The need for a Free Patent Search Training course is very intense around the world. State of the art Patent Search is becoming an important function of all Research and Development centers across the world. The reason is simple. The European Union estimates that about 20 billion Euros are spent every year in Europe alone trying to research and find out inventions that are already patented.
If some invention is already patented how the researchers who are specialists in their chosen fields do not know this is a good question that can be easily answered. The world has about forty-five Million Patent Documents and not all are available in the same language and not all are available online. And most importantly only two per cent of the patents granted go in to commercial exploitation and so the very knowledge that some thing is patented will not be available unless a through and intensive patent search that covers all world databases is done.
This is again a difficult task as the patent documents are not available in one database. The largest Patent issuing authority in the world is the United States Patent and Trademark Office that has about 33 million patents issued from 1790 onwards in its database. But you can search through the database only from the year 1976 using free search queries as you may make with Google. And for Pre 1976 Patents, you need to search either with the exact number of the patent application or you need to search the US class that applies. Alternatively you can use expensive patent databases where depending on your subscription and the database selected, you are billed for the search and for viewing the results separately. If you want to look at just Five hundred patent documents, which is quite normal your costs will shoot up dramatically and many in the developing world cannot afford the luxury of all this.
In addition you must also go through Non-Patent Literature and find out if the invention has been published in any scientific journal.
Now this is a very difficult task unless you are thoroughly trained in both the subject where you are seeking a patent and in patent law and patent search methodologies.
The numbers of people who are available to do the patent search work are in short supply around the world and this remains a very expensive service. The United States for example is in short supply of at least 5000 Patent Attorneys notwithstanding the fact that it has a million Attorneys. In developing countries that are trying to become scientific powers the lack of this skill set is particularly acute. A very large country like India with a population of over 1 billion people has just about 700 licensed Patent Agents and Attorneys and even out of this not all completely focus on Patents alone or patent search alone. The number of Patent Search specialists is in very short supply around the world.
The position is so bad that the compensation paid to qualified people is very high and at the same time, many corporations do not have the money to invest in the services of a full time Patent Search specialist. This is particularly true of small companies in the United States who cannot afford to invest in a full time Patent Search specialist. Many inventors therefore try to do the patent search themselves but they keep their fingers crossed until the official examination report comes to them in a positive way.
The Patent Search website Tmpsearchers.com has started a Free Patent Search Training course online. We can train you online wherever you live and the lessons and exercises are sent on the basis of modules, each module increasing in complexity and depth of knowledge. Once you master the fundamentals, you are taught the basic and advanced methods of patent search of various free databases and some paid databases. The Patent Search Training course is offered free till December 31, 2005.
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