Q: what are the best search terms for an idea related to packaging for the mail?
A:
Like a lot of things in life, it is hard to know the best way to do something until you have at least done some pilot projects. My slides at https://bit.ly/Patent__Searching give some tips.
It is hard to pick the perfect terms since some patents were translated into English and have a quirky word choice. Patent attorneys seeking to abstract a concept sometimes use not standard words.
But the good news is that if you do a decent search that finds a few relevant patents, then backward and forward chaining (explained in the slides) will help your find more. Discerning art classes to use in searches from an examination of the art classes used in your most relevant finds helps too.
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
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