Patent / IP Research
Our patent/IP and trademark investigations will be tailored to meet your unique needs, timeline, and budget expectations. Service offerings by project/research type are taken up in turn further below.
Deliverables for patent/IP projects generally consist of an executive-style report detailing the project findings, and an accompanying spreadsheet containing the relevant references identified, along with key bibliographic descriptors.
Note*: Comprehensive searches will typically investigate the patent (both US domestic and foreign) and non-patent literature. If desired and per request, lower-cost options can also be provided for narrower coverage, by excluding non-patent literature and/or covering US patents and applications only.
State-of-The-Art *
Project Description
Identify recent, general and background art for a particular technology or technology area
Benefit
Get a broad picture of the state-of-the-art technology to help guide research and product/technology development efforts
Patentability / Novelty *
Project Description:
Identify prior art that may be relevant to the invention, and which will help in determining whether the invention is patentable
Benefit
Helps assess the likelihood of obtaining a patent. A patentability search is an essential step to be taken before filing a patent application.
Freedom-To-Operate (FTO) *
Project Description
Identify patents or applications which may cover a proposed product or process.
Benefit:
Helps identify potential patent barriers to commercializing your products or technologies
Validity / Invalidity *
Project Description:
Identify prior art which may impact the claims of a specific patent. Helps remove blocking patents or establish solidity of patent
Benefits:
Helps identify infringement situations, overturn infringement allegations, or take a stronger stance in patent negotiations
Product-to-Patent Matching
Project Description:
Identify patents or patent applications associated with a specific product or product line
Benefit:
Helps determine if an organization’s commercial product has been patented (granted or at application stage)
Patent Landscaping
Project Description:
A completed patent landscape analysis project consists of a set of relevant patent references and accompanying analytics from which important legal, business, and technology information can be extracted. It provides insight into the innovations that underlie technology and products in a specific category
Benefit:
Helps guide product development, R&D efforts, and patent/IP strategy, and also,
Identifies key organizations (competitors, customers, potential partners, or other) actively patenting in this area
Licensing Opportunity Identification
Project Description:
Target potential corporate licensors by identifying similar art and the associated corporate assignees. A short list of candidates is then assessed based on your preferred company profile criteria. On request, PBE Research Consulting can also reach out to the top candidates identified on your behalf (with option to preserve your anonymity) to assess interest and/or facilitate an introduction.
Benefit:
Helps to conveniently monetize unused IP
Allows for launching products in foreign markets faster and with less risk while avoiding manufacturing or distribution costs
Trademark
Project Description:
Identify problem marks in the federal USPTO database, in state trademark databases, and in corporate name databases
Benefit:
Identify potential infringement issues, which may be cause to rebrand later
Tracking & Monitoring *
Project Description:
Track and monitor technical developments in a technology area and/or technical developments associated with select assignees or inventors.
Frequency of deliverables will be determined based on discussions with you and a review of a preliminary estimate of the anticipated volume and publication frequency of relevant published references
Benefit:
Keep abreast of new technology developments, and new entrants into the market with the potential to grab market share away from you, and disrupt your operations , sales, and product development efforts