth review of the documents found by your search.
Review in detail the complete patents and published patent applications you found that are similar to your invention. Don’t forget to review the drawings, specification and claims for similarities to your invention.
This will most likely be the most time-consuming aspect of your search process, as it demands thoroughly digesting and deciphering the documentation you have uncovered.
A three-step approach is recommended in assisting determining relevancy of your results.
Step 1 — Review
Weed out any patent documents that appear irrelevant to your invention.
You can do this most quickly by reviewing the title, image, and abstract on the front page of your patent results by considering:
Are there key terms in the title that you would use to describe your invention?
Does the abstract include a description that you would consider applicable to your idea as well?
Would you include similar drawings to illustrate the functionality of your own concept?
A quick skim of the drawings and background and claims are also helpful in making this determination.
Exemplary front page of a patent
Step 2 — Tag
During your review step and recognize a patent document that appears may be similar to your invention, you have the ability to tag those for a later, more in-depth review.
The Patent Search tools permits you the option of creating up to five tag columns to assist in noting relevancy of documents (e.g. tag the most relevant as a “1” and least applicable as “5”).
Once you have gone through and ranked all returned documents from your search, you’re ready to review your tagged results.
Various patent results with associated tag numbers
Step 3 — Highlight
Now comes the time-consuming part: reviewing each of your tagged documents in order to determine which aspects of their disclosures coincide closest with yours.
You will want to concentrate predominantly on the drawings and the disclosure sections of your tagged patent literature in order to make this selection of documentation, as these sections comprise the meat and bones of patented inventions.
Take advantage of the ability to append highlighted notes to the documents now with the relevant sections that best pertain to your invention as you go through each document.
Notes can be placed and highlighted at relevant sections of the patent disclosure
While reviewing the patent documentation in depth, take note of various terminology used in the disclosures that you may be able to add to your list of keywords. If you find some new ones that you did not consider before, continue searching using these new found terms in order to further broaden your search in attempting to leave no patent unturned.
At this point you should have an initial idea as to what patents have been granted and/or are pending that may read on your invention in order to assist you in determining if you have a realistic opportunity in receiving a patent yourself.
But wait … there’s more.
In a follow-up article we’ll discuss the fourth step in the USPTO Search Strategy: using classification searching in order to further broaden your search and assist in uncovering any related patents that may coincide with your invention.
You’ll want to keep in mind the various terminology that you have been using in your searches and have come across in reading the patent disclosures to help determine which classification areas and potential patent prior will be applicable to your search.
