Is A Patent Search Required?

Hi, I'm John Rizvi, the patent professor, having been a patent attorney for 20 years, and a professor of patent law for 15. I often get the same questions from inventors regarding the patent search. One of the most common is whether or not the patent search is required. There is no requirement that an inventor have a patent search done prior to proceeding with a patent. However, most inventors want to know whether or not their idea is really a new idea before they move forward. You want to make money with your idea. If someone else already has your idea patented, not only will you not make money from the idea, but you could end up being sued and found to infringe their rights and owe them money. There are times however, when an inventor might decide to skip the search and go directly towards a patent filing. Although this is not uncommon, it does come with some risks. There are some pros and cons to this approach that I'm available to discuss with you. The important thing is that you understand these before making a decision. If you have questions regarding the patent search call me, John Rizvi, the patent professor, let me make patenting easy for you.