Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Patent Searching Made Easy How To Do Patent Searches Online and in The Library 7th Edition David Hitchcock
Patent Searching Made Easy How To Do Patent Searches Online and in The Library 7th Edition David Hitchcock
https://textbookfull.com/product/patent-it-yourself-your-step-by-
step-guide-to-filing-at-the-u-s-patent-office-david-pressman/
https://textbookfull.com/product/patent-games-in-the-global-
south-pharmaceutical-patent-law-making-in-brazil-india-and-
nigeria-1st-edition-amaka-vanni/
https://textbookfull.com/product/the-clinical-manual-of-chinese-
herbal-patent-medicines-a-guide-to-ethical-and-pure-patent-
medicines-second-edition-edition-maclean/
https://textbookfull.com/product/patent-cultures-diversity-and-
harmonization-in-historical-perspective-graeme-gooday/
Patent Management: Protecting Intellectual Property and
Innovation 1st Edition Oliver Gassmann
https://textbookfull.com/product/patent-management-protecting-
intellectual-property-and-innovation-1st-edition-oliver-gassmann/
https://textbookfull.com/product/patent-copyright-trademark-an-
intellectual-property-desk-reference-stim/
https://textbookfull.com/product/patent-markets-in-the-global-
knowledge-economy-theory-empirics-and-public-policy-implications-
madies-t/
https://textbookfull.com/product/open-source-intelligence-
techniques-resources-for-searching-and-analyzing-online-
information-7th-edition-michael-bazzell/
https://textbookfull.com/product/open-source-intelligence-
techniques-resources-for-searching-and-analyzing-online-
information-7th-edition-michael-bazzell-2/
“A word of caution before trying a search at the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office website—first read Patent Searching Made Easy.”
POPULAR MECHANICS
7th Edition
Patent
Searching
Made Easy
How to do PatentSearches
Online and in the Library
• Understand the market for your idea or invention
• Decide whether to file a patent application
• Save time and money David Hitchcock
Patent Searching
Made Easy
How to Do Patent Searches
Online and in the Library
David Hitchcock
This book covers only United States law, unless it specifically states otherwise.
Copyright © 2009, 2013, and 2017 by Nolo. All rights reserved. The NOLO trademark is
registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Printed in the USA.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without prior written permission. Reproduction prohibitions do not apply to
the forms contained in this product when reproduced for personal use. For information on
bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please contact the Special Sales Department.
Call 800-955-4775 or write to Nolo, 950 Parker Street, Berkeley, California 94710.
Please note
We believe accurate, plain-English legal information should help you solve
many of your own legal problems. But this text is not a substitute for
personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you want the help of a
trained professional—and we’ll always point out situations in which we think
that’s a good idea—consult an attorney licensed to practice in your state.
Acknowledgments
All screen shots from United States Patent and Trademark Office
website are courtesy of the USPTO. All screen shots from the European
Patent Office website are courtesy of the EPO. All screen shots from
the Defense Technical Information Center are courtesy of DTIC. The
author gratefully acknowledges and thanks the Thomas Register, Google,
Medical Informatics Engineering, and the Microsoft Corporation for
granting permission to use various screen shots in this book.
I wish to thank David Goguen for his editorial input during the
writing of this edition. I also wish to thank the rest of the staff at Nolo.
Finally, I would like to thank Cornelia, who inspires the best within me,
and my daughter Jennifer.
About the Author
David Hitchcock has degrees in physics and engineering, and has worked
as a computer consultant on such diverse projects as the MX missile, the
Milstar satellite program, advanced capability torpedoes, and jet engine
computer simulations for NASA. He has focused on patent searching and
new technology for a number of years. Mr. Hitchcock holds one patent and
is the author of a training video on patent searching. He is the inventor of
the Home Fire Shield™, a device to protect homes from wildfires.
Table of Contents
9 Using CASSIS............................................................................................................................181
The CASSIS DVD Database....................................................................................................182
Welcome to CASSIS2................................................................................................................182
Additional CASSIS Features................................................................................................... 193
10 EAST Meets WEST...............................................................................................................195
Web-based Examiner Search Tool (WEST)...................................................................197
Examiner Automated Search Tool (EAST)....................................................................203
Additional EAST/ WEST Features......................................................................................208
Glossary................................................................................................................................................ 209
Appendixes
A Reference Collection of U.S. Patents Available for
Public Use in Patent and Trademark Resource Centers....................215
B Forms...............................................................................................................................................221
Classification Search Sheet....................................................................................................222
Class Finder Tool..........................................................................................................................234
Index...........................................................................................................................................................245
Your Legal Companion
O
kay, you’ve come up with what seems like a new way to solve a
problem or accomplish a task. But you’re wondering whether
somebody has already trod this ground before you. And if
they have, you’re wondering whether they succeeded in obtaining a
patent … or proving that the idea isn’t feasible.
Perhaps you’ve been told that the answers to your questions can
only come from a patent search performed by a lawyer or professional
patent searcher at a cost of $500 or more—possibly much more. You can’t
afford to spend that much money on an idea, especially if someone else
may have thought of it already. Maybe you should just forget about it?
Think again. You can do your own patent search with only a
reasonable amount of effort, and this book will show you how. Even
better, you can do your searching without spending more than a few
dollars. Even if your invention is not patentable, you will have saved
time and money and learned skills that will help with your next great
idea. If it turns out that your idea has never before been addressed in a
patent, your invention—should it issue as a patent—could provide you
with satisfaction and financial benefits.
This book will help you achieve your goals by showing you how to:
• quickly check out any new idea, to see if anyone else has already
patented it
• verify the patent status of ideas submitted to you for develop
ment (if you are a potential developer), and
• save lots of money in legal fees.
This book is arranged in three parts:
In Part I, we explain the relationship between your search and the
patentability of your invention. We also help you come up with words
to describe your invention—also known as keywords or search words.
Once you come up with these words, you can use your computer to
search the U.S. patent database for patents that contain these words. In
addition to searching for isolated occurrences of your individual search
terms, you can also search for combinations of search terms.
2 | PATENT SEARCHING MADE EASY
The primary legal change reflected in this edition is the inclusion of the
America Invents Act (referred to in this book as the “AIA”), which was
enacted September 16, 2011 and which changed patent application filing
rules from “first-to-invent” to “first-to file (FTF).”
As of March 13, 2013, patent applications are subject to new
first-to-file and prior art rules, effectively ending centuries of first-
to-invent rules. The one-year on sale bar—that permits sale or disclosure
of the claimed invention less than one year before filing—is terminated,
although the Act establishes a limited one-year grace period if the
inventor (or anyone who obtained the subject matter from the inventor)
made certain disclosures of the claimed invention.
YOUR LEGAL COMPANION | 3
l
Part I:
The Basics
I
n order to receive a patent, your invention must be both new (novel)
and surprising in light of prior developments (not obvious). Both
of these standards are judged not only against all previously issued
patents, but also against all previous developments in the same field,
whether or not they were ever patented. For instance, the grooves in an
automobile steering wheel were deemed to be a nonpatentable invention
because of the traditional use of grooves in sword handles.
So, the key to assessing the patentability of your new idea is under
standing what previous developments—known in the trade as prior
art—the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will consider when
deciding whether to issue a patent on your idea. In order to proceed,
you must first understand the nature of patents and prior art.
One of the pitfalls of any patent search is that there is no way to search
pending patent applications prior to 18 months from filing. Another
inventor may have already filed a patent application on essentially the
same invention as you. Because pending patent applications are kept
confidential (prior to 18 months), if the patent hasn’t been issued yet you
have no way of knowing about it. This is one of the occupational hazards
involved in applying for a patent.
If you have a patent application pending and a patent is issued that
covers the essential aspects of your idea, you may still be able to get a
patent. How? You do it by proving that you filed your application earlier
than the inventor listed in the opposing patent.
CAVES IN MATMATA.
The game was kept up without a pause, until the sun sank
suddenly behind the mountains, and it was no longer possible to
see, for twilight is unknown in these regions.
I returned to my cave, lit my candle, smoked cigarettes and waited
until my dinner should be served.
Five figures appeared, each carrying a dish which was placed on
a table before me, and a pitcher of water was deposited beside me.
The meal consisted of soup with lumps of meat highly peppered, a
stew of chicken, and an enormous dish of kus-kus, made of barley
meal with goat’s flesh, and, finally, honey and bread; this last was of
barley meal, dry but well flavoured.
Return to Gabés
EXCAVATED STABLE.
Over the valley to the north rose the mountains, and beyond them
stretched an indistinct light blue plain, melting far away into a darker
blue—this was the sea.
Step by step, slowly but surely, our horses paced down the long
valley into which we descended. Now and again we put up a covey
of partridges that flew up the mountain, and the larks started in
couples from amongst the palms and stones. We presently hurried
on at the quick pace to which the Berber horses are accustomed;
Hamed singing, as we went along, a song that echoed above us and
on every side.
Perched on some stones at the bottom of the dry bed of a torrent
were three pretty little girls, who leaned against the bank and peeped
shyly at us over it. Their goats jumped from stone to stone seeking
food amongst the scanty forage afforded by the dry burnt pasture.
The tallest of the little girls ran suddenly away from the others
when I rode towards them. She scrambled up the rocky bank like a
squirrel, and paused on the top of a large boulder; the flock of black
goats following her. She was evidently old enough to know that
speech with a strange man is forbidden.
Belkassim tried to coax her down again; he assured her that the
kind stranger would give her money if she would come to him. But
no, she would not respond, remaining where she was and calling to
the two other little ones. These pressed nervously against each
other, in their thin blue garments, and, when I offered them some
coppers, shut their eyes as they extended their hands to me to
receive the money, and then took flight.
We were near some native dwellings. Dogs barked, under an
olive tree stood a donkey munching straw, and we perceived some
of the familiar blue figures, which looked nearly black against their
light brown surroundings. In the distance their ornaments glittered in
the light of the setting sun. Belkassim shouted to them to come
forward as it was a friend and brother of the Khalifa who wished to
see them. Most of them remained standing where they were and
stared at us. The men were apparently all away, either amongst the
mountains, busy with the date harvest, or building tanks in the
valleys, so from them there was naught to fear.
We dismounted and had a chat with the women. I unpacked my
camera and tried to take their portraits, but these girls and women
are so restless that it is difficult to make them keep still. There was
one exception, however, a pretty fresh young girl who came out of
one of the dwellings—a cave like those near Hadeij—and stared and
stared at the camera.
An old woman next came tripping up to offer herself, evidently of a
mind that coppers are worth having. I should have preferred her
good-looking daughters, who were engaged in driving a restive
camel into the cave passage. But this I saw plainly was not to be, for
she ordered the girls in and placed herself before me, and I had to
be satisfied.
This was the village of Judlig. The population cannot be large, but
by me it will always be remembered as the village of many women.
Continuing along the base of the valley for about an hour, we then
entered another valley through the great deep bed of a broad river
now dry; the banks were quite perpendicular. This river is the Sid
Barrak. The horses had difficulty in keeping their footing on the stony
bottom.
On a slight rise our guide bade us
halt, so we drew rein while he pointed
out Sid ben Aissa, but I could see
nothing.
When we had ridden some way
down the valley, we saw some half-
score white burnouses coming
towards us. These proved to be the
Sheikh and his people, who came to
bid me welcome; his brown-clad
followers walked beside their horses.
In time, the old greybeards and dark-
eyed merry lads joined our party.
Dogs barked, sombre clad females
BERBER WOMAN OF THE
with peaked white headgear peered VILLAGE OF JUDLIG.
over the crest of the mound, and
terrified little children fled to their
mothers and hid themselves in the folds of their garments.
Palm trunks raised their lofty crowns towards the blue heavens,
where, on the mountains and in the valley, they grew mingled with
olive and fig trees, and the hot air of midday quivered about us as we
made our entry.
A CAVE INTERIOR.
(From a sketch by Knud Gamborg).