IP search

Focused search support that gives IP teams a clearer evidence base

S&W|ClearViewIP’s IP search service provides structured patent and technical research for patentability, freedom to operate, invalidity, prior art and related reviews. We deliver dependable search outputs, transparent documentation and scalable capacity; where findings require legal or strategic interpretation, they can feed directly into S&W|ClearViewIP’s IP risk assessment, portfolio and transaction specialists.

Search work can be delivered as a standalone assignment, a repeatable programme or an extension of an in-house IP, legal or R&D team, using agreed scope, methodology and governance.

What we offer

• Patentability and novelty searches

• Freedom to operate search support, including the searching behind an IP risk assessment

• Invalidity and prior art research

• Technical literature reviews

• Search and library support

• Monitoring and alerting linked to defined search requirements

Who this helps

• Patent attorneys and in-house IP teams needing research inputs

• R&D and technology teams assessing new ideas, inventions or product areas

• Organisations that need reliable search capacity across multiple technologies or markets

• Teams seeking consistent formatting, methodology and documentation across search work

What are the benefits of IP search support?

• Clearer evidence for patent and technology decisions

• Reduced pressure on internal IP and R&D teams

• Improved search consistency and repeatability

• Faster access to relevant technical and patent information

• Better control of recurring or high-volume search workloads

When should you seek this support?

• Filing programme ramp up: When invention disclosures are arriving faster than your team can search them properly.

• Before a first filing decision: When you need novelty evidence to judge whether an idea justifies the cost of drafting and prosecution.

• Entering a new technology area: When your team knows the market but not the patent landscape sitting behind it.

• Product launch preparation: When freedom to operate must be established across several jurisdictions to one consistent standard.

• Challenging or defending a patent: When you need to find and document invalidity evidence to a standard that will stand up to scrutiny.

• Inconsistent past searching: When previous searches were run in different formats by different people and cannot be compared or reused.

• Peak workload: When a diligence exercise or a filing deadline lands on top of the day job.