The use of the information contained in a patent is an effective tool for planning any process of technological development. Also, from the study of a patent it is possible to determine the novelty, the possible patentability of an invention and identify the technology which may be used freely.

Probably the sources of technological information used regularly are direct contacts with scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, literature and visits to exhibitions, but … Do you consult patent documents?:

The information regarding patent documents available at INAPI is a valuable tool to learn about the latest technologies. Avoid being involved unnecessarily on inventions that are already known or were made in other parts of the world and use the patent databases to evaluate the possibility of technology transfer to a present or future undertaking.

• These documents are the technological means for disseminating recent publications.
• They cover all technical fields regarding what is new, applicable and relevant to industry worldwide.
• Describe the invention in a clear and complete way.
• Patent documents from any country have a similar structure, being easy to collect the required information.

They are arranged in a single classification system, the International Patent Classification (IPC), which allows identifying patents for each specific field of technology. This mechanism facilitates the search for information through computer systems to access and retrieve patent documents more efficiently and reasonably safe if covered by other search parameters.