AthenaIP - Our Searching & Watching Reporting Expertise

At Athena, we provide fast, interactive and flexible searching, presented to you in the format you require.

Our local and international clients look to us to provide tailored search reports and analysis of the highest quality. No two search requests are the same, so we do not use pro-forma reporting. Instead we provide customised reporting based on a detailed understanding of our clients’ needs.

Our Expertise

In order to be patentable, an invention must be new and inventive (not obvious). Sometimes called a Novelty Search, this type of search is conducted before a patent application is filed and determines whether your invention is novel and/or has prior art.

Patent Searching

Patents are a vast resource of technical information and extracting this information is done through different searching processes. Patents can be searched for a number of reasons, including checking that a new product does not infringe on an earlier patent, determining whether an invention is new and patentable, and evaluating developments in a particular class of technology or competitor’s activities.

AthenaIP provide their local and international clients with wide ranging searching and watching capabilities spanning numerous industry sectors and multiple jurisdictions.

Infringement Searching

An infringement search seeks to ensure that a new product in Australia will not infringe upon an earlier patent and that the product can be brought into the market without fear of litigation. This type of search is perhaps the most difficult of searches to conduct, as the focus of the search is primarily on the claims but can be the specifications.

The costs associated with infringement searches can vary considerably. AthenaIP can provide preliminary or “scoping” searches without obligation or charge, if that is required.

Our searches generally cover all major industrial markets (including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, the US, Japan, Korea and the United States). However, we can limit our searches to individual jurisdictions. We can also extend our searches to identify equivalent patent rights in other countries using databases to which we have access either directly or through associates throughout the world.

Patentability Searching

It involves examining patent filings and other documentation from a designated region. A patentability search is best conducted at the start of the patent journey, as it can anticipate examination obstacles and provide a clearer indication of the likelihood of a patent application being successful.

Prior Art Searching

Prior art searching is essential as it details whether your invention has already been publicly disclosed and whether or not proceeding with a patent application is a viable option. Prior art searching is a very detailed process as technically, anything can be considered prior art from a modern printing to an ancient tool. Although many inventions are based on improvements and variations of earlier technology, understanding what has been published is key.

Novelty prior art searches should always be conducted before filing a patent application. These searches involve searching in patent databases as well as searching the scientific and “non‑patent” literature. In addition to finding out if patents similar to your invention, prior art searches can also help you determine how unique your invention is.

Landscape Search

A landscape search is a great search option if you want to gain a better understanding of the IP terrain of a particular technology area. The results of the comprehensive search can be delivered as visual maps or landscape diagrams and provide a deeper analysis and thus a better understanding of the overall picture.

Some of the benefits of a landscape search include recognising potential technologies / technology fields to be exploited and identifying strategic and lucrative opportunities for research & development.

Due Diligence

A due diligence search is done in order to keep track of your competitors as well as a tool for trend analysis in the industry. These searches are done with a focus on analysing the patent information concerning the patent applicants, patent owners and inventors in relation to the technical field or market.

Due diligence investigations are prior to patent procurement in order to reveal any “fatality of interest” type problems. These findings can be instrumental during mergers and acquisitions, or prior to investing in other companies.

Subject Matter Searching

Our searches cover numerous technology sectors including biotechnology, engineering and pharmaceuticals. A subject matter search is very useful in determining the direction and development of a particular technology, or to ascertain where competitors are filing patent applications in a chosen technical field.

Searches can be a single report or can be reported periodically.

The Limitations of Searching

There are a multitude of resources available for searching for patent documents which may be relevant to your patent claim. Regardless of the quality and amount of searching that is performed, there is no guarantee that all relevant documents will be identified.

Some reasons why searching is limited:
• Incomplete databases
• Classification schemes can be difficult to interpret and contain errors
• Databases are not regularly updated

Watching

We often watch progress of prosecution of applications, oppositions and litigation in major industrial markets. We also monitor prosecution of applications in many countries using databases to which we have access.

These watches are conducted to ensure clients are aware of significant changes with sufficient time to prepare any necessary action in the required time. We can also report the watches in any manner you require.

We often conduct regular watches of new filings by people and companies of interest, e.g. inventors, originator companies and their licensees.

Other Capabilities Offered by AthenaIP

Trade Mark Searching
Design Searching
Utility Model Searching