Prior-art search for startups

Founders move fast, and patent budgets are tight. The worst outcome is paying an attorney to draft and file, only to learn the core idea was already published. A prior-art search up front protects both your budget and your roadmap - it tells you how novel your idea really is before you commit money to it.

What you get

• A novelty read before you spend. See the closest existing patents and how much of your idea is already out there - before committing to a filing.
• Plain language in, expert search out. Describe the invention the way you'd explain it to a colleague; the search maps it to patent terminology and searches by meaning across roughly 164 million patents from 106 offices.
• A defensible picture. A feature-by-feature matrix and a threat verdict you can share with a co-founder, an investor, or your patent attorney.

Where it fits

• Pre-filing triage - decide which ideas are worth an attorney's time.
• Fundraising - answer the "what about prior art?" question with evidence.
• Roadmap bets - see how crowded a space is before you build in it.

Frequently asked questions

When should a startup run a prior-art search?

As early as the idea is concrete enough to describe feature by feature - ideally before you spend on attorney drafting or bet a roadmap on it. Running it early is cheap insurance against an expensive dead end.

Is a software prior-art search enough to file a patent?

It is the right first step, not the last one. Use it to screen ideas and scope claims; take the strongest results to a qualified patent attorney for the filing decision.

How much does it cost a startup?

A self-service semantic search runs an idea in minutes for a fraction of an attorney-run search, so you reserve paid legal time for the ideas that actually survive the screen.

It is a search aid, not legal clearance - take the strongest results to a qualified patent attorney for filing decisions.

Run your first search free