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There are a couple of very good
product search resources on the Internet, and those listed below
are absolutely free.
These services typically don't
use elaborate Boolean search strategies, like the PTO's website.
So you'll just want to limit your search to your main noun (and
any relevant synonyms), and one or two distinguishing concepts.
For example, with our www.cdsnaps.com
example, you might use the following phrases:
cd wall bracket
cd wall clip
compact disk wall bracket
compact disk wall clip
cd vertical holder
etc.
Here are the free product search
engines that are the easiest to use and cover a wide range in the
market:
Google Catalog Search -- http://catalogs.google.com
This is a "beta" site, but it's awesome. Google scans
in catalogs and allows you to conduct keyword searches based on
proximity of the words on the page. This is a stunning product search
aid that we hope will go mainstream soon. As a beta site, obviously,
Google could remove this at any time. If you find a problem with
the link, please let me know ASAP! (By the way, this is also a great
way to check if a proposed trademark is being used in the marketplace,
or if your existing trademark is being infringed.)
Froogle -- http://www.froogle.com
This is also a "beta" Google site. Google gets product
feeds from resellers of products. It's a great way of searching
for specific products, and a so-so- way of searching for new products.
ThomasNet -- www.thomasnet.com
This is the on-line version of the ThomasRegister, an industry guide
to products and their manufacturers.
Search Engines
Try your search on a variety of search engines. You can search many
of the search engines at once using Dogpile
or MetaCrawler
or WebCrawler,
or individual search engines such as Google,
Yahoo, Alta
Vista, LookSmart,
Lycos, HotBot,
AOL, etc. You should
enclose your search strings within quotation marks to force the
search engines to return only pages that have that exact phrase.
But be sure to try a variety of search strings (as shown above)
since not everyone will describe the product in the same way using
the same words. Again, this is hit or miss, but if you get a hit
it can save you time and money.
If you still don't find anything
after a bit of searching, that's a good sign. But that doesn't mean
you're home-free. It's time to call
in the experts to look under all the rocks to see if there are
any relevant patents hiding under them.
Also, be sure to read...
Don't
Get Ripped Off:
There are predators out there wanting to capitalize on your enthusiasm
for your own idea, even if your idea doesn't stand a chance in the
marketplace. But they won't tell you that... learn
more.
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