However much time is spent conducting searches it is for a number of reasons impossible to be completely sure that every relevant item has been found. First the databases are sometimes incomplete. In addition, the classification schemes can be difficult to interpret and mistakes are sometimes made in classifying documents and in searching the correct classes. There is also a delay before documents are captured by databases, and of course since patents are not usually published for at least eighteen months, there is a time lag before a completely up-to-date search can be made.

FB Rice has an experienced team of searching staff located in our Sydney office. We are equipped to perform patent, trade mark and design searches in Australia.