PATENT RESEARCH AND CONSULTING

My extended experience in the patent area provides me with an in-depth understanding of the importance of efficient and result-driven work and allows me to provide high-level services to my clients.

I search in many databases, e.g. the European Patent Office (EPO), the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), the USPTO, the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and in national and international patent registers.

Besides conventional searches using given key-words and classification (IPC, EPC, US),  I offer the use of iterative search strategies, which use the knowledge and experience of patent office searchers and examiners by tracking the citations listed as prior art on documents identified as being pertinent during an initial search.

I search mainly in the German and English languages; additionally, my knowledge of the French language supports me in drafting meaningful search language, reviewing documents and analyzing results.

Upon request I will discuss my proposed search strategy directly with the engineering staff of my clients.   I also support designers and engineers in documenting inventions in such a manner that internal or outside patent counsel may start drafting patent applications directly, using their time in a most efficient way.

I provide: 

• novelty searches
• prior-art searches
• opposition/nullity searches
• legal status inquiries
• name searches
• trade mark searches
• design searches