A proper #patent_search is one of the most important steps in patent process. A general search will give you a predicted patent category as well as a list of the closest patent references that were found. With this data you can either decide to keep your patent as is, change your patent description to include new specifications, the add more limiting patent claims, broaden patent claims, or you may decide to not patent at all. Whatever your choice is it is import and to do it before filing, because after filing making changes to the application is either more difficult or impossible.
The search service that you choose should give you a report with options based on your needs, but the direction that you go based on the report will be up to you. If you chose to do the search yourself google patent is your first choice for simplicity and ease of use. The USPTO however does have a more comprehensive set of patent application documents and some tutorials on how to start.
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