PROSECUTION
Prior-Art & Novelty Searches
from$1,200
Delivered in 7 business days
- Up to 3 inventive features
- 10 ranked references
- Feature-by-feature comparison
- Cited passages and full search record
Prior-art & novelty searches
Understand the technical landscape before you proceed.
Focused searches for existing patent and non-patent disclosures relevant to an invention, a draft application or a technical concept — with ranked references, the passages that matter, and a clear record of what was searched.
FROM $1,200 · 7 BUSINESS DAYS · FIXED FEE · DETAILS
Drafting is easier when you know what is already out there.
Software inventions are often described in terms that differ from how the same idea was published before. A keyword search finds the obvious documents; it misses the paper that solved the same problem under a different name, or the patent that claims the mechanism as one step in a larger system.
A structured search before filing or investing helps counsel focus the claims, anticipate examiner citations and give a realistic picture of the field.
What the research covers
01
Concept decomposition
We separate the invention into its essential technical features and identify which combination is claimed to be new.
02
Terminology expansion
Synonyms, alternative framings and the vocabulary used in adjacent fields and older literature.
03
Patent literature
Keyword, classification and citation-based searches across patent publications.
04
Non-patent literature
Publicly accessible papers, standards, documentation and technical material relevant to the concept.
05
Screening
Candidates are screened for technical relevance, and the closest are read in detail.
06
Comparison
The closest references are compared feature by feature with the invention as described.
Workflow
How an engagement runs.
- 01
Understand the invention
Review the disclosure or description and agree the features to search.
- 02
Plan the search
Define terminology, classifications and the sources in scope.
- 03
Search and screen
Run searches and screen candidates for relevance.
- 04
Compare
Analyse the closest references feature by feature.
- 05
Report
Deliver ranked references, comparisons and the search record.
Deliverables
What you receive.
The exact deliverables are agreed in the quotation. A typical report includes:
- Summary of notable findings
- The closest references and which features appear to be disclosed, and which do not.
- Ranked reference list
- References ordered by technical relevance, with identifiers, dates and links.
- Feature comparison
- A table comparing the invention’s features with each of the closest references.
- Relevant source passages
- Cited passages and figures for each feature found.
- Search methodology
- Sources, queries, classifications and screening criteria used.
RANKED REFERENCE REGISTERLAYOUT
Sharper drafting
Knowing the closest art helps counsel position claims around what is genuinely different.
Fewer surprises
References an examiner is likely to find are better found before filing.
Clear record
The documented search shows what was covered, so decisions rest on known ground.
A search can reduce uncertainty but cannot prove that no relevant disclosure exists. Patentability is a legal assessment for your patent attorney.
Price & delivery
From $1,200, delivered in 7 business days.
A fixed fee for an agreed scope, confirmed in writing before any work starts. No hourly billing. Larger scopes are quoted as a fixed add-on, and the quote is free with no obligation.
What can change the fee
- Number of inventive features or concepts
- Technical complexity and how crowded the field is
- Breadth of non-patent literature in scope
- Depth of comparison for the closest references
- Jurisdictions and languages
- Deadline
Rush delivery in half the standard time: +50%. 50% on acceptance of the quote, 50% on delivery. Invoiced via Stripe (card or bank transfer). All pricing
Questions
About this service.
What do you need from us to start?
A non-confidential description of the concept is enough for scoping. If the search requires confidential detail, we agree how it will be shared before you send it.
Is this a patentability opinion?
No. We report what we found and how it compares technically. Your patent attorney assesses patentability.
Can you search before an application is drafted?
Yes, and that is often when it is most useful. We can also search against a draft claim set.
How do you rank references?
By how many of the searched features each reference appears to disclose and how directly. The basis for each ranking is explained in the report.
Tell us what you’re investigating.
Describe your research objective and we’ll come back with a proposed scope, deliverables and a fixed-fee quotation.
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