Patent Search in Three Simple Steps
Summary
TLDRIn this video, patent attorney John Farrell outlines a simple three-step process for conducting a quick patent search to determine the novelty of an invention. He advises starting with a general internet search using keywords related to the invention, then using Google Patents for a more focused search on existing patents. Lastly, he introduces the use of Chat GPT-4 for additional insights, cautioning about its potential inaccuracies and privacy concerns. Farrell also mentions the USPTO's search tool as an alternative, though less user-friendly, and emphasizes the importance of professional consultation for a thorough patent search, especially for startups and manufacturers.
Takeaways
- 🔍 **Keyword Research**: Start by using search engines with relevant keywords to see if similar inventions exist.
- 🚲 **Example Given**: For an invention like 'automatic transmission for bicycles', search engines can provide insights into existing products.
- 🕵️♂️ **Caution with Results**: Be cautious of search results that may not be exact matches or represent hypothetical inventions.
- 🖼️ **Image Search**: Use image search to visually compare your invention with existing products.
- 📚 **Google Patents**: Utilize Google Patents for a more professional search, including issued patents and applications.
- 🌐 **Natural Language Search**: Google Patents allows for natural language searching, making it easier to find variations of an invention.
- 📖 **Interpreting Patents**: Be careful when interpreting patents, as they can be complex and may not directly relate to your invention.
- 🤖 **Chat GPT**: Consider using Chat GPT for a quick search, but be aware of its limitations and potential for inaccuracies.
- 🗓️ **Time Limitation**: Note that Chat GPT's data is limited to a certain time (as of 2021), which may not include the most recent inventions.
- 🇺🇸 **USPTO Search Tool**: As an alternative, use the USPTO website for patent searches, although it may be less user-friendly.
- 💼 **Professional Help**: For a thorough search, especially in a business context, consider hiring a patent attorney.
Q & A
What is the first step in determining if an invention is new?
-The first step is to use a search engine and type in keywords related to the invention to see what results come up.
Why should one be careful about the search results from a general internet search?
-One should be careful because search results may contain aspirational or hypothetical inventions that do not actually exist, and the search engine might not find all the words in the query.
What is the significance of searching for pictures related to the invention?
-Searching for pictures can provide a visual representation of existing products and ideas in the market, which can help in understanding what others are doing.
How does the Google Patents database assist in a patent search?
-Google Patents provides a database of issued patents and patent applications, allowing for natural language searching to find patents closely related to the invention.
What challenges might one face when interpreting patents found in a search?
-It can be difficult to determine whether a prior patent describes the same invention or a related one performed differently, requiring careful interpretation.
Why is it advised to consult a patent professional if a similar patent is found?
-A patent professional can help interpret the prior art and determine if the found patent is truly the same as the invention in question.
What is the role of Chat GPT in a patent search according to the script?
-Chat GPT is a tool that can be used for a quick search, but it has limitations such as hallucination (making up information) and privacy concerns.
What does 'hallucination' mean in the context of Chat GPT?
-Hallucination refers to Chat GPT's tendency to create fictional responses if it cannot find accurate information related to the search terms.
Why might the data from Chat GPT be limited?
-As of the script's knowledge cutoff in 2021, Chat GPT's training data is time-limited and not connected to the internet for current data.
What is the alternative method mentioned for searching patents and why might it be less preferred?
-The USPTO website's search tool is an alternative, but it is less preferred because it is not as user-friendly as Google's search engine.
Why might someone still want a professional patent search even after doing a quick search?
-A professional patent search is more thorough and can provide clarity on the prior art, which is especially important for startups or when raising venture financing.
Outlines
🔎 How to Conduct a Quick Patent Search
John Farrell, a Silicon Valley patent attorney, introduces a video tutorial on how to perform a quick patent search in three simple steps. The first step involves using a search engine to look up keywords related to your invention. He advises caution when interpreting search results, as they may include hypothetical or aspirational inventions that don't actually exist. Farrell also suggests searching for pictures related to your invention for a visual understanding of existing products. The second step is to use the Google Patents database to search for existing patents and patent applications. This database allows for natural language searching, making it easier to find variations of an invention. However, he warns that interpreting patent documents can be difficult and advises consulting a patent professional if unsure. The third step, which he finds incredibly powerful but also raises privacy concerns, is to use Chat GPT-4. He cautions that Chat GPT-4 may 'hallucinate' and create fictional inventions if it can't find accurate information, so it's important to verify any results. Lastly, he mentions the USPTO website as an alternative for searching patents, though it's less user-friendly than Google.
🤔 Considerations for Patenting Your Invention
In the second paragraph, John Farrell discusses the potential privacy issues with Chat GPT-4 and the importance of being cautious about the search terms used to avoid revealing too much about your invention. He also addresses the 'hallucination' problem of Chat GPT-4, which may provide inaccurate or fictional results if it cannot find relevant information. Farrell suggests verifying the existence of any products mentioned by Chat GPT-4. He notes that Chat GPT-4's training data is time-limited, meaning it may not have the most current information. He also mentions that patent applications are not made public until 18 months after their filing date, creating a gap in searchable data. Lastly, Farrell suggests that while a quick patent search can be done by oneself, for more thorough analysis, especially in situations like startups raising funds or preparing to manufacture, it's advisable to have a professional patent search conducted by an attorney who can help interpret the results and understand the implications of prior art.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡patent search
💡invention
💡patent attorney
💡keywords
💡Google patents
💡prior art
💡natural language search
💡chat GPT
💡USPTO
💡patent applications
Highlights
Introduction to the importance of patent search
Option to hire a patent attorney or conduct a self-search
Step 1: Using a search engine with relevant keywords
Caution about search results containing partial keywords
Step 2: Searching for pictures related to the invention
Advantage of picture search for visual representation
Step 3: Utilizing the Google Patents database
Benefit of Google Patents for natural language searching
Caution when interpreting prior patents
Advice on consulting a patent professional
Step 4: Using the chat GPT tool for patent search
Concerns about privacy with chat GPT
Issue of 'hallucination' with chat GPT
Verification of products suggested by chat GPT
Limitations of chat GPT data up to 2021
Alternative method: Using the USPTO search tool
Advantages of a professional patent search
Considerations for patenting an invention
Transcripts
so you've invented something new and
you're thinking about building a product
or getting a patent on your new
invention well how do you know it's
really new how do you know that someone
hasn't invented it before you
well maybe what you need is a patent
search now it's possible to hire a
patent attorney like me of course to do
the search for you but it's also
relatively easy to do a quick and dirty
search yourself and so in this video I
want to teach you how to do a quick and
simple patent search really in three
simple steps maybe taking less than
three minutes hi my name is John Farrell
I'm a Silicon Valley patent attorney
welcome back to my channel now the first
step in determining whether your
invention is new or not is really pretty
obvious just go to your favorite search
engine and type in some keywords related
to your invention and let's say that
your invention is an automatic
transmission for bicycles then go to
Bing or go to Chrome and type in the
words automatic transmission for
bicycles and just see what turns up now
if your keywords are like most you can
be sure that the search engine will find
something it may find search results not
containing all of the words for example
it may contain automatic transmissions
for bicycles but scratch out the word
automatic or scratch out the word
transmission and of course this isn't
really helpful in determining whether
someone else has an automatic
transmission for bicycles so be careful
about the search results that come up
and along the same lines don't get too
freaked out if it looks like somebody
else has made your invention before you
it's important to carefully look at the
search results that come up because
oftentimes the search results contain
aspirational or hypothetical inventions
that somebody would like to see but
actually where no invention currently
exists so just be careful when analyzing
the search results from an internet
search now related to this internet
search I also like this search pictures
where I'll type in the word picture
colon and then the words automatic
transmission for bicycle or whatever the
invention is I just think that pictures
are a good way to search an invention it
really gives me some idea of what others
are doing and what others are thinking
about products that currently exist in
the marketplace so when you're doing the
internet search using your web browser
also search for pictures because I think
this will be super helpful now a second
type of search that you can do and one
that I think is very helpful and one
that I do as a professional often is to
go to my web browser go to your web
browser and type in the words Google
patents now this will take you to a
database of all of the existing issued
patents as well as patent applications
contained in the Google database and
also there are quite a few foreign
patents there as well now once you get
to the Google Patent database case in
the search bar type in the keywords of
your invention again something like
automatic transmission for bicycles or
really whatever phrases might describe
your invention it's a natural language
search bar so you can enter whatever
words are appropriate and it will try to
parse your words in a way that will most
closely search your invention now
obviously the advantage of using the
Google patents database is that you get
patents back and you'll be able to
search a stack of patents that are most
closely related to your invention and
these can be super helpful and as I said
as a patent attorney I really like that
it allows natural language searching and
it just makes it really easy for me to
find lots of variations on a single
invention now again with the pads and
maybe even more so with the patents you
have to be very careful when
interpreting the prior art that it turns
up patterns are very difficult to read
and sometimes it's hard to know whether
prior patent is describing your
invention or a related invention that's
just performed differently or in a
different way so be very careful when
trying to interpret other patents and
don't get too discouraged if you find
patents that look like they might be
closed if you're concerned about it if
you're worried about whether someone's
patent is really the same as your
invention talk to a patent professional
and have them help you work through the
priority this can often be done in a
30-minute consultation and can really
ease your mind with respect to your
search results now the third step for
the protocol or process I might suggest
to you for a quick and dirty patent
search is to utilize the new tool chat
GPT now this is an incredibly powerful
tool and I've really enjoyed playing
with it although as you might have
discerned from some of my prior videos I
still have a lot of concerns about the
privacy issues related to chat GPT so
when you use chat gbt two things to keep
in mind number one be very careful about
the Search terms that you use in your
invention you don't want to teach chat
GPT what your invention is and then the
second issue related to chat GPT is this
issue of hallucination one problem with
chat GPT is it's trained to talk if it
can't find text that relates accurately
to your invention it will just make
stuff up it will hallucinate inventions
just to have something to say it may be
pure fiction but it will always try to
provide you with a response so typing in
for example automatic transmissions for
bicycles it's going to produce some
results it will tell you about different
manufacturers producing different
products with product names just make
sure that those products are real for
example if it gives a product name made
by mono of Japan make sure you go to the
Shimano website and verify that that
product really exists that said I've
really been impressed by the results
that Chad GPT produces and you have to
understand that chat GPT is trained with
just about all of the text that was ever
written and so if the word automatic
transmissions for bicycles for example
shows up in its database it's going to
be able to produce results containing
those words so I find it useful it's
interesting it's not always accurate oh
and one more thing about chat GPT aside
from the fact that there may be privacy
issues is that chat GPT at least as of
this date with Chachi bt4 the training
database is time limited as of some date
in 2021 so it's not yet connected to the
internet with current data although it
will be soon reportedly so when you're
doing searches related to inventions
prior inventions on your invention on
your new product just keep in mind that
the data it's producing is probably good
only until about 2021 and by the way
this relates to patent applications as
well
patent applications are generally not
made public until 18 months after their
priority date so there's a big block of
patent applications that we just don't
have access to and that we can't search
and then finally although this isn't the
preferred method probably for most
people looking for a quick and dirty
search you can go to the USPTO website
and use their Search tool to help you
find patents and patent applications
that have either been filed or issued
now the problem with a USPTO website is
that the search engine is not nearly as
easy to use as that of Google so
although it's very powerful and very
granular with respect to what you can
search within a patent application or an
issued patent I just find that the
Google search engine for most people
will be easier to use okay that's about
the quick and dirty patent search that
you can do yourself
now if the patent is important let's say
you're in a startup and you're raising
money you're looking for Venture
financing or maybe you're about to start
manufacturing you still may want to go
to your patent attorney and have a
professional patent search performed it
will be a lot more thorough and your
patent attorney will be able to help you
walk through the patent search results
and understand what the prior art really
contains okay that's all I have with
respect to searches now then the next
question is even if your invention is
new and someone hasn't invented before
you or come up with the same idea before
you is it really something you should
patent should you get a patent on your
invention I talk about this question and
give you some ideas to think about in
this next video I'll see you over there
[Music]
foreign
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