Prior art search and its benefits
What is a prior art ? Anything that proves your invention already exists in the public domain is called prior art. Prior art can be anything that exists in the public domain. For ex: , a video, a brochure, a patent, an article, a photograph, a comic strip are all considered to be prior art if it is relevant to your invention. Even scholarly thesis kept in the library of a university can be considered prior art, provided the thesis is publicly accessible. What is a prior art search ? An invention is patentable only if it fulfils all the criteria of patentability. Prior art search is conducted to determine if an invention is novels and non-obivous, or not. What are the benefits of a prior art search ? A prior art search uncovers knowledge that exists prior to the invention. Knowledge discovered in a prior art search helps an inventor get an accurate idea of novelty and non-obviousness of his invention. This can enable an inventor to rework his invention and patent...
