Runs a systematic prior-art search - feature decomposition into claim elements, CPC/IPC classification plus keyword vocabulary, patent databases AND non-patent literature, forward and backward citation walks - and maps results into claim charts with a novelty assessment and a documented search log. Use when someone asks "is my invention novel", "has anyone already patented this", "find prior art against this claim", or is deciding whether a filing or an invalidity argument is worth pursuing. This is research, not legal advice; filing and freedom-to-operate decisions require a patent attorney. Do NOT use for a general academic literature survey unrelated to patentability - use literature-review instead.
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name: Patent Prior Art
description: Runs a systematic prior-art search - feature decomposition into claim elements, CPC/IPC classification plus keyword vocabulary, patent databases AND non-patent literature, forward and backward citation walks - and maps results into claim charts with a novelty assessment and a documented search log. Use when someone asks "is my invention novel", "has anyone already patented this", "find prior art against this claim", or is deciding whether a filing or an invalidity argument is worth pursuing. This is research, not legal advice; filing and freedom-to-operate decisions require a patent attorney. Do NOT use for a general academic literature survey unrelated to patentability - use literature-review instead.
---
# Patent Prior Art
Assess whether an invention is novel and non-obvious by finding everything that already discloses it. The costly failure this skill prevents is the false-clear search: keywords-only, English-only, patents-only searching that misses the conference paper or Japanese utility model that later kills the application - after the filing fees, or worse, during litigation. This is a search-and-map task, not a legal opinion.
## Inputs to collect
1. **The invention disclosure**: what it does, how it works, and what the inventor believes is new.
2. **The priority date** (or intended filing date) - everything published on or after it is irrelevant, and date discipline is absolute.
3. **The field and its jargon**: how practitioners, not just patent drafters, name these concepts.
4. **Known competitors and prior products** in the space - likely assignees to search.
5. **Search depth**: quick patentability screen (top databases, hours) vs thorough pre-filing search (all sources below, days). Default to thorough if the user will spend money on the outcome.
## Operating procedure
### Step 1: Deconstruct the invention into claim elements
Break the invention into its essential technical features - the problem solved, the mechanism, and what is allegedly new. Separate the novel core from conventional surrounding components; searching the conventional parts wastes effort, and missing the core invalidates the search. Write each element as one row of the eventual claim chart.
### Step 2: Build the search vocabulary
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