Site: nolo.com
... These aren't "legal" skills, and learning them is no different than learning any other skill—whether ... Even if you decide to hire a professional later on in the process, you know more about your invention than ... The USPTO offers an online patent search tool called "Patent Public Search." ... (For more, see our article on the USPTO's patent public search tool.) ... There, you can search for earlier patents and get help from a librarian who has training in patent searching ... Getting a Patent on Your Own ...