A patent search turned up nothing, so he began to develop the CrustaStun.
The university insisted we look beyond academic journals and include patent searches as part of our background work for every project.
Alternatively, you could use our interactive tool to find the best place to carry out a patent search.
A full patent search typically costs between £785 and £1,200, although there is no upper limit.
To find out if someone has a patent on a particular idea or object, you'll need to do a patent search.
The cost of a patent search alone, made to discover whether similar patents are already in existence, is about $500.
He conducted some patent searches for a musical device that would play chips instead of discs.
Before the project starts, students complete a full patent search, and must pick a project which is different from any existing products.
To see if there is an existing patent you need to carry out a patent search.
Conducting a thorough patent search is difficult, particularly for the novice.