Patent Search Firm

To find a good patent search firm, you’ll want to consider all of your options. First, you can take a look on the internet as to what types of search firms are available to you, and what the costs associated with patent searching would be for your particular invention.

Below is a list of 10 different patent search firms that can be used for such services. Note that this list is not an endorsement, but rather a list of 10 firms that provide this kind of service.

Cardinal Intellectual Property

  • Cardinal is based in Illinois and provides a variety of intellectual property services.
  • Cardinal provides PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) searches, which are searches conducted on international patents. The company also prepares preliminary opinions across all subject areas.
  • Such searches are led by a research team that is overseen by a patent attorney who operates as the project manager.
  • The company has an experienced team of over 150 U.S.-based research professionals, a majority of which have masters, Ph.D.s, and/or law degrees.
  • The company has been hired by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 2006 to conduct PCT searches.

Clarivate Analytics

Clarivate has office locations in Pennsylvania, Beijing, Tokyo, and London. The company helps protect some of the world’s most valuable brands through its services. They support 91 of the top 100 global law firms, while also monitoring for global search traffic, active marketplaces, and message boards for brand abuse.

CPA Global

  • CPA Global is based in Jersey, Channel Islands with additional office locations in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, London, and additional locations throughout the United States. 
  • The company serves over 100,000 customers.
  • With such a large global presence, operating 24 offices across four continents and 12 countries, CPA Global understands the importance of the global footprint that inventions have.
  • The company has a strong and experienced leadership team, consisting of nine individuals who come from multiple backgrounds with a significant amount of experience.

Planet Patent

Planet Patent is based in Virginia and was founded by Glen Kotapish, a professional patent researcher. The company is employed by knowledgeable and experienced staff who can assist you in a variety of patent-type searches. Novelty searches for mechanical, electronic, and consumer product inventions start as low as $400.

Bay Area IP Group, LLC

Bay Area IP Group is based in San Francisco, California. The company has additional offices in Nevada, Washington, D.C., and Beijing. The company provides patent services for a variety of industries, including large and small companies, law firms, and individuals.

DPSFiles/Patent Vendor Database

DPSFiles is based in Virginia and provides professional patent search services. Prices are listed on the website and include patentability/prior art/novelty searches ranging from $500 to $1,000.

National Patent Services

National Patent Services was established in 1994 and appears to operate as an online website platform with no brick-and-mortar office location. The company has four team leaders, each of whom has significant experience in various industries, including the mechanical, electronics, chemical, pharmaceutical, and medical industries, among others. Some of their services include standard searches, as well as validity and infringement searches.

TPR International

  • TPR International is based in San Diego, California, and has been in service since 1995.
  • The company provides worldwide patent searches throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
  • The company has experienced staff that each bring over 10 years of experience to the role.
  • The company’s patent searches will provide customers with patents that were issued both in the U.S. and internationally, while also providing non-patent literature.
  • Lower cost options are available for narrow searches.

Sherman Patent Search Group, LLC

Sherman Patent Search Group is based in Pasadena, California. On its website, the company indicates that it values transparent billing, and as such, provides a list of pricing (average pricing, not exact). For example, a patent search costs on average $1,000 and can take 1-2 weeks for turnaround. Rush services are also available for a higher fee.

Reed Tech IP Services

  • Reed Tech is a LexisNexis company that provides a variety of intellectual property services, including patent searches.
  • Specifically referred to as ‘prior art’ searches on its site, you can utilize this company’s services for patent searches.

If you need help running a patent search or need assistance filing for patent protection, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel’s marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law, and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with, or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.