Patent searching: how unique is my idea?

If we invited you to sift through more than 160 million patent publications, you would probably give up quickly. But what if we told you that the knowledge contained in patent publications can save you time and money in your innovation process? In this workshop, you will take your first steps in assessing the novelty of your idea and in determining whether you risk infringing on other people’s patents.

But you will learn more than that. Patent databases are a source of inspiration: you can extract a lot from them, such as information about new technologies and information about competitors. These databases can also help you assess the novelty of your invention and give you an indication of whether you may be infringing on other people’s patents (Freedom-to-Operate), before you decide to apply for a patent. Freedom-to-Operate will also definitely come up when you speak with investors. Part of this information can be retrieved yourself from Espacenet, the patent database you will be working with in this workshop.

This workshop is part of The Gate Academy and is taught by Rienk Rienksma and Paul Simons, Intellectual Property Advisors at the Netherlands Patent Office.

Due to the practical exercises, you will need your own laptop or tablet with a large screen to participate.

The course language is English.

For registration pres here