Value Delivered
The client received a strong prior-art reference that disclosed the critical structural feature needed to challenge the LCD encapsulation patent: a continuous saw-tooth opening pattern.
The research uncovered that the claimed saw-tooth groove structure was not a new concept and existed in earlier technical disclosures. The identified reference provided the missing visual and structural evidence needed to support an obviousness position alongside existing prior art.
The key value came from using a shape-based search approach rather than relying only on technical terminology. This allowed the team to find a reference that conventional keyword searches missed.
Problem Solved
TThe challenge was finding prior art for a specific physical structure in an LCD encapsulation patent.
The requirement was a top-view saw-tooth pattern that could establish obviousness when combined with existing prior art. The critical limitation was a continuous saw-tooth opening in the encapsulation structure.
Initial keyword-based searches produced several related references, including:
- Notched films.
- Single-hole openings.
- Surface bump structures.
However, these references lacked the core limitation: a continuous saw-tooth opening pattern. The search challenge was that the invention was defined more by its physical shape than by easily searchable technical terms.
Solution Offered
The research team changed the search approach from keyword-based searching to visual reverse searching.
Instead of creating more keyword combinations, the team:
- Created sketches of the claimed saw-tooth structure from top-view and cross-sectional perspectives.
- Used keyword-free reverse image search to identify visually similar technical disclosures.
This approach uncovered an exact visual match that keyword searches could not identify. The discovered reference disclosed:
- A continuous saw-tooth profile.
- A structure that comfortably predated the patent’s priority date.
The case demonstrated that some inventions are better represented by shapes rather than words. By searching the physical appearance of the claimed structure, the team found prior art that traditional terminology-based searches missed..
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