25 + Tips focused on Google Patents as the primary search tool so professional patent search experience is not required
1. Google Patents is the easiest search tool, and perhaps the best
If you can do a Google search you can use Google patents. You don’t need to know anything about Boolean searching and you don’t need to know much of anything about patent law. Type in a few key terms and see if your invention is new. Print the document or write down fully identifiable information for the most relevant document your find. (Example: US Pat. No. 1,234,567)
The first step of patent searching:
2. Write out a feature list:
Text searching is the most common form of patent searching. In order to make the most of text searching, you should work from a feature list. Then you can search combinations of features using tools like Google patents. Write down terms and phrases that are important to your invention.
driver's seat, seat warmer, headrest, electric motor, tilting headrestZero in on a phrase using quotes like below, but be careful. Using quotes removes all documents without the exact quote.
driver's seat, seat warmer, headrest, "electric motor" tilting headrest3. Use synonyms:
Use synonyms to broaden the scope of your patent search. The google patents advanced search features can allow you to use the synonyms in a single search.
In a simple Google Patents search:
car motor
automobile engineAfter clicking advanced search at the bottom of the google patents search page …
… you can search like this:
4. Patent searching isn’t just about patents:
In a patent application, an examiner can use books, articles, websites and just about anything else that is available to the public to reject a patent application. When you look to see if your invention is new, think broadly about where someone else might have disclosed your invention. Make notes of the most relevant things you find whether they are patents or not. NOTE OF CAUTION: Your own disclosures of your invention can be used against your in the US and abroad when applying for a patent. A Baton Rouge patent attorney can help you understand how to best protect against your own disclosures.
Getting Deeper into Patent Searching
5. Broaden your search terms and narrow your search terms:
If your invention uses a screw, think broadly and think narrowly to find new related search terms. You should probably search for fasteners generally and for the particular type of screw that you need.
screw, fastener, Philips screw6. Search for substitutes:
If you are searching for a screw as an invention feature, ask yourself “could a nail work?” If the answer is yes, search for a nail.
screw, nail7. Critical Features
If omitting a part or feature would cause your invention not to work, then that feature might be a critical feature. Brainstorm every feature that meets these criteria and put them on the feature list. Identifying critical features often gets to the heart of what an really invention is. If you hire a Louisiana patent attorney this concept may be explored with some considerable additional depth.
When You Find a Document that is Really Close to Your Invention:
8. Tell Google to “Find Prior Art”
When you find an old patent or other document that is particularly relevant, it makes sense to find out if there are other similar documents that may be even more relevant. WARNING: This is a date sensitive search that looks for similar patent and relevant references that are older than the reference you are searching from. Just click the “Find Prior Art” button to see a new list of similar documents. A Baton Rouge patent attorney can help you determine what references may be prior art to your invention. (Something that is more relevant after you have a patent application filing date) It is important to understand that this search feature is generally not keyed to the relevant date for your invention unless you manually set the relevant date.
9. Tell Google to Look for “Similar” applications.
Again, if you have found a good relevant document, use that document to find more documents. Click “Similar” and you will find many similar patents and applications. This is different than “Find Prior Art” because it is not date sensitive.
10. Backward search the most relevant reference:
Backward searching is checking the references that were cited in the application. If a patent examiner thought something was relevant, you might want to look into it also. In Google patents you can click on the “Patent citations” for patent documents and the “Non-Patent citations” link for non-patent literature.
11. Forward search the most relevant reference:
A patent examiner working on a later patent application may cite an earlier patent application. Find the earlier applications by clicking “cited by” in Google Patents.
12. Use patent classifications to your advantage
The Patent Office keeps really similar documents in groups called classifications. Use this to your advantage when you find something really close to what you are looking for. In Google Patents you might see a box like the following:
Without knowing anything about patent classification, you can narrow your search a little, a lot, or a whole lot. Google is offering to let you narrow by a whole lot by clicking the “B60R21/207” link in blue. (see image above) The text after the link is a description of what type of narrowing you will get by clicking the link. But you two more options for narrowing your search. One is obvious: Click “View 12 more classifications” and you will get other options for similar very narrow searches. However, If you click on the descriptive text, i.e. “Arrangements for storing…” you will get broad and narrow classification options.
You may want to choose something from that list which starts with a very broad classification group and descends to a very narrow list. No matter what you select you will be narrowing your results. The question is how much.
If you find a useful classification you can use it in your searches by typing in “CPC:” then the classification.
backrest CPC:B60R
backrest CPC:B60R21
backrest CPC:B60R21/207Don’t get stuck in the weeds! Classification searches can be helpful, but they should only be a small part of your total searching.
More Advanced Patent Search Techniques
13. Search your competitors
assignee:"Haliburton"
14. Patents can have families, look for them
Technologies evolve and so do inventions. Inventors sometimes add new features and related applications. You can quickly find the related applications by clicking on the “Global Dossier” link.
That link will take you to the USPTO Global Dossier page which displays the family of patent applications. If you then click on “App. Date” you can sort the applications by filing date. That allows you to quickly see where the patent application family originated and the countries where applications were filed. Note: this is likely not a complete data set, but it is very comprehensive for the price of free.
15. Focus on the differences
If the closest reference you have found is missing a few features, try searching for different combinations of the missing features. You may find a reference that is closer than what you thought was best.
Continue reading Patent Searching Before You Hire a Patent Attorney
Most inventors hope to either actively participate in the commercialization of their invention or license the invention so they may receive a royalty for such commercialization efforts. Working with a patent attorney to seek patent protection is only a portion of the typical patent based business. 
