Patent Litigation
Build defense strategies and strengthen invalidity position against patent infringement claims. Leverage potential prior art to strategize counterclaims and reduce damages and risk exposure.
Patent Invalidity Search
Protect, strengthen, and maximize the value of your patent portfolio through our comprehensive patent invalidity search services.
What is a patent invalidity search?
A patent invalidity search (also known as a patent validity search or opposition search) is a comprehensive examination aimed as assessing the strength and validity, and therefore, enforceability of a patent. This type of patent search is conducted to identify prior art that may may challenge the novelty or non-obviousness of one or claims in the patent in question.
Prior art refers to any evidence that an invention claimed in a patent or patent application was already known or used by others before the claimed invention. It can include published patents and patent applications, scientific literature, technical disclosures, product manuals, and other forms of publicly available information.
When do I need a patent invalidity search?
A patent invalidation search can serve as an innovator’s first line of defense against patent infringement claims. On the other hand, patent owners may conduct a patent validity search to assess the strength of their patents, i.e. the ability to withstand patent challenges in court litigation or post-grant proceedings (inter partes review, post-grant review, etc) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
Read more on our Patent Invalidity Search Guide.
Patent validity search across various stages of the IP lifecycle
Over 5,000 patent search projects completed across patent invalidation, patent due diligence and patent enforcement initiatives.
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Get in touchWhat our clients are saying
“The first search Parola Analytics, Inc. performed for us provided the key reference supporting our invalidity position on a patent we were evaluating.”
Sean M. Dean, Ph.D.
Fish & Richardson
“Vincent and his team at Parola are excellent at locating prior art. We have worked with Parola on two matters, and both times, Parola delivered outstanding results. Parola’s highly-relevant search results and reports demonstrated a thorough understanding of the patent claims.”
Daniel Kiang
Knobbe Martens
“Vincent Violago and his excellent team at Parola Analytics provide high quality, detailed, prior art search results with minimal oversight and handholding.
These guys are highly educated and experienced in their field and work together with great efficiency. The work product is top-notch, and they are always available for follow up, including detailed discussions of the report and additional pinpoint searches based on the results.
I highly recommend Vincent and his team.”
James A. “Tripp” Fussell III
Mayer Brown
"Parola analysts uncovered prior art that even opposing counsel’s team could not during litigation.
The quality of their work and deeper understanding of the subject matter were instrumental to the case that we eventually won.”
Saqib J. Siddiqui
Mayer Brown
“The team at Parola Analytics did an excellent job in providing us with the highest-quality prior art research service.
The team’s search report highlighted the best prior art references with an easy-to-understand format. In short, the team proved itself.”
Ryan Phelan
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
“I recently engaged Parola Analytics to conduct a prior art search on a difficult US patent that had already stymied another search firm that delivered two unusable references.
Parola found four much better references in two weeks that demonstrated a deeper understanding of the search and an effective selection of the best references.
I highly recommend Parola Analytics.”
Barry Shelton
Shelton Coburn
“Parola Analytics is our trusted partner for prior art search contests on PATROLL, Unified Patent’s crowdsourcing platform.
With their expertise in prior art searching, Vincent and his team at Parola Analytics are valuable partners in reviewing prior art submissions to our contests.
Parola Analytics provides broad knowledge across various subject-matters and offers competitive pricing.
They are easy to work with and are responsive to our needs.”
Sam Jaffna
Unified Patents
“In just weeks, our investments in our relationship with Parola Analytics started to pay handsome dividends.
Parola Analytics identified a patent filed by researchers at Yale that showed promise as a vaccine against malaria. Our article, authored by Monisha Ravisetti, was publicized in hundreds of newspapers and magazines worldwide and quoted thousands of times on social media.
Parola’s flexibility proved invaluable for a startup company like ours, and the reasonable fee structures allowed us to invest in the relationship with confidence.
Marius Meland
Founder, Law360
CEO and Founder, Fastinform
“Parola Analytics has consistently provided excellent search results coupled with an easy to navigate and detailed search report. Parola’s responsiveness and communication are exceptional.
I highly recommend Parola.”
Chris Hadley
Jones Waldo
“Parola Analytics is an outstanding resource for our boutique intellectual property firm.
Patentability searches are the first step for new patent clients. Vincent and his team take care of this crucial step, and provide us with high-quality and comprehensive search reports. The search reports provide our clients with a clear visual representation of the state-of-the-art and make our counseling even more impactful.
Our patent practice is enhanced by Parola Analytics’ search capabilities, and our favorite find is Parola Analytics.”
Justin H. Cross
HamiltonCross LLP
“Parola Analytics was able to quickly provide us with a key prior art reference despite other search vendors failing to find anything useful.
Parola’s thorough search report also provided detailed analysis and allowed us to easily assess the viability of the references and efficiently create invalidity contentions.
Would highly recommend.”
Luc Dahlin
Goodwin Procter
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Parola Analytics. Vincent Violago is very responsive and professional. He answers all your questions and ensures the right person does the search. The patentability report provided is very visually pleasing and easy to follow.
The searcher (who is a PhD chemist and registered US Patent Agent) took great care to understand the claim language of a biotech invention prior to doing the search. A very thorough search was done in a timely and efficient manner. I highly recommend Parola Analytics for patentability searches.”
Imtiaz Billah
Torrey Pines Law Group PC
“Parola Analytics is the perfect fit for us, start-ups. They offered us the flexibility we needed for our unique needs. We received high quality results fast at competitive prices.”
Alfredo Carranza
i6 Technology
For small IP firms looking for a reliable patent research partner, Parola is the perfect choice. Parola Analytics has consistently delivered high-quality results in the various patentability and design patentability projects we have worked on. They have a very collaborative and hands-on approach to each project. The researchers have vast experience and IP knowledge which allows me to get results well-aligned with my specifications.
Tom Tatonetti
Tatonetti IP
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Patent Invalidity / Validity Search FAQs
When should I conduct a patent invalidity or invalidity search?
A patent invalidity or patent invalidation search is typically conducted as a defense against patent infringement suits. Its goal is to gather prior art that can be used as evidence to invalidate the claims of the asserted patent or patents. In the U.S., the patent claims can be invalidated either through patent litigation in federal courts or through post-grant proceedings such as inter partes review (IPR) or post-grant review (PGR) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the USPTO.
Similarly, a patent validity search can also be conducted in order to assess the strength of the patent. Before a patent owner decides to engage in patent litigation, it is advised to “stress-test” the patent in order to anticipate any potential risks that may be brought upon during any litigation proceedings.
What can be considered prior art in a patent invalidity search?
Prior art refers to information that is publicly known before the effective filing date of a U.S. patent application. Prior art may include U.S. and non-U.S. patents and published patent applications, journal and scientific papers, magazine articles, books, product manuals and catalogs, brochures, web pages, conference proceedings and more.
What is in patent invalidity search report?
A patent invalidity search report would present all the potential prior art found during the search. In order to assess the degree of relevance, the claims of the asserted patent are mapped against the relevant excerpts of each prior art reference — also called a claims mapping chart.
Where can I find prior art?
There are many free and paid databases where you can find patent and non-patent literature:
- Google Patents
- Espacenet
- WIPO
- Google Scholar
- Sciencedirect
- Arxiv.org
- PQAI – AI-Powered Patent Search. Try for free.
For more information read our Patent Invalidity Search Guide.
How much does a patent invalidity or validity search cost?
The cost of a patent invalidity search can vary widely depending on several factors such as the complexity of the technology involved, the scope of the search e.g. the number of claims, the jurisdictions where a patent search must be conducted and more.
Generally, patent invalidity searches can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars or more. It’s essential to consult with a professional patent search firm or a patent attorney to get an accurate estimate tailored to your specific needs and circumstances.
Parola Analytics offers cost-effective, tiered searches that are customized to your search requirements. Send us a message to get a quote.