How Prior Art Searches Strengthen a Patent Litigation Strategy
Patent disputes can be costly and complex. Whether a business is defending an infringement claim or preparing to enforce a patent, the available evidence can influence the case. A detailed prior art search is an important step in building an informed litigation strategy. Understanding Prior Art Prior art is any publicly available information that existed before the relevant filing or priority date of a patent. It may show that an invention, or an important part of it, was already known. Prior art can include patents, research papers, technical journals, conference materials, product manuals, catalogues, industry standards, and archived web pages. Because evidence can appear in many forms and countries, searching one database may not provide a complete picture. How Prior Art Supports Patent Litigation When a company is accused of patent infringement, the first question is often whether the asserted patent claims are valid. A patent invalidity search helps identify earlier documents th...