A search for competitors’ patents is typically performed on a periodic basis and looks for patents that issue to one or more competitors. The search is typically restricted to geographic areas and may include specific technology restrictions. For example, Company ABC may perform a monthly search for all patents issued to Companies XYZ and 123 in the United States and Japan, where the requested patents include the terms widget and/or gadget. However, the search does not need to be limited to any particular set of companies, geographic area or search term. The goal of this type of search is to uncover patents of competitors that are relevant to your business.
In addition to uncovering competitors’ patents, this search can also look for patent application publications that issue to one or more competitors. However, because most patent application publications do not list an assignee, creative search strategies are typically used to uncover how a competitor is attempting to obtain patent coverage.