This document describes different types of patent searches including patentability searches, invalidity searches, freedom to operate searches, and infringement searches. It provides details on the objectives, types of references, date restrictions, search methodology, and aspects of novelty, inventive step, and claim analysis for each type of search.

2. 1. PATENTABILITY SEARCHES
 To identify prior art references that may be disclosing an
invention as described in an invention disclosure
form/document.
 TYPES OF REFERENCES: Granted Patents, Published Patent
Applications, Research Papers, Blogs, Press Releases, Publicly
Available Audiovisual Content (For Example Through Video
Libraries And Online Content), Products, Services, Product
Specifications, Service Descriptions, and Books.
 DATE RESTRICTION: NONE (All the publicly available references
on the date of initiating of the search).

3. 1. PATENTABILITY SEARCHES - METHODOLOGY
 Identify constructional, operational, and functional elements of
the invention.
 Identify keywords from invention disclosure.
 Identify applicable patent classifications – COOPERATIVE PATENT
CLASSIFICATION (CPC), INTERNATIONAL PATENT
CLASSIFICATION (IPC), UNITED STATES PATENT CLASSIFICATION
(USPC).
 Generate search strings and run the search strings on free
databases (PATENTSCOPE, ESPACENET, GOOGLE PATENTS, LENS,
FREEPATENTSONLINE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, GOOGLE BOOKS,
YOUTUBE, GOOGLE.COM) and paid databases (QUESTEL ORBIT,
DERWENT INNOVATION).

4. 1. PATENTABILITY SEARCHES – NOVELTY AND
INVENTIVE STEP/OBVIOUSNESS ASPECTS
 NOVELTY – All the identified constructional, operational, and
functional elements of the invention are available through a single
reference or a group of documents acting as a single reference (For
example: a research paper citing other research papers forms a group
containing the research paper and the other cited research papers
acting as a single reference).
 INVENTIVE STEP/OBVIOUSNESS – All the identified constructional,
operational, and functional elements of the invention are available by
combining two or more references belonging to the same field of
invention or serving the same purpose as the invention disclosed in
invention disclosure.

5. 2. INVALIDITY SEARCHES
 To identify prior art references that may be disclosing an invention as claimed in
a claim of a patent application or a granted patent.
 TYPES OF REFERENCES: Granted Patents, Published Patent Applications, Research
Papers, Blogs, Press Releases, Publicly Available Audiovisual Content (For Example
Through Video Libraries And Online Content), Products, Services, Product
Specifications, Service Descriptions, and Books
 DATE RESTRICTION: (1) All references publicly available before the priority date
of the claim under study, (2) All patent applications and granted patents filed
before but published after the priority date in the same jurisdiction as the
patent claim (for example, a claim filed and/or granted in Europe will be
invalidated by a paten application or a granted patent that was filed with
European Patent Office before but published after the priority date of the claim).

6. 2. INVALIFDITY SEARCHES - METHODOLOGY
 Identify constructional, operational, and functional elements of
the claim(s) under study.
 Identify keywords from invention disclosure.
 Identify applicable patent classifications – COOPERATIVE PATENT
CLASSIFICATION (CPC), INTERNATIONAL PATENT
CLASSIFICATION (IPC), UNITED STATES PATENT CLASSIFICATION
(USPC)
 Generate search strings and run the search strings on free
databases (PATENTSCOPE, ESPACENET, GOOGLE PATENTS, LENS,
FREEPATENTSONLINE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, GOOGLE BOOKS,
YOUTUBE, GOOGLE.COM) and paid databases (QUESTEL ORBIT,
DERWENT INNOVATION).

7. 2. INVALIDITY SEARCHES – NOVELTY AND
INVENTIVE STEP/OBVIOUSNESS ASPECTS
 NOVELTY – All the identified constructional, operational, and
functional elements of the claims are available through a single
reference or a group of documents acting as a single reference (For
example: a research paper citing other research papers forms a group
containing the research paper and the other cited research papers
acting as a single reference).
 INVENTIVE STEP/OBVIOUSNESS – All the identified constructional,
operational, and functional elements of the claims are available by
combining two or more references belonging to the same field of
invention or serving the same purpose as the invention disclosed in
invention disclosure.

8. 3. FREEDOM TO OPERATE (FTO) SEARCHES
 To identify granted patents and live patent applications that a given product
is liable to infringe if launched in a given jurisdiction (for example, India,
Europe, United States). The product may be a good or a service.
 TYPES OF REFERENCES: Granted Patents and Published Patent Applications
filed within the same jurisdiction. Published PCT international applications
with priority date within forty (40) months of the date of the performance of
search.
 DATE RESTRICTION: All patent applications and granted patents with priority
date within twenty-one (21) years (additional one year to account for patent
term adjustment) of the date of the performance of search.

9. 3. FTO SEARCHES - METHODOLOGY
 Identify constructional, operational, and functional elements of the
product under study.
 Identify and/or generate keywords.
 Identify applicable patent classifications – COOPERATIVE PATENT
CLASSIFICATION (CPC), INTERNATIONAL PATENT CLASSIFICATION (IPC),
UNITED STATES PATENT CLASSIFICATION (USPC)
 Generate search strings and run the search strings on free databases
(PATENTSCOPE, ESPACENET, GOOGLE PATENTS, LENS) and paid databases
(QUESTEL ORBIT, DERWENT INNOVATION).
 Compare the constructional, operational, and functional elements of the
product for their presence in claims of the patent documents identified.

10. 3. FTO SEARCHES – CLAIM INFRINGEMENT
 For a claim to be infringed, all of the elements of the claim should be
available in the product and not the other way round. That is even if a
product has additional elements to those recited in the claim, the claim
would still be infringed if the product has each one of the elements recited
in the claim.
 Check the formal validity of the identified claims (for example, application
abandoned, maintenance fee not paid, the patent document belonging to
the same owner as the product etc.)
 Check substantial validity of the identified claims (if any other patent
document(s) uncovered during the search invalidates the identified claims
through novelty and/or inventive step aspect). If required run a secondary
invalidity search for the most relevant claims.

11. 4. INFRINGEMENT SEARCHES
 To identify products (goods and services) that are infringing upon given
subject patent claim(s) in a given jurisdiction (for example, India, Europe,
United States).
 TYPES OF REFERENCES: Product literature, brochures, pamphlets, product
specifications, press releases, user manuals etc.
 DATE RESTRICTION: All products launched in the given jurisdiction on or
after the priority date of the subject patent claims.

12. 4. INFRINGEMENT SEARCHES - METHODOLOGY
 Identify constructional, operational, and functional elements of the claims
under study.
 Identify and/or generate keywords.
 Generate search strings and run the search strings on open web Google,
Bing, Bard, ChatGPT, etc.
 Compare the constructional, operational, and functional elements of the
claims for their presence in the product literature extracted from the search.
*NOTE: Here again for a claim to be infringed, each one of the constructional,
operational, and functional elements of the claim should be present in the
product.

13. 5. STATE OF THE ART SEARCH AND LANDSCAPE
ANALYSIS
 To identify research and development ongoing in the given technical field or
being performed by a given organization.
 TYPES OF REFERENCES: Granted Patents, Published Patent Applications,
Research Papers, Blogs, Press Releases, Publicly Available Audiovisual
Content (For Example Through Video Libraries And Online Content),
Products, Services, Product Specifications, Service Descriptions, and Books.
 DATE RESTRICTION: All literature available as per the given timeline (for
example, in last 10 years, 5 years, since the inception of a company etc.).

14. 5. STATE OF THE ART SEARCH AND LANDSCAPE
ANALYSIS
 Identify and/or generate keywords based on the technical field or name of
the company. If the company is a conglomerate, entire list of all the
holdings would need to be identified
 Identify applicable patent classifications – COOPERATIVE PATENT
CLASSIFICATION (CPC), INTERNATIONAL PATENT CLASSIFICATION (IPC),
UNITED STATES PATENT CLASSIFICATION (USPC)
 Generate search strings and run the search strings on free databases
(PATENTSCOPE, ESPACENET, GOOGLE PATENTS, LENS,
FREEPATENTSONLINE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, GOOGLE BOOKS, YOUTUBE,
GOOGLE.COM) and paid databases (QUESTEL ORBIT, DERWENT
INNOVATION).

15. 5. STATE OF THE ART SEARCH AND LANDSCAPE
ANALYSIS - REPORTING
 Identify technical terms and phrases in the retrieved documents.
 Categorize the technical terms and phrases in several cascading categories.
 Identify timewise development of the technology identified from the
technical terms and phrases (monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.)
 Identify most cited assignees and inventors.
 Generate heat maps, bubble charts, pie charts, bar graphs, trendlines etc. to
communicate the results visually.
 Generate an executive summary, summarizing the overall findings of the
search activity.