A patent is granted to an inventor for a scientific invention. A patent is granted in a country under the specific act and rules. On fulfilling the criteria of patentability such as novelty, inventive steps and industrial applicability, a patent is granted to an inventor. A patent is a right given to an inventor to exclude others from manufacturing, selling, offering to sell, licensing or practicing any prohibited act which will account to patent infringement.
On issuance of a patent to an applicant, a number is entered in the register and it is given to the issued patent, generally known as patent number. The system of patent number is different is most of the countries. For example, in the USPTO system, the patent number issued to a patent completely a new number series which is different from the application number of the patent. Whereas in EP, the patent number and patent application number is different only in the kind code attached to it. For a granted patent it appears with a code “B” and for a patent application, the kind code is “A” but the number issued to a patent application is not changed when it is granted. In some countries a patent number or application number is accompanied with a kind code which indicates the latest amendments to the prosecution state of the patent application.
Patent Search
Patent search is a search of the patent database to determine if there are any patent application similar or identical to an invention that is to be patented. Patent search can be done to improve the chances of obtaining a patent registration or to find information about new inventions that have patent protection.
How to do a Patent Search
There is no cost for doing a patent search in India. A patent search can be done through the Patent database of India available at: http://ipindiaservices.gov.in/publicsearch.
Depending on the status of a patent application, a patent search can be done under two publication types: published or granted. The user can choose the desired publication type by clicking on the checkbox. The user can view many categories like
- Application Date
- Title
- Abstract
- Complete Specification
- Application Number
- Patent Number
- Applicant Number
- Patent Number
- Applicant number
- Applicant Name
- Inventor Name
- Inventor Country
- Inventor Address
- Filing office
- PCT Application Number
- PCT Publication number
The entire category has a drop down box from which the user has access to change the category. There is a search box next to every category where the user can enter the keyword of the patent that he wants to view. By entering a query in more than one box, the applicant can run very precise patent searches. Once the required keywords are entered in the respective boxes, there is a captcha code the user has to clear.
Patent Information
Once the code is entered, there are a number of relevant patent results for the patent search query that the user has entered. On selecting an application, the document opens with the Application Number, Title, Application Date and Status. The user can get further details about the patent by clicking on the Application Number, Title, Application Date and Status. Through patent search, the applicant can find the following information about the patent:
- Invention title
- Publication Number
- Publication Date
- Publication Type
- Application Number
- Application Filing Date
- Priority Number
- Priority Country
- Priority Date
- Field of Invention
- Classification
- Inventor Name, Address, Country, Nationality
- Applicant Name, Address, Country, Nationality
Below this are is an Abstract and a complete specification of the Patent.
- Abstract
- Complete Specification
When each column is selected, the patent application’s details about that section can be known by the user. When a user selects application number details like Invention Title, Publication number, date, type, etc. There are separate columns that give the user the inventor’s and the applicant’s Name, Address, Country, and Nationality.
Importance of Patent Search
- Determining the probability of having a patent granted to a proposed invention.
- Determining the claims to be filed in the patent application.
- Determining the freedom to operate.
- Determining whether a granted patent can be invalidated.
- Knowing more about similar inventions and status of similar patent filings.
FAQs
What is a patent search?
A patent search is the process of examining existing patents and published patent applications to check if an invention is novel or already patented.
How to check Patent Status ?
There is an Abstract column which has a summary of the patent application that the user can view. Under this, there is a complete specification that gives the details about the specification if the user has mentioned any. At the end of this, there is an option through which the user can view the application status. When this is opened, the user can get the application details.