Intellectual Property Law

Patent searching has come to Google with Google?s introduction of the beta version of Google Patent Search.  The user enters a keyword (or an inventor?s name or patent number) in the familiar Google search box and can refine the search as needed.  It?s relatively quick, For example, entering goggles retrieved 865 patents; limiting it to ski goggles reduced the number to 353, and adding heated lens reduced it to only two.  Each patent is displayed in its original form, large enough in full screen mode to be legible where the drawings come through better.  There are links to the abstract, drawings, description, and claims, a box for searching for words within the patent, and a link to the USPTO version, which tends to be easier to read, and includes links to referenced patents.  The advanced patent search feature allows searches by phrases and combinations of words, and by title, assignee, U.S. and international classifications, and range of dates. 

Of course a Google search is no substitute for a professional search of prior art, but it may help inventors and their advisors (including attorneys) discover that an invention is not novel, and can certainly provide an effective way into the prior art as a guide for innovation.  The search terms, easy interface and Google algorithms for calculating relevance distinguish this tool from existing official websites.  For example, a search for ski goggles on the USPTO website was rejected for ?missing boolean operator between expressions.?  But adding quotation marks produced 216 hits, fewer than Google, and each hit was displayed as a number and a hyper-linked phrase stating the distinctive quality of the patent (?protective ear covering,? for example, or ?breath deflector with seal?).  This may be more useful if less exhaustive.  Google claims to have seven million patents in its database, although it is a few months behind in listing new issues; stay tuned to see if this becomes the preferred method for searching for patents. 

Today's Blogger:  Nan Joesten