Patent invalidation filings are a strong legal tool that can shield your company from improper patent enforcement. If you feel a competitor's patent should never have been issued—based upon prior art that is already present, obvious, or for any other reason—you have the right to challenge it through processes offered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) . This detailed guide covers all you want to know about filing for patent invalidation with the USPTO, including procedure, requirements, advice, timelines, and examples. What Is Patent Invalidation? Patent invalidation is legally trying to invalidate a granted patent. If successful, the USPTO will cancel part or all of the patent claims, making them unenforceable. Invalidation usually happens when a third party, usually a competitor, initiates a petition following the grant of the patent, claiming that the patent ought not to have been granted because of prior art, obviousness, or technicalities of law. For exa...
Filing a patent without a prior patentability search is like launching a product without knowing the market—it invites costly surprises. A patentability search, also known as a novelty search, helps determine whether your invention is genuinely new and potentially patentable. Too often, inventors submit applications that are later rejected due to existing inventions (prior art) they didn’t know about. This leads to lost time, wasted money, and missed opportunities. In this post, we explain why every inventor should start with a patentability search, how it works, and how it can influence your success with the USPTO. What Is a Patentability Search? A patentability search investigates whether an invention meets the requirements of novelty and non-obviousness by reviewing published patents, patent applications, and non-patent literature. The goal is to identify prior art—anything already known or publicly disclosed—that could prevent your idea from being granted a patent. This search: Cov...