Q: Do you know if collapsible sinks/colander are patented?

A: I think that it is great that you are taking the time to check to see if a product has a patent before you try to make a competing product.

A few pointers.

1) The product will usually have a marking on the product or the packaging for the product that indicates an issued US patent or that an application is on file (Patent Pending).

2) Additional tricks for patent searching can be found in my slide set. http://bit.ly/Patent_Searching

3) Even with doing patent searching, you will not reduce the risk to zero that a patent will soon emerge from an application that is pending but not visible. The normal blinds spot to utility applications in the process is 18 months but can be 34 months for certain applications or even longer if there is a non-publication request on file. The 34 month blind spot can be cut back to 18 months is you run searches for PCT applications as those applications will publish at 18 months and the US application may not show up until month 34.

4) Design patent applications (common in simple consumer items) do not get published. So you won't know if a patent application is on file for the ornamental appearance of an item until it issues as a patent.

5) You may want to work with a patent attorney to monitor for recently issued patents or recently published applications so you find these items and react -- even after you are selling a product in the market for the first two years.

If you found this answer helpful, you may want to look at my answers to other questions about patent law are available at the bottom of my profile page at https://lawyers.justia.com/lawyer/kevin-e-flynn-880338

Kevin E Flynn