Our location close to the British Library facilitates well-structured non-patent literature searches.

As well as holding the largest collection of international patent documentation in the world, the British Library also houses one of the world's largest collections of technical literature. In paper copies alone there are 167km of shelving containing non-patent literature; journals (periodicals), books, reports, doctoral theses, conference proceedings and Local Authority material (office standards etc).

The Library has its own internal database through which the location (i.e. shelfmark) of a particular item can be identified or keyword searches can be conducted to locate a range of items which may be of interest (e.g. for validity searches).

All material is date stamped to indicate when it was shelved (i.e. available for public inspection). For further details of the holdings of the British Library please refer to the order form / sheet entitled "Technical / Scientific Literature Copies".

We offer three levels of search - a very narrowly defined Identical Search, a slightly broader Near Identical Search, and a similarity search, which is much broader, covering phonetic variations, and which is intended as a clearance investigation.

Each report includes:

• Details of our search strategy (identical / near identical searches and GB similarity only)
• A list of all hits
• A selection of potentially relevant marks and copies / short database printouts of the marks
• Full database printouts with status / history details (upon request only)

The searching of designs is not as developed as that of patents. Recently, however, there has been an increase in the amount of information available from various sources, and a reasonable degree of investigation is now possible. We conduct searches throughout DE, GB, US, Community and International Designs by name and / or by subject matter. Associates are used to cover the records of FR, DK, AT and SE. For subject matter searches search lists are generated using the Locarno Classification or the US Classification, as appropriate.

Subject Matter Watch
A subject matter watch provides regular current awareness reports, which keep our clients informed on the activities of their competitors and potential competitors in a particular sector. We offer a highly specialised and focussed service that matches exactly our clients' subject profiles.

Class Watch
Restricted to cases falling under specified classification headings. Used where the subject profile is easily classified or for narrow subject areas. Does have the drawback that an element of irrelevant material ("noise") is usually generated; hence processing time by the client is increased.

Applicant / Inventor Watch
A name watch monitors the activities of specific competitors or other identified bodies. The watch can be further limited to particular subject matters in the case of competitors who have a broad spectrum of activities.

Status Watch
A status watch monitors the progress of specific applications or patents to see whether they have been published, withdrawn, granted or lapsed etc.

We provide copies of all official documentation and correspondence, which relate to any granted patent or published patent application. Where appropriate, a summary of the contents of this filewrapper is compiled by RWS. The summary can be in English, German or French as required. Many of our clients find this particularly useful in the case of foreign language files.

It is possible to supply selected correspondence or regular updates from specific files (file inspections). Thus you can be kept completely up-to-date with any developments.

If you want to know what is happening with specific third party patents / applications, we can provide status reports giving detailed information on the progress of cases; for example on current ownership, on payment of annuities, on the existence of related applications or on opposition from other interested parties.

Reliable information about the status of patents - including EP granted patents - is not centralised. Each country / body has to be contacted. Moreover, the depth of information supplied varies. There is also confusion as to exactly how "official" or otherwise the information is. We provide detailed reports (in English, German or French) setting out exact details - all for a fixed price.

The British Library holds the largest collection of patent and non-patent technical literature in the world. Using this as a primary source (as well as links with innumerable other libraries, universities or academic institutions), virtually any technical paper / article / patent can be obtained.