Patentability search

A Patentability search is conducted to check if your invention can get a patent and what kind of protection it might get. This helps us write a patent application that has a good chance of being approved. Our search looks at patents and other documents from around the world to identify if anything similar already exists. We focus on each unique part of your invention to make sure we cover everything. What you get from us is a document with a list of relevant documents, a quick review of them, some basic info about each, a list of relevant categories, a summary from our researcher, and a comparison table comparing the features of your invention with what's already out there. Our team knows patents inside and out. We're experts at finding the special features of your invention that could be patented. Our report even includes a comparison table that helps you see how your invention compares to others, making it easier to decide if you should go ahead with the patent process.

State-of-the-art search

A state-of-the-art search gives you a big picture of what's happening in your area of technology. It's very useful for optimizing research and building new products. We search patent databases based on technology categories to retrieve lots of patents, each tackling a different problem. You also get to see which companies filed these patents and how they're approaching solving the problems. Maybe their method has some good points, but also some downsides. Then, you gather teams to tackle those problems head-on. Solving these problems can give you the best return on your investment in research. If you can find better solutions than what the big companies have patented or tried to patent, they could become your partners, and customers, or even buy your company someday. This sets you up nicely for success down the road.

Freedom to Operate search

Before you start selling your new tech product or process, it's smart to do a freedom-to-operate search. This helps you avoid getting into legal trouble for infringing on existing patents in the country where you want to do business. Even if your invention could get its patent, it might still overlap with someone else's patent. If that happens, you have a few options

• You could tweak your product, so it doesn't match the patented parts, and then get a legal opinion saying you're in the clear.

• You could talk to the patent owner and work out a deal to use their technology.

• If you have patents of your own that the other company might want, you could do a trade.

But if you skip the search and launch your product anyway, you're taking a big risk. You might end up in a legal battle that's hard to win. Usually, a freedom-to-operate search just gives you a long report. But at Metayage, analyze the results and give you clear advice so you know what to do next.

Invalidity search

If someone challenges your patent, or before you make big deals like partnerships or mergers, you might need a validity search. It's also useful if you're accused of infringing on someone else's patent, to check if their patent is good. Our validity search report goes through patents and other info to see if a patent is solid or not. We look at everything that could affect its validity, going back to before the patent was even filed.