Introduction

An intellectual property infringement search is the process of identifying potential infringers of your company’s intellectual property. It can also be used to determine whether your company may be infringing upon someone else’s intellectual property rights. An IP infringement search can help reduce the risk of lawsuits by identifying potential IP infringers.

What is an intellectual property infringement search?

An intellectual property infringement search is a trademark, patent, or copyright search. It can also be used to find out if someone has infringed on your own IP rights (intellectual property rights). Patent infringement happens when a third party, without the consent of the patent owner, uses or sells the patented invention. Permission to sell or use the patented invention is typically granted in the form of a license to a third party. The most important part of conducting an infringement search is to take the ‘priority date’ into consideration.

To determine whether a particular product is suspected to be using the patent in question, the numbered claims of the patent are reviewed, such that if the product includes every element outlined in at least one of the claims, it is said to literally “infringe” the patent.

How to perform an intellectual property infringement search?

To perform an intellectual property infringement search, you must first know what you are looking for. You should search for relevant patents, trademarks, and copyrights. You should also do related patents, trademarks, and copyright searches that may be of interest to you. Additionally, it is important to look at similar products or services (e.g., “similar products”), titles (“titles”), names (“names”), logos, as well as slogans that may be infringing on your intellectual property rights.

Types of Intellectual Property Rights Infringement

Now, what are the 3 forms of IPR infringement? There are primarily 3 forms of IPR infringement. 

Trademark infringement 

The unauthorized use of another’s trademark (which can include logos and brand names) for goods or services that are identical or similar to those provided by the original owner of that mark.

Patent infringement

The unauthorized use of a patented invention.

Copyright infringement

the unauthorized use of a copyrighted work, including the reproduction, distribution, performance, or display of it.

Trademark Infringement Search

A trademark infringement search is a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. It can be done by doing a trademark search directly on their website or by hiring an attorney to do it for you.

A trademark infringement search is important because it will tell you if another company has already registered a similar or identical mark to yours and, if so, who owns that mark. You can also find out if there are any other companies out there that have similar names or logos; these might be businesses with which yours could partner or compete against.

Patent Infringement Search

A patent infringement search is a search for patents that cover the product or service you are developing. It can be done for a specific patent or all patents. Patent infringement searches are done by searching the Patent Office database and looking at the claims of each patent, which are listed in plain English.

The purpose of a patent infringement search is to find out whether another party has rights in your field.

Copyright Infringement Search

A copyright infringement search is a search for copyright infringers. It’s also called a copyright violation search or simply an infringement search. A copyright infringement search can help you identify people who are using your work without permission and may be liable for damages if you decide to sue them.

An IP infringement search is a great tool for identifying potential IP infringers. It can help you prevent lawsuits, evaluate the risks associated with a new product or service, and more.

patent infringement search report

Infringement search results involve a list of those products, services, and standards that may be based on the technology of the subject patent. The search process involves preparing a list of target products and top players in the technology field related to the subject patent. These searches are conducted using various databases, company websites, and the like. The report also contains claim mapping of patents of interest and suspected infringing products. Partial as well as complete infringements are included in the search report.

Further, these searches require a lot of expertise because not all the features of the patent can be seen visually in the product based on that patent. Therefore, to ascertain the infringement, references to various catalogs, manuals, and data sheets are mentioned in the report. 

A patent infringement search report is provided in the form of evidence of use (EOU) charts or claim charts, wherein potentially infringing product features are mapped with claim elements of the subject patent.

Conclusion

An intellectual property infringement search can help you identify potential infringers and reduce the risk of lawsuits. A good way to start is by performing a trademark search, which will let you know if there are any trademarks similar to yours that could confuse consumers. After that, you can move on to patent searches or copyright searches, depending on what type of IP rights your company owns.

Our team of advanced patent attorneys assists clients with patent searches, drafting patent applications, and patent (intellectual property) agreements, including licensing and non-disclosure agreements.

Advocate Rahul Dev is a Patent Attorney & International Business Lawyer practicing Technology, Intellectual Property & Corporate Laws. He is reachable at rd (at) patentbusinesslawyer (dot) com & @rdpatentlawyer on Twitter.

Quoted in and contributed to 50+ national & international publications (Bloomberg, FirstPost, SwissInfo, Outlook Money, Yahoo News, Times of India, Economic Times, Business Standard, Quartz, Global Legal Post, International Bar Association, LawAsia, BioSpectrum Asia, Digital News Asia, e27, Leaders Speak, Entrepreneur India, VCCircle, AutoTech).

Regularly invited to speak at international & national platforms (conferences, TV channels, seminars, corporate trainings, government workshops) on technology, patents, business strategy, legal developments, leadership & management.

Working closely with patent attorneys along with international law firms with significant experience with lawyers in Asia Pacific providing services to clients in US and Europe. Flagship services include international patent and trademark filings, patent services in India and global patent consulting services.

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