We have a dedicated team of patent information professionals for prior art searches that include subject matter experts to provide highest quality search reports. Before beginning the patent drafting process, a prior art search is critical as it saves precious R&D time and funding, and saves the cost of filing and drafting a patent application if it won't result in a patent award, or can’t have strong differentiating claims.

Our search is made using a database of journals, as well as standard patent databases. The prior art search report is prepared in a user-friendly manner that includes patent and non-patent references, along with expert commentary and patentability opinions. Our patent search reports are competitively priced while providing the highest degree of accuracy.

The search service includes novelty searches, infringement searches, validity searches,  State-of-the art searches, classification searches, citation searches, assignee searches and inventor searches.

Types of Patent Searches

Ashmar conducts complex patent searches on a wide variety of subjects for law firms, corporations, universities, and inventors. Listed below are the most common types of searches that we perform:

Patentability Search (Novelty Search)

After you provide us with a brief invention disclosure, we conduct the most extensive search of all issued patents, including unexpired (in-force) patents, expired patents, and published patent applications within the subject .The patent analyst reviews disclosures and drawing figures that may be of interest to you. Depending on the technology, the analyst may also review the claims of patents. This search is designed to assist a qualified attorney in providing opinions of patentability (novelty) to his or her client.

Infringement Search (Clearance, Freedom to Operate or Right to Use Search)

After you provide us with a brief invention disclosure and/or a hypothetical claim, we identify the claims of unexpired (in-force) patents within the subject area that may be of interest to you. The search can be customized as per the request of the customer. This search is designed to assist a qualified attorney in providing advice to his or her client on avoiding infringement, in patent litigation, product clearance, or for obtaining patent infringement insurance.

Validity Search (Invalidity or Enforcement Readiness Search)

You tell us the patent number and the specific claim that you intend to invalidate. We   then conduct the most comprehensive search of patents, published applications, technical publications, and/or any other available written materials that may be relevant to the patented invention. All publicly available documents and evidence of public disclosure prior to the filing of the patent application are examined and analyzed. This search is designed to assist a qualified attorney in providing an opinion on the validity of a patent to his or her client.

State-of-the-Art Search (Collection Search)

After receiving a general product or business method description from you, we search all issued patents within the subject area, including unexpired (in-force) and expired patents and published applications. Because a product may have more than one invention associated with it, this search may result in the citation of many patents and published applications. Though more patents are cited, the analysis is usually less comprehensive than if the search were for your use in determining patentability or infringement.