Patent Search｜Service｜SOCO IP LAW FIRM

Do you know the following fact?
Between 1996 and 2005, up to 40% of the patent publications in the world were published in Japan.

Therefore, when attempting to invalidate patents with priority dates prior to 2005, searching Japanese patent publications is strongly recommended. Even if the priority date of the patent to be invalidated is after 2005, we would still strongly recommend a Japanese patent search.

Please make the most of our surprising introductory price !
For details, please contact us.

Note: The above figure was created based on data disclosed in “Global IP Initiative for maintaining the international IP infrastructure” published by the JPO on February 16, 2011.

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All patent searches conducted by SOCO are carried out under the supervision of an experienced patent attorney who is skilled in both searching patents and drafting claims. Our procedure maximizes the probability of finding relevant publications while minimizing cost to our clients.

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At SOCO, in addition to following the instructions of our clients, we use our own experience to develop "search hypotheses" before initiating a patent search. Using our custom strategy of setting up search hypotheses, SOCO is able to uncover relevant publications with a high probability.

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In Japan, Japanese-specific patent classifications, FI and Fterm (File Forming Term), are assigned to all patent applications. The FI classification is based on the IPC classification but includes more detailed subclasses than the IPC. The Fterm, which has been developed for enhancing the efficiency of patent examination in the JPO, denotes specific technical features described in the specification. SOCO creates search queries by combining IPC, FI, and Fterm logic while at the same time considering the characteristics of inventions to be searched in order to maximize search results at minimum cost.

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If you prefer to avoid writing detailed information in emails, we will be happy to discuss the details of your cases over the phone in English. By discussing search strategies, we will be able to provide you with search results that are a valuable component of your patent invalidation strategy.

How our clients can request patent searches:

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Publication searches in Japan do not provide useful results 100% of the time, however, they can be time-consuming and expensive. In order to minimize your cost when no effective publications are found, SOCO has developed the following fee schedules:

1. Patent Search for Invalidation
The following fee schedules are currently available:
　Basic Fee + Number of Publications x Unit Price A
　Basic Fee + Number of Publications x Unit Price B + Success Fee
(Unit Price B is lower than the Unit Price A.)

2. Patent Search prior to Filing an Application
Basic Fee + Number of Publications x Unit Price A

For details, please contact us.

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