Patent hunting is both an art and a science. Consequently, search ability improves with practice. But best practice requires a solid foundation for those looking to search accurately and efficiently. Identifying factors to determine when a search is necessary and what types and sources of information to look for in the process is the crucial part.
For a patent finder, knowledge of various patent databases is extremely important. You should know the pros and cons of these databases, along with the behavior of the database in search terms with the use of operators. For example, the USPTO patent search website allows you to search for full text and drawings for all patents issued since 1975. Full page images of patents since 1790 are also available. We can also search for patent applications published since March 15, 2001. Likewise, other databases such as EPO, JPO, Depatisnet, SIP, etc. provides free search function. Paid databases like MicroPat, STN, QPAT provide various useful search techniques and even have more operators. These databases also provide extraction of search results in Excel format for more detailed analysis, along with some level of clustering or mapping of data.
It is very important to keep the following points in mind when searching for patents:
A search engine must know all the points mentioned above to generate a good search strategy and, ultimately, a good report. Visual thinking is an important parameter of a good patent search report. That is why the patent intelligence profession is a combination of science and art. Especially patent mapping is purely an art and therefore the mapping and representation of the information in the dataset varies from person to person.