An inventor performs a patent search to determine what related technology has already been patented. This effects what the inventor can claim in a new application for a patent.
Other reasons to do a patent search include:
- learning more about a new field of technology
- to gain market information
- In order to track the intellectual property of competitors
- to "reverse engineer" a product
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Also, you may wish to investigate business-related patent statistics for information about invention as it relates to industries and geographical locations.
