Need funds to do a worldwide patent search any help?

2 Answers

1. Hi,

   
   

   What sort of funding are you looking for? A patent search should not cost very much to conduct. You can start doing a lot of the work yourself for free. Look at www.ipo.gov.uk, www.wipo.int or a metasearch service like www.priorsmart.com. Otherwise there are plenty of companies who will run a search for you for a few hundred pounds. As an inventor, these are usually costs you'll need to absorb yourself (and any application). The funding comes afterward!

   
   

   Phin

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   Answered by Phineas Wenlock, April 2010   -  Contact this person
2. Hi,
   I am curious as to why you would want to do a worldwide patent search. My experience of these is that they are poor predictors of whether your idea can be patented - no-one can search unpublished applications for example. If you have a patentable idea (novel and inventive) then the priority is to put in an application. For sure you will want to ensure your patent is aware of prior art, but you can do this through simple searches you can do yourself. There are good resources recommended above, also try the google patent search engine http://www.google.com/advanced_patent_search
   The UK patent office http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ has excellent resources. If you apply for a patent and put in a full set of claims they'll do a professional search for you for about £150, which is excellent value.
   Good luck, Tom
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   Answered by Tom Jarman, April 2010   -  Contact this person