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Software Patent Prior Art Search Process

IP Legal Services conducts international prior art searches using the commercial Thomson Innovation Patent Search Engine as well as the U.S.PTO database. The patent attorney requires the following information for conducting a prior art search for a software patent application

The steps involved in the software process Identify which of the above steps(s) you consider to be novel over the prior art A description of the components of the software system used to implement the software invention. A working example of the overall process flow of the software invention.

Software Patent Application Process

The patent attorney requires the following information for drafting a software patent application:

Current state of the art Advantages of the software inventive concept over the current art. A detailed process description of the software invention. Ensure that all the important steps of the software invention are identified such that the method steps depict the software invention completely. Most importantly identify the method steps which you consider are novel over the prior art. Flow diagrams and system diagrams for understanding of the software invention with an explanation of the diagrams.