Value Delivered
Thorough research uncovered crucial prior art that enabled the client to invalidate a competing patent. This achievement helped the client to enhance its competitive position in the market and protect its interests more effectively.
Problems Solved
The search aimed to find a hair dryer design with a magnetic attachment that connects to the main body through magnets on the inward end wall. The necessary information came in scattered pieces rather than a single comprehensive document detailing all the features.
The investigation uncovered designs with similar inward-end wall structures. However, these designs were associated with different kinds of applications, such as wall-mounted devices, rather than the desired hand-held hair dryer. This situation highlighted the need for a more targeted approach to identify relevant prior art.
Solution Offered
While reviewing the search results, it became clear that a significant amount of patent literature came from Asia, especially Japan. The next step was to conduct a focused research on the Japanese patent database, JPlatPat, but finding effective strategies was a key challenge.
Leveraging experience with database searches, the first step was identifying the right classifications for the nozzle, which opened access to more relevant literature. Also, keywords were translated from English to Japanese, as native terms usually yield better results. With these refined keywords and classifications, the search yielded relevant findings that covered every feature of the independent claim.
Get the full case study to discover how GreyB successfully invalidated a Patent on ‘Handheld Hair Dryers’ and overcame initial challenges.
