"The increased importance of intellectual property assets like patents and patent portfolios, along with the added complexity of valuing and analyzing risk for these information goods, has created a marketplace populated by players ill-equipped to handle the high transaction costs and information asymmetries representative of inteHectual property transactions. Accordingly, entities that can lower net transaction costs and improve information access will be able to take advantage of the unique nature of these assets." (Allen Wang, 2010, Berkeley Technology Law Journal, "Rise of the Patent Intermediaries") the tools atIPstreet.com could be a game changer.

Laws of nature: Galileo would not be able to patent his findings from his experiments at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Physical phenomena: Patent law classifies physical phenomena as products of nature. Thus, if your invention occurs in nature, it is a physical phenomenon and cannot be patented. Abstract ideas: Abstract ideas are concepts like pure mathematics and algorithms. You cannot patent a formula. However, you can patent an application of that formula. Thus, while you cannot patent a mathematical formula that produces nonrepeating patterns, you can patent paper products that use that formula to prevent rolls of paper from sticking together. Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works: These can be Copyright protected. Inventions, which are considered not useful or possible: For example, the USPTO will not issue a patent on a perpetual motion machines; or offensive to public morality.

IP Street is driving the innovation economy by delivering actionable business intelligence from patent documents. IP Street empowers users to Discover, Measure, Compare, and Connect to business opportunities. Designed for inventors, IP counselors, strategists, executives, investors, and analysts, the features of IP Street's cutting edge technologies simplify the complexities of intellectual property into intuitive and meaningful graphical summaries. These visualizations provide the essential "due diligence" to allow users to effectively evaluate business questions. IP Street helps you better understand patent search, patent analytics, patent value, patent infringement and how to patent an idea. Our patent search services will provide patent analytics that will revolutionize your business strategy by helping you determine the value of a patent business intelligence from an IP lens. The company is headquartered in Spokane, Washington, with a development office in Seattle. More information is available at www.IPStreet.com.

Conducting a thorough patent search is difficult, particularly for the novice. Patent searching is a learned skill. A novice in the United States could contact the nearest Patent and Trademark Depository Library (PTDL) and seek out search experts to help in setting up a search strategy.