Customer Reviews

Patent Searching Made Easy - 4th Edition

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Too often, inventors and business owners plunge ahead with an exciting new idea. They invest large sums of money in research and tooling only to find the idea is already patented or that it cannot be patented because it is actually not a new idea. The solution for avoiding this waste of time and money is a preliminary patent search. By using this book, you can rapidly learn how to tap into the remarkable facilities that are available today and find a quick and low cost answer to the question of whether to go ahead or abandon an idea.

The amazing beauty of some of these information sources is that you can reach them from your home, your desk at work, or at a nearby library. Even if you feel you are computer illiterate, "a dinosaur", you'll find the author's step by step instructions will enable you to find a gold mine of information pertaining to your invention.

The author starts out with an overview that clarifies the differences between various intellectual properties such as patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. He notes it is important to overcome the common misconception that patent owners can count on law enforcement agencies to defend their patents. The government will not. A patent is not a defensive legal right, but rather an offensive legal right. It is you that must sue infringers.

He then discusses some of the patent searching basic principles and tools. He simply and clearly presents how electronic databases now allow you to extract and examine patent data. He covers the basics, such as keywords, wildcards, and Boolean logic in an easy to understand steps accompanied by pictures that show you exactly how the information will appear on your computer screen.

After you become at home with the fundamental methods, you are introduced to advanced methods that you can use on the PTO and EPO (European Patent Office) Websites. He explains, in plain English, how to use the XOR Boolean operator, proximity operators and how to use wildcards. The author even shows you how to translate sections of foreign patents online, at no cost. You will be pleasantly surprised as to how soon these arcane sounding terms and methods become old friends. Again, in each case, examples and their screen images will aid you to grasp what is going on.

While computer searching on the Internet has become a terrific starting point, the author stresses the continuing importance of using the facilities of the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDL) that are available throughout the nation (addresses and phone numbers are given in the appendix).

The writer details how using and understanding the patent office patent classification system will greatly aid your search efforts. This involves using the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification System, the Manual of Classification, and the Classification Definitions. He gives examples and reproductions taken directly from these books.

Some inventors make the mistake of failing to check non-patent office sources for prior art. The use of the Google Internet search engine is described and the addresses for several other search engines are given. Another basic source for information is the Thomas Register which is now also on the WWW. The use of government agencies is also covered. Yet another tool covered, are the many discussion group Websites.

At the conclusion, the author gives suggestions for analyzing your search results. He notes it is common to come up with a half a dozen prior art patents and cites the four Patent Office criteria regarding Statutory Class, Utility, Novelty, and Unobvious. He notes the mental trap inventors often fall into by thinking "that if an aspect of your invention hasn't been "claimed" in a prior patent, you can claim it."

This is a terrific, up-to-date, book for learning how to do a preliminary patent search at a very low cost.

(PLEASE NOTE: I have been advised that there is a newer up to date version. So I guess the lesson here is to make sure you buy it and not the older one.)

Last week my girlfriend dug this book out of the trash and set it on top of the microwave. She thought it must have fallen into the trash by mistake. She could not imagine that I, of all people, would ever throw a book away. I practically worship books. But not this one. I told her I had thrown it away to prevent anyone else from wasting their time - at least on that copy. I strongly urge others to do the same if they have a copy.

This book may have served a purpose 10 years ago (when most people had no idea how to use the internet and maybe you needed 120 pages to explain it to you) but now its worse than useless - its a complete waste of time. Unless Google is a complete mystery to you or you need some paper to get a fire going don't waste your money.

You'll find everything you need to know on the subject at:

[...]

Will you be making a trip to a USPTO Deposit Library now that all their records can be viewed online in the comfort of your favorite chair? If not then the second half of the book is useless too.

Please help me eradicate this book from the face of the Earth.

With the constant improvement in computer resources available to the inventor who wants to do his own patent searching, an updated version of this fine book is a welcome sight. Observe the dates on reviews of this book to see that those citing a need for an update are old and should be dismissed.
The patent literature is an excellent resource for researchers or inventors to learn what has been done in their field of endeavor. Professional inventors use the patent literature to spark their own ideas. Surprise! -- That is the intended purpose of our patent system -- "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts...." Learning how to access this resource is useful to all involved in improving our technology.

Mr. Hitchcock's book has made my life a lot easier. All the info you need is right there. I'm sure you could take the time to look some of it up, but there are a lot of techniques and tricks that I never would have thought of. I especially like the Searcher's Secrets that are highlighted throughout the book.

Then there is the discussion of Usenet as a resource. Most people think that the World Wide Web (WWW) and the Internet are the same things, but that's only because browser programs make it easy to surf the Web. Hitchcock explains how to use the thousands of discussion groups on Usenet to answer specific questions.

The thing I really like the most is the chapter on the European Patent Office (EPO). If my patent search at the US Patent Office turns up some foreign patents, I can check them out online. There is even a way to translate the text of foreign patents into English for FREE! That little trick has already saved me about 10 times the cost of the book in translation fees.

Great job!

I read this book, it was pretty nice information. But the information serves nowhere near to the level of information required by a professional patent searcher or analyst. This book does not explain much about theoretical aspects of patent searching and analytics, citations, and types of patent searching and their importance. Overall, this is a good guide-book for a private inventor, but not for a patent professional!!

I was very pleased on how fast shipment came & also the fact that it was a soft covered book & packaging was great!!!

Step by step you will be introdused in to the labylinth of US patent schedule. Thies review is for 2nd ed. eBook.