Technology & Patent Research

Significance

• A technology patent bestows upon the inventor the power to forbid someone else from using, manufacturing, or selling the same concept in the United States for a period of 20 years. It does not extend this protection outside of the United States unless the inventor seeks coverage in other countries.
  
  

Technical Patent Strength

• In 2001, Lanjouw and Sherman's studied what made patents strong and explained why patent research became important. This analysis, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, demonstrated that the patent's strength came from the design of its claims. For technical patents, excellent claims were statements that not only covered the intellectual property, but also depicted all the possible ways to achieve the same goal.
  
  

Patent Research

• Patent research paints the landscape of what ideas have been invented before, and the areas where no inventions have been presented. This task requires searching prior publications and the USPTO database of patents. The search runs on keywords representing the concept from different perspectives. This task repeats for each novel element of the invention.
  
  

Patentability

• When the search shows no other patents with similar claims, the invention likely stands a chance of being patentable. All the findings from the research must be included in the patent writing. The inventor must explain why patents differ from his idea, even if the difference seems obvious. This will prevent a first rejection from the patent examiner with a reason that can be cleared up front in the patent document.
  
  

Freedom to Operate

• Sometimes, a new concept, though novel, relies on other technology. For instance, an innovative mounting bracket that hooks onto someone else's patented device could be patented. In order to legally sell the bracket, the inventor must receive permission from the device manufacturer to gain "freedom to operate," the legal term for this action. A patent search can uncover prior inventions that may block freedom to operate and for which the path will have to be cleared through a license or written permission before any commercialization of a product.