Design Patent Search

Product review websites are a fantastic place to start when looking for design patents, but they have their limitations. Product reviews are only allowed for items that have already been released or are scheduled to be released. What if the product is still in the early stages of development? What if the product is simply a prototype? Previous art, whether it's a product or a prototype, is prior art, and a search can't be confined to only current items.

When this happens, the search for existing prototypes begins. For example, a search for rounded camera designs led us to this website, which included an Olympus prototype for a round lens-shaped camera, which had the potential and characteristics to render the design in question obsolete.

Prototypes might be a good place to look for unexpected design precedents.

Hundreds of little things come together to become a powerful item. A single table lamp, for example, is made up of a dozen different elements, ranging from the shade to the socket shell, the harp to the tube, and so on. Because it is impossible for a firm to create all of the components required in a lamp, the components are frequently purchased from several manufacturers and integrated to form a full device.

In the case of light bulbs, for example, the designs differ from one piece to the next. With hundreds of various shapes and sizes available on the market, it's unlikely that the design will be completely unique, therefore it's vital to examine the websites of manufacturers that sell the product to see whether it passes the litmus test.

Invalidation searches resemble a game of chess. If you don't make certain movements that take your opponent off guard, you aren't a master. One such step may be a tailored geography-based search.

When a patent is being challenged in court, it's critical to expand your search to non-English locations where many innovative ideas are being invented, developed, and manufactured. In the past, we've uncovered design previous artworks from Japanese and Chinese databases, particularly for electrical items.

Owing to the fact that most prior art searches are confined to USPTO or European databases, designs that already exist in other areas of the globe may pass the novelty test in the US due to a limited search.

However, it is preferable to do a thorough geographical search in order to obtain reliable prior art for checkmating the opponent's king.