DeMarco Methodology
We have all spent hours watching chefs turn piles of boring ingredients into gorgeously plated masterpieces in a limited amount of time via various TV shows or social media feeds. And yet, after years of watching, most of us still struggle in the kitchen even though we have access to the same cooking implements as the chef we admire.
We have also spent countless hours watching masters of home improvement take a small budget, a talented and specialized crew, and work magic. And then when it’s time for us to fix something in our own homes, we end up with a messy disaster and scowling significant other even though we have the same tools as the expert.
What does this have to do with patent searching? Well, the DeMarco Methodology is our special sauce. It’s what allows us to be the Master Chefs or HGTV Superstars of the patent information profession.
1) The Individual doing a patent search must be smart and mentally flexible.
A growth mindset is the supreme talent over any specific degree, though a thorough understanding of all engineering disciplines is needed. In performing a patent search, this individual must be able to constantly learn, adapt, and iterate. They must quickly recognize when one strategy is a good start, when a second strategy is a likely dead end, and when a third strategy is probably a better use of their time.
- At DeMarcoIP, we want you to know who is doing your search. While one of our Directors is likely doing most of the communicating, neither of them is doing all the work! (Though we do insist that Directors grind out work product alongside the full team of patent searchers.)
2) Experience matters.
No one wants to hire a litigator working their very first case. Likewise, no one wants a patent searcher working on their first patentability, FTO, or validity search. Experience doesn’t guarantee success, but it does lower the odds of screwing up or missing a particularly relevant reference.
- We are very fortunate to have an extremely high retention rate here at DeMarcoIP. Our team members enjoy working here, working with each other, and developing their experience and expertise.
3) All experienced searchers have a Process.
It is not a fixed, set in stone, procedure. Instead, it is a “Choose your own adventure” book. The searcher learns a piece of information and then gets to choose their next course of action. This is repeated a near infinite number of times and each and every project ends up being a customized work product.
- Some say that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, and if that is true, we will freely admit that we emulate our friends at the European Patent Office. After a decade developing our own internal processes, we discovered that they are nearly identical to the internal processes uses by EPO examiners. Best practices are best practices and pretending we are the only smart people in the world does no one any favors.
4) The process does not matter if you do not have a proper Tool to let you execute your desired strategies.
There are a handful of top tier tools or systems currently used by professional patent searchers. None of them are free and none of them feed proprietary information into a for-profit AI cloud. And even the top tier tools have weaknesses which only an experienced individual can take into account and work around.
- Every year we test drive all of the top tier systems. Every year we also test drive the new and upcoming systems being presented to the marketplace. Our only goal is picking the systems that allow us the best odds of success in serving clients. Tool price is almost irrelevant when one considers the costs associated with missing a particularly relevant reference in an important case.
For additional information on the DeMarco Methodology and how we have implemented it in specific cases, we invite you to review some of the documentation we have submitted in our Expert Services section. Or reach out to us. We are passionate about patent searching and always willing to talk your ear off on the subject matter.