Searching IP

Why do I need to search IP information?

Timely, accurate, and cost-effective information is essential in all areas of product development and intellectual property (IP) creation. This information assists you in:

making decisions as to whether to proceed with the development of an idea;
making decisions as to whether to make patent, trade mark and design applications;
watching your competitors' technological developments and intellectual property activity;
ensuring that you do not infringe others’ intellectual property rights; and
ensuring that your intellectual property rights are not infringed.

Having no intellectual property information, or out-of-date, inaccurate information, can be very costly! You could commit time, effort and money in developing an idea and seeking intellectual property protection, only to find that the idea has been developed or that you are infringing the rights of others.

Madderns encourages you to begin the process of searching yourself. Initial searching is valuable as a means of narrowing down ideas before obtaining more comprehensive professional advice, but the results can be misleading and there are many hidden traps. We advise you to always refer your results to an attorney for review.

How can I carry out my own search?

You can carry out a large amount of searching online. And the good news is that much of the information is free! However, it is important to consider the information coverage of the database you are searching, and how best to use it to find the information you are looking for.

Some IP databases will hold information on multiple types of intellectual property (eg. patents, trade marks and designs), while others will hold information on just one. The database may cover multiple countries or only one. Also, the database will only cover documents published over a certain time period. Most databases define their coverage and this information should be consulted before conducting a search.

All databases vary. They use different syntax for things like part word searching, truncation searching, and searching for similar sounding words. It is essential to know the language of a particular database to get the most out of it. You should consult database-specific information to ensure you use each database appropriately.

IP in Australia

IP Australia's databases can be accessed through the IP Autralia website, and they provide a variety of bibliographic and status information on Australian patents, trade marks and designs. The IP Australia trade mark database, in particular provides comprehensive information on word and image trade marks.

Step-by-step guide to an Australian trade mark search.

However, Australian patent information is held in several different databases, each offering different sets of data. Often, it is necessary to use a combination of these databases to complete a required search.

Database providers such as Thomson Reuters and Dialog also provide database access. However, these are pay services and they require a high level of experience to be used cost effectively.

IP in other countries

A variety of country-specific intellectual property office websites provide relevant information. Of particular note are the services provided by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ).

The USPTO provides access to its patent and trade mark databases via its website. In particular, quite comprehensive, free searching of its trade mark database is provided via TESS (Trade Mark Electronic Search System). Likewise, free and comprehensive searching of the IPONZ trade mark database is also available via their website.

A wealth of multi-country patent information is available from other websites, particularly the esp@cenet website, which is maintained by the European Patent Office. This site provides powerful search capabilities and allows full copies of patent documents to be obtained.

Step-by-step guide to an international patent search.

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