Patenttiselvitykset

Patenttiselvitykset, often translated as patent searches or patentability assessments, are crucial processes in the intellectual property landscape. These searches are conducted to determine the novelty and inventive step of an invention, which are key criteria for obtaining a patent. A thorough patenttiselvitys involves examining existing prior art, which includes published patent applications, granted patents, scientific literature, and other publicly available information that might disclose similar inventions.

The primary goal of a patenttiselvitys is to assess whether an invention is truly new and non-obvious compared to what is already known. This helps inventors and companies avoid investing resources in pursuing patent protection for inventions that are unlikely to be granted. It also serves to identify potential patent infringers by revealing existing patents that might be relevant to a company's products or technologies.

There are different types of patenttiselvitykset. A preliminary search might be done early in the innovation process to gauge the general patentability. A more comprehensive search is typically performed before filing a patent application to ensure the application is well-defined and to anticipate potential objections from patent examiners. Freedom-to-operate searches are another important type, aimed at determining whether a product or process can be manufactured, used, or sold without infringing existing patents held by others. These searches are usually conducted by patent attorneys or specialized patent search firms who possess the expertise and access to relevant databases.