Our Services
We can help you make the most of your IP:
Australian and global patent and non-patent literaure searching
We can search patents and non-patent literature for the purposes of:
patentability searching
freedom to operate searching
invalidation searching
We use a wide variety of patent and non-patent databases, including the AI powered Ambercite database that Mike has helped develop.
Australian and global design searching
We can prior art and freedom to operate searching in Australian, New Zealand and global design databases.
Trade mark and brand searching
Besides searching for your proposed trade mark in Australian, New Zealand and global trade mark databases, we can also search for similar marks in domain name, social media, internet, and global search databases. This can provide a well-rounded view on who else is using your proposed brand, and for which services.
Patent analytics and insights
You may be looking to commercialise, buy or sell a patent or group of patents, but there are many questions you may be considering.
Would this be worthwhile?
What is your point of difference?
Will be there be demand for your product, and where will this demand be from?
Is your patent worth keeping, buying or selling?
We can use global IP data sources to provide you with an easy to understand and data based view of the quality and potential demand for your intellectual property. This can include the identification of potential licensing partners.
These are unique services, but are based on many years of providing actionable IP intelligence to a range of Australian and global clients, both big and small.
Standardised service
Every service we supply is customised to meet the specific needs of our clients. However, in many cases we can base these on one of our standardised services. By doing so, we can both help us keep our pricing competitive, and provide clients with an expectation of what they will receive.
These standard reports include:
Patentability searching - Is your invention novel?
InventionScape - What are the prospects for your invention?
PatentScape - What is the patent landscape for your patent?
BrandScape - Can I use my proposed brand in Australia and elsewhere?
LicensScape - Identifies licensing candidates for your intellectual property
Tax R&D Patent Search - Provides documented evidence to support your R&D tax claim
PatentWatch - Monitor status changes in a patent you are interested in
IPWatch - Watch for new patents being filed in an area you are interested in
CompetitorWatch - Watch for new patents, trademarks or designs for your competitors
Example of patent data
Graph showing 19% annual growth in filing of ‘internet of things’ (IOT) patents in Australia
Some examples of services provided - and benefits to clients
Benefits to clients
Clients and their patent attorneys were able to make an informed assessment of whether their proposed invention was patentable, and if so, which aspects were patentable.
In some cases clients have elected not to proceed with an patent filing or product filing, saving money that might have otherwise been lost. In other cases, the client and the patent attorney was able to focus the patent application on these unique features.
Services provided
Searched the patent and non-patent literature to help determine if a proposed new invention was patentable.
The inventions have included a range of technologies including heavy engineering, mining , food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, building materials and concepts , IT and consumer inventions. Clients ranged from global multinationals to keen inventors with good ideas.
Clients could clearly understand the point of difference for their invention, and were able to confidently make decisions about their IP.
Used patentability search results to provide a schematic overview of the point of difference for client inventions.
Searched and reviewed active Australian, global and recent PCT patent and design filings to help determine if clients have ‘freedom to operate’ for their proposed inventions.
Clients and their patent attorneys were either able to commercialise their inventions knowing they should be free from allegations of IP infringement - or knew that they should avoid doing so, saving the legal costs and consequences of being accused of IP infringement. In some cases, the clients have even recognized that their own designs were being registered in other jurisdictions such as China - and so were able to take follow up action.
The patent owning client was able to direct investment toward these ‘nuisance patents’, so improving their position in cross-licensing negotiations.
Compared the patents for a key technology for a global company based in Japan to those of their closest competitor, so identifying their relative strength - and identified which of the client’s patents caused the most problems for their competitor.
Client was able to negotiate a better commercial outcome with their competitor.
Searched the prior art for a competitor’s patent that was blocking a client using both conventional and advanced AI based patent searching tool, and found a new document that weakened the position of the competitor.
The client was able to enter into licensing discussions with the identified licencees.
Analysed patents belonging to a client and the results of a targeted patent search, and identified some potential licensees for technology of the clients.
Clients and their investors were able to make much more informed decisions about whether to invest in these technology.
Searched recent patents and non-patent literature to identify the most active filers of patents for a technology of interest for a client, and where these patents were being filed i.e ‘PatentScape’.
The client was able to confidently proceed with commercialising their brand.
Searched a range of global trademark, social media, and domain name sources to determine if a proposed brand could be used in the markets that a client was interested in.