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
Mechanical 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
Components of the mechanical system Identify one or more components of the mechanical system/assembly that you think is novel over the prior art. Utility of the mechanical assembly .
The following information is required by the patent attorney for conducting a patent search for a process based mechanical invention.
The steps of the overall mechanical or manufacturing process. Identify one or more of the above steps that you think is novel over the prior art. Utility of the mechanical or manufacturing process
Mechanical Patent Application Process
The following information is required by the patent attorney for drafting a product based mechanical patent application:
Components of the mechanical system Identify one or more components of the mechanical system/assembly that you think is novel over the prior art. Utility of the mechanical assembly Current state of the art (compare with your inventive concept) Advantages of the mechanical inventive concept over the current art A detailed technical description of each of the components of the mechanical system and how they relate with one another. Lay emphasis on the component(s) that you believe is novel. System, subsystem and component drawings for a clear understanding of the mechanical invention.
The patent attorney requires the following information for drafting a process based mechanical patent application
The steps of the overall mechanical or manufacturing process Identify one or more components of the mechanical system/assembly that you think is novel over the prior art. Utility of the mechanical or manufacturing process. Current state of the art (compare with your inventive concept) Advantages of the mechanical inventive concept over the current art A detailed technical description of each of the components of the mechanical system and how they relate with one another. Lay emphasis on the component(s) that you believe is novel. Process flow drawings for a clear understanding of the mechanical invention.
In addition to the above, the patent attorney requires drawings to clearly understand the inventive concept. This includes as many figure illustrations as possible. You could also e-mail or mail us CAD drawings, digital photographs of your assembly, hand drawn sketches etc. To the extent possible, please provide plan, elevation, section or perspective views. Note that some mechanical inventive concepts may not require mechanical drawings such as material compositions, laminated structures etc.
General U.S.PTO Statistics of Mechanical Patents
Mechanical patents were the earliest class of patents filed and include everything from the smallest fasteners to the largest industrial machines. Mechanical patents have the largest number of granted patents compared to any other patent class.
The U.S. Patent And Trademark Office has granted approximately 1,201,284 mechanical patents until December 31, 2004 and about 60,000 mechanical patents are filed and granted each year. That’s a lot of patents! (The above numbers are approximate and obviously increase over time)
Review the adjacent figure for a quantitative sector-wise distribution of mechanical patents into advanced materials patents, automotive technologies patents, micro-engineering technologies patents, process engineering patents and structural engineering patents.