Journal of Intellectual Property Rights

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Prior Art searches in Software Patents-Issues Faced


Affiliations
1 CSIR Unit for Research and Development of Information Products, Tapovan, S.No. 113 & 114, NCL Estate, Pashan Road, Pune - 411 008, Maharashtra, India
 

Prior-art-search is a critical activity carried out by intellectual property professionals. It is usually performed based on known source o f literature to ascertain novelty in a said invention. Prior-art-searches are also carried out for invalidating a patent, knowing state o f the art, freedom to operate studies etc. In many technological domains such as chemistry, mechanical etc., prior art search is easy as compared to domain such as software. In software domain, prior-art can prove to be a complex and tedious process relying heavily on non-patent literature which acts as a pointer to the current technological trends rather than patent documents. This paper tries to highlight the issues faced by patent professionals while performing prior-art search in the field o f software patents.

Keywords

Patents, Software Patents, World Intellectual Property Organisation, Prior Art, Search Issues.
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  • Prior Art searches in Software Patents-Issues Faced

Abstract Views: 278  |  PDF Views: 151

Authors

Shabib Ahmed Shaikh
CSIR Unit for Research and Development of Information Products, Tapovan, S.No. 113 & 114, NCL Estate, Pashan Road, Pune - 411 008, Maharashtra, India
Alok Khode
CSIR Unit for Research and Development of Information Products, Tapovan, S.No. 113 & 114, NCL Estate, Pashan Road, Pune - 411 008, Maharashtra, India
Nishad Deshpande
CSIR Unit for Research and Development of Information Products, Tapovan, S.No. 113 & 114, NCL Estate, Pashan Road, Pune - 411 008, Maharashtra, India

Abstract


Prior-art-search is a critical activity carried out by intellectual property professionals. It is usually performed based on known source o f literature to ascertain novelty in a said invention. Prior-art-searches are also carried out for invalidating a patent, knowing state o f the art, freedom to operate studies etc. In many technological domains such as chemistry, mechanical etc., prior art search is easy as compared to domain such as software. In software domain, prior-art can prove to be a complex and tedious process relying heavily on non-patent literature which acts as a pointer to the current technological trends rather than patent documents. This paper tries to highlight the issues faced by patent professionals while performing prior-art search in the field o f software patents.

Keywords


Patents, Software Patents, World Intellectual Property Organisation, Prior Art, Search Issues.

References