Patents
Patent literature, consisting of all patent texts, is an essential source of technical information for the design of new products. Furthermore, it often contains information that may allow an assessment of the validity of a new patent application intended to be filed. It is therefore good practice to carry out a patent prior art search before filing a new patent application so as to assess its patentability requirements and appropriately calibrate its scope of protection.
Trademarks
Before adopting a trademark, it is always advisable to carry out a search among earlier trademarks so as to detect identical/similar trademarks whose owners could oppose to the registration and use of the proposed trademark. This allows to safeguard economic investments that could then be challenged by third parties. Since a large number of trademarks are filed on a daily basis, it is not uncommon for one or more of them to be in conflict with a trademark of interest, thus causing confusion or other prejudice. To effectively counter this risk, a surveillance service can be adopted, thus allowing to immediately take the administrative actions to prevent the registration and then the legitimate use of the confusing trademark. This allows to avoid losing market shares and to contrast similar trademarks at limited costs, compared to the more expensive legal actions.
Designs
Designs Prior art searches allow to better focus new design filings, ensuring an adequate level of protection and minimizing possible objections that may be raised during examination at patent offices in various jurisdictions.
