Before doing a legal registration for intellectual properties, you or your business must conduct several research and investigations. One of the most critical research is related to legal search. It is a complicated and long process, however, legal research assistance can help you with this time-consuming work.
This article will talk about this kind of assistance service. It includes patent search, trademark search, copyright search, and industrial design search. So, to understand it easily, it is better to not skip this information!
Legal registration extends beyond trademarks to include geographical aspects. Explore the substantive examination of applications for the registration of marks.
What Legal Research Assistance is
Legal search assistance is a service that provides support in finding and retrieving legal information such as legal documents, copyright search, patent search, trademark search, and many more. A law firm usually provides this service by utilizing tools, databases, online repositories, and libraries to efficiently find the information regarding the legal search.
Patent Search
Patent search is the process of researching existing patents to determine if a certain invention or innovation is new and has not been patented already. The research also includes “prior arts”, including issued patents. This research is important for inventors, businesses, and other professionals before they obtain a patent for their specific invention.
Trademark Search
Legal research assistance also includes trademark search services. In this service, the firm will examine the existing trademarks to assess if a proposed trademark for a product or service is unique enough and available for trademark application. The result of this search will help you find out whether the mark is still live or not.
This is an important process before a business files for a trademark application to make sure that the brand is distinctive and doesn’t infringe on any existing trademark.
Copyright Search
Copyright search is also included in the legal research assistance. This service helps you investigate the existing copyrights so that you know the status and ownership of a specific creative work.
This search is a little different because usually, people look for the copyright protection status of a specific work when they want to use a portion of it. Therefore, you are not comparing your work with ones that are already copyrighted.
Industrial Design Search
In the industrial design field, the industrial design search involves the exploration of existing industrial designs. The purpose is to find similar or conflicting designs that may already be registered or in use.
What to do if an IP Already Exists?
If you don’t find any IP that is similar to yours after the search, then you can use, produce, sell your works and apply for IP protection for it. However, if you do find similar works, there are things to consider such as:
- Your invention is noticeably different from a similar IP
- Your trademark use is completely different from a similar IP
- The similar invention was never patented or has expired protection
- The trademark of the similar invention has been declared dead, and
- Your business operates in a different region from the similar invention and both regions have different laws.
If your IP fulfils the six conditions above, you may still be able to use the work. However, if the invention is already patented, you cannot use it freely. You have to contact the inventor and ask whether or not you can use a similar invention.
Patent search is a complicated process and you need to be thorough. However, you can rely on the legal research assistance provided by Am Badar & Am Badar Law Firm to make sure that you get a deep search and meticulous results.
Am Badar & Am Badar Law Firm has been recognized on the Most Recommended Firms List of 2023 by World Trademark Review, winning in both Prosecution and Strategy categories. This prestigious acknowledgment extends to the company and our Managing Partner, Anisa Ambadar, S.H., LL.M. Explore more about Am Badar & Am Badar in WTR’s Most Recommended Firms List of 2023.
Am Badar & Am Badar provides reliable patent search, trademark search, industrial design search, and company name search service. With these services, you can avoid possible legal disputes due to copyright infringement. Contact us and get more insights about this matter!
References
- https://www.rocketlawyer.com/business-and-contracts/intellectual-property/legal-guide/how-to-determine-if-your-intellectual-property-already-exists
- https://www.iipta.com/determine-intellectual-property-already-exists/
- https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-to-find-out-if-someone-has-already-patented-your-idea
Reviewed by Nabil Argya Yusuf
