FOLIO Ontology

All actions associated with determining the state of the art in a particular area of technology, including definition of the scope and field of the search, searching, analysis of search results, and reporting to client. Also known as a "collection" search, a state-of-the- art search is the broadest and most general type of patent search with a field that may include published patent applications, expired and unexpired patents, non-patent literature, and/or other sources. State-of-the-art searches are typically conducted, if at all, during the conceptual design phase when the scope of the investigation is least defined. State-of-the-art searches may also be used to help identify technology that is disclosed in expired patents and may therefore be freely copied by anyone. Work of outside vendors in conducting searches or otherwise assisting investigation should be an expense under E100.