Electronics and Semiconductors Prior Art Search Process
IP Legal Services conducts international prior art searches using the commercial Thomson Innovation(A Thomson Reuters Product) Patent Search Engine as well as the U.S.PTO database
Business Method Patent Application Process
The following information is required by the patent attorney for drafting a business method patent application:
Components of the electronic system Identify one or more components of the electronic system/assembly that you think is novel over the prior art.Utility of the electronic assembly Current state of the art (compare with your inventive concept) Advantages of the electronic inventive concept over the current art A detailed technical description of each of the components of the electronic system and how they relate with one another. Identify component(s) or method steps that you believe are novel.
3. General U.S.PTO Statistics of Electronics and Semiconductor Patents
Given the increasing innovations in the electronics, telecommunication and semiconductor sectors, there has been an exponential rise in the number of new patent applications being filed in the consumer electronics, and communications industry.
Patents in these sectors may be broadly classified into Digital Electronics, Analog Electronics, Micro Electronics, Fuzzy Electronics, Application Specific Integrated Circuit Design and Semiconductor devices.
There has been a significant increase in electrical and electronic patents being filed and granted by the U.S. patent office since 1996. About 816,349 electrical patents have been granted till December 31, 2004 and every year approximately 60,000 electrical patents are granted. The U.S. Patent And Trademark Office has approximately granted 370,000 semiconductor patents, 19,279 global positioning system patents, and 75,109 electronics and communication patents. (The above numbers are approximate and obviously increase over time)