One of the questions that we frequently being asked is “When should I do a patent search?” And if you too are among them then this article is going to help you a lot in understanding the point. Reasons for doing a patent search may vary depending on the goal and intention of the applicant; still, there are some basic reasons for doing an effective patent search irrespective of your intent.

Below are some of the reasons for doing a patent search-

When your idea can reap monetary benefits- When you have an idea that you believe can revolutionize the domain but not sure whether it can reap the estimated monetary benefits then the best way to get assured about that is by doing a patent search for the features your idea or invention is having. Though it may not give you the exact figure, still, may help you determine how strong your strong could be. It may also give you an overall idea about whether any existent player is using such features that you intend to protect. In case there are some similar features it can dilute the degree of protection of your claim and thus can have an impact on your monetary gain.

When you wish to gauge the scope of patentability of your idea- Sometimes you are not sure whether your idea meets the criteria of being patented then doing a patent search is worthwhile. It can help you understand if your idea meets the criteria of novelty, inventiveness, and usefulness. It is very important for an idea to meet these three requirements without which you may not be granted a patent for it.

When you wish to get acquainted with the patent landscape- Sometimes you may want to get an idea about the patent landscape and whether any white space exists somewhere in the domain, in such a situation a patent search is desirable. A patent landscape analysis will help you gain an overview of a technology sector, your competitors or chronological developments in a field of technology. In addition, it can also help you better evaluate the economic value of a patent portfolio.

 When you wish to get patent pending status- When you are not done with your invention and have filed a non-provisional patent application for your idea, in such a situation also, you need to do a patent search that can help you gain valuable insights about your invention and you can work around accordingly.

Putting it simply, a patent search campaign can help you a lot gaining insights about the intended domain. If you are an uninitiated and don’t have much exposure in patent searching then hiring a professional patent search company could be of immense use.