Start here
Two ways to start. Pick the one that matches where you are.
Option 1 — Free: the examiner's record and a first preliminary search
No cost
For counsel with a patent asserted against a client and a contentions date ahead.
- › The examiner's own search — the queries, classes and databases the examiner ran, every reference of record, and the prior-art cutoff, read off the file wrapper. Enter the patent number and it is on the page in seconds; no sign-up.
- › A preliminary search, free the first time — one claim, your cutoff, back within 24 hours: the top-ranked documents read in full, what each discloses and lacks, and every query that was run. A thin result says thin. One per person, up to five per firm in any 60 days; $99 a sweep after that. See a sample.
Full scope and fees: the order page
Option 2 — 30-min intro call
Free
For firms still scoping, or for Tier-2 builds and Tier-3 retainers where the shape of the engagement needs a conversation first.
On the call
- › What workflow is costing you hours
- › Whether Examiner Search is the right fit (candid answer, either direction)
- › Rough price band and timeline
- › Next step — a fixed-fee search, or an honest no
What we won't do: give legal advice, share other clients' data, or quote a price we can't defend.
Book the intro →FAQ
- Are you a lawyer?
- No, and nothing here is legal advice. I am a former USPTO patent examiner working as a prior-art analyst. I find and characterise art; whether it invalidates a claim is counsel's call, and the report says so explicitly.
- What if you don't find anything?
- You get the search record — every query, every classification, every database, with dates and hit counts — and an honest read on what that means. A negative you can actually rely on is the harder deliverable and often the more valuable one. It is also the reason the search record is part of the report rather than an internal note.
- How is this different from a cheaper search firm?
- Two things. I searched patents at the USPTO for a living, so I know how an examiner's search is built and therefore where it has gaps — which is usually where the art is. And I sign the result: a tool cannot be deposed and an offshore vendor will not answer for a miss.
- What about confidentiality?
- Your request is confidential from the moment it arrives, whether or not we end up working together — including the fact that you asked and which patent you asked about. Every matter is conflict-checked before it is accepted, and I will decline rather than take a matter I should not. Happy to sign your NDA.
- Do you work hourly?
- No. Fixed fee, quoted before any work starts, so the number does not move because the art turned out to be awkward. That is the whole point of a flat price on this kind of work.
- What if the scope is bigger than one patent?
- Send it anyway. Multi-patent matters are quoted per patent with a volume reduction, and if what you need is not on the list I will say so rather than reshape it into something I sell.