Patent Searches
The place to start with your idea.

If you plan to file a patent application, you or your representative are advised to conduct a search of patents previously granted, and also of printed publications to make sure that your idea has not already been patented or disclosed. With over 5 million patents already issued, such a search avoids the needless expense of funds for a patent application, if the search turns up prior patents that might preclude your invention from being issued a patent.

Once you apply for your patent, the first thing the Patent Office Examiner does when he receives your patent application is to perform a search of prior patents in the search room at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington. If he finds similar inventions the Examiner can reject your patent application because of the prior art he finds. Consequently, you want to know what the Examiner is going to find before you go to the expense of time and money of filing your patent application.

If you decide to have a search conducted, there is no substitute for a physical search conducted at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. While some "research" firms offer computer searches, such searches are only as good as the computer operator, and, results generally yield only the front page of the patent found. As always, you get what you pay for.

American Patent and Trademark Law Center offers confidential patent searches, conducted by a Registered Patent Attorney who is a former Patent Office Examiner. All searches are conducted on site at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, in Washington DC. With the considerable expense of time and money involved in a formal Patent Application, a comprehensive search and review by a Registered Patent Attorney, is a prudent investment of your valuable legal budget.

A Patent Search requires only a short discussion with an attorney in our office about your invention, and possibly a very simple sketch on how it operates. The interview can be in person or by telephone with a fax of the drawing. All such communication is strictly confidential and privileged information by the attorney-client relationship.

Cost: The cost for a simple patentability search is $750.00, including a review and discussion by a Registered Patent Attoney regarding the patents retrieved in the search and how they apply to your idea.

Once you have received the results of your search and discussed them with our office, you can then make up your mind to proceed with a formal patent application. In the event you should decide to proceed with a formal U.S. or Foreign Patent Application, our office can handle all aspects of the Application Process with you.

Feel free to contact our offices by phone, fax, or e-mail to further discuss your needs. We also have a form that you can download in either a PDF version or RTF version (for Microsoft Word users). You can then mail the completed form to the address at the bottom of the page or FAX it to us at (858)-509-1677.