The purpose of infringement search is to launch new invention in a new territory or market without fear of denunciation or litigation from patent-holders. The infringement search confines itself to enforceable patents exclusively in the country where the product is planned to be marketed. Infringement search is country specific. An infringement search is conducted to find out whether the proposed invention would infringe any active patents. This type of search focuses on the claims of unexpired patents. Since the purpose is to prove that there are no in force patents that will result in conflict, the date range of the search can be limited to last 20 years. Expired or discarded patents, non-patent prior art do not come within the purview of a Patent Infringement Search.
If infringement search in conducted in the early stages one can save money on research and development of projects or products that cannot be marketed can be avoided. Preferably it should be conducted simultaneously with novelty search to avoid potential infringements and can be maintained throughout the patent process with continuous check. An Infringement Search is only concerned with the claims of active patents, not the descriptive elements found somewhere else. Hence interpretation of claims is very important. The claims of every pertinent patent have to be read and interpreted clearly as the claims decide what amounts to infringement. A patent professional would have a better understanding with regard to the Claims of patents, it is thus better to employ the services of a patent professional to conduct an infringement search.
We at Biz & Legis are well equipped to conduct an extensive search of all unexpired patents and analyze their claims respectively. This in depth analysis is done in a detailed manner to further ensure that you are not sued tomorrow for patent infringement.