Some patent searching can be done on your own, and should be, and some should be left to the professionals. Here’s the difference.

First, I’ll tell you a secret: it’s not a bad idea to start with a DIY search! You might not hear that from many patent attorneys, because, after all, doing searches for clients is part of how we keep the lights on, but sometimes our expertise, and more importantly client money, is wasted on a search that a little DIY digging could have handled. Here are good resources for a DIY search (we use them as professionals too):

• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides free access to its vast patent database, allowing you to search by keyword, inventor, or specific patent classifications.
• Google Patents is another excellent tool, offering intuitive search features and global coverage.
• Additionally, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) also offers international patent search capabilities.
• International patents can stop a US application from being granted, even without any US rights, so it’s wise to look globally.
• General Googling and searching on sites like Amazon are also great tools.

If you do a quick DIY search and you find inventions that are clearly identical or similar to yours, you know you have a problem without spending any money. At that point, it’s back to the drawing board. Once you’ve made changes that make your invention different from the ones you found, or if you didn’t find anything obviously problematic in your searching, it’s time to have a professional search done to be sure.

Although DIY searches can be useful, professional patent searchers and attorneys bring specialized expertise and deeper analytical insight. They can help identify subtle distinctions between inventions and know which ones matter and which don’t. They can also help you decide which kind of search, or combination of searches, will suit your unique situation best.

Here’s something to keep in mind about patent searches, whether you’re doing a preliminary DIY search or having a patent attorney do one for you: in the US, patent applications usually aren’t published until 18 months after they’ve been filed, and provisional applications are never published. Patent attorneys can’t access unpublished applications. That means that no patent search can be 100% accurate.

However, given the vast amounts of patents, applications, and other sources of information about inventions that are available, patent searches are still significantly important tools. By using both DIY and professional patent searches, and understating how to do them effectively, you’re safeguarding your invention, minimizing risks, and positioning your idea for future success.