Editing Prior art (section)

=== Types of prior art searches ===

====Novelty====
A "novelty search" is a prior art search that is often conducted by [[patent attorney|patent attorneys, patent agents]] or professional patent searchers before a [[patent application]] is filed. A novelty search helps an inventor determine if the invention is novel before committing the resources necessary to obtain a patent. The search may include searching in databases of patents, patent applications and other documents such as [[utility model]]s and in the [[scientific literature]]. Novelty searches can also be used to help an inventor determine what is unique about their invention. Anything not found in the prior art can be potentially patentable. [[Thomas Edison]], for example, did not get a patent on the basic concept of the light bulb. It was already patented and therefore forms part of the prior art.  Instead, Edison got a patent on his improvements to the light bulb. These improvements included a very thin filament and a reliable technique for joining the white hot filament to the room temperature lead wires.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2014/10/11/why-inventors-should-not-rely-on-their-own-search/id=51591/ |title=Mark Nowotarski, "Why Inventors Should Not Rely On Their Own Search", IPWatchdog, 11 October 2014 |access-date=13 October 2014 |archive-date=9 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109134909/http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2014/10/11/why-inventors-should-not-rely-on-their-own-search/id=51591/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A novelty search is also conducted by [[patent examiner]]s during prosecution of the patent application. For instance, examiner's search guidelines applicable to the United States are found in the U.S. [[Manual of Patent Examining Procedure]] (MPEP) 904.02 General Search Guidelines, Prior Art, Classification, and Search.<ref name="usptoSearchGL">USPTO, ''[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0900_904_02.htm#sect904.02 Manual of Patent Examining Procedure] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926191627/http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0900_904_02.htm#sect904.02 |date=2011-09-26 }}'', "General Search Guidelines [R-3] - 900 Prior Art, Classification, and Search", July 2010.</ref>

====Validity====
A "validity search" is a prior art search done after a patent issues. The purpose of a validity (or invalidity) search is to find prior art that the patent examiner overlooked so that a patent can be declared invalid. This might be done by an entity [[patent infringement|infringing, or potentially infringing, the patent]], or it might be done by a patent owner or other entity that has a financial stake in a patent to confirm the validity of a patent. [[Crowdsourcing]], where a large number of interested people search for prior art, may be effective where references would otherwise be difficult to find.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketsandpatents.com/bulletin/IPB-06152012.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719091041/http://marketsandpatents.com/bulletin/IPB-06152012.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |title=Patent Invalidity Search |last1=Nowotarski |first1=Mark |date=July 2012 |publisher=Insurance IP Bulletin |access-date=March 1, 2013}}</ref>

====Clearance====
A [[clearance search and opinion|clearance search]] is a search of issued patents to assess whether a given product or process violates someone else's existing patent. If so, then a validity search may be done to try to find prior art that would invalidate the patent. A clearance search is a search targeting patents being in force and may be limited to a particular country and group of countries, or a specific market.