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The first step in determining if your idea is patentable is the most
important one and that's why we recommend that all patent investigations
begin with an initial free review and then
if justified a patentability search conducted on your new idea.
We use professional searchers in Washington,
D.C. who actually go to the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office where they determine the proper class and sub-class of
your proposed invention. If they have to, they will confer with
examiners at the U.S. Patent Office to confirm the most logical sites
(fields) to search. They look for (prior art) the patents that have
already been issued so that we can determine patentability of your
invention. Complete copies of the patents located in the search are
then forward to us for review and comparison against your invention.
We then will provide you with an opinion
of patentability based on those reference patents located in the
search and determine the relative chances of success of a patent
application for you in view of those references.
The reason a patent search is so important is that it uncovers the prior
art (old patents) that is similar to your invention. This not only
allows us to determine the patentability of your invention, but also
allows the inventor to compare them. By studying the prior art, the
inventor may then be able to "reinvent" his original
design. The more unique the invention is the more patentable it
is. You may be able to make modifications inspired by the prior art
maximizing your chances of success a the Patent Office. We will
re-evaluate such modifications in view of the prior art references located
in the search and provide you a second opinion of patentability based
on such changes at no charge to you.
At Harpman & Harpman we have years of experience having conducted
thousands of patentability searches. This experience affords us
the ability to initially review the client's invention (at no charge) and
determine if a search should be done. If we have seen or searched similar
devices in the past then typically we would not recommend that a search be
made at this time.
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