Patents cover most subject areas from cutting-edge technology such as biotechnology to more common devices and processes such as burglar alarms, sports equipment and gardening tools.
It is a requirement of any patent application that it must contain sufficient detail to allow someone who is knowledgeable or skilled in the subject area of the invention to be able to make or carry out the invention from the information disclosed in the application. Applications are published 18 months from first filing.
How can this information be used?
- Around 80% of the information in patents is not disclosed elsewhere. Unfortunately many businesses are not aware of this and many millions of pounds are regularly wasted on research which has already been done and disclosed in patents. Failure to access this source of information effectively cuts you off from most of the available information.
- Patents represent the largest single source of technical information in the world and it is growing steadily.
- Newly published patent applications are often the first sign of new products and processes and offer the first indication of which markets a particular company is moving into.
- Many patents are no longer in force and therefore represent "free technology" which can be legitimately copied.
- The level of patent activity of particular companies can show who are the leading innovators in that field.
- Checking through existing patents in a similar subject area can help you to draft a new patent application.
How can we help?
We can provide a regular service by which we can supply you with abstracts of recently published patent applications from most of the major patenting countries including GB, European, US and international applications. Having agreed a search strategy with you, the updates can be run at regular intervals.
Please contact us for further information.
