Start here
Three ways to start. Pick the one that matches where you are.
Option 1 — Invalidity preliminary screen
For counsel with a patent asserted against a client and a contentions date ahead.
- › One patent, scoped search, written summary back
- › The classes searched, the closest references located, and a straight read on whether a full search is worth commissioning
- › No obligation, and the screen is yours to keep
What I need from you: the patent number, the case posture (defendant, DJ plaintiff, IPR petitioner), and your contentions or petition deadline if one is set.
Conflicts: cleared before the screen begins. I do not work both sides of a dispute.
Button not working? Email michael@examinersearch.com directly.
Full scope and fees: invalidity search
Option 2 — Office action second opinion
For prosecution counsel with a §102 or §103 rejection to answer.
- › Verification, $500 — a former examiner reads the applied references in full, checks the mapping limitation by limitation, and says which limitation the rejection actually rests on
- › Scope check, $500 — a search of the scope you would narrow to, run before the amendment surrenders those equivalents for good
- › Drafted response, $1,000 — written for your signature, arguments only. You review it, adopt it and sign it; I never appear in the file. All three together, $1,250
- › First-matter rates, one time per firm — standard is $750 / $750 / $1,400 / $1,750. About a week for the singles, two for the package
What I need from you: the office action PDF, the current claims, the application number, and your response deadline. I pull the applied references and the file wrapper myself.
Button not working? Email michael@examinersearch.com directly.
Full scope and fees: office action second opinion
Option 3 — 30-min intro call
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.