An independent research firm recently compared major services that provide science- and patent-related searches for law firms specializing in intellectual property.* These search services also provide searches to large companies that have ongoing research programs in pharmaceuticals, chemical processes, and biotechnology.

Science IP is a search service operated by CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, and was given superior ratings in quality, speed, and cost of service when compared with their competitors.

The study found that:

Science IP was rated at the top for Customer Service quality and overall accuracy of quote.

Science IP had the best turn-around time of three to five business days. Several of the competitors took 10 days or longer to deliver their search results.

The study also found Science IP had the lowest final price for the same search when compared with their competitors. In fact, the final cost of the Science IP search was less than half that charged by nine competitive search services, and less than a third of the cost from a search service located in Europe.

"We don't cut corners to provide a less costly search," says the manager of the Science IP service. "The knowledge and experience of our searchers allows them to produce high-quality searches in less time than our 'lower-priced' competitors, thereby saving our clients both time and money."

The Science IP service is an outgrowth of the CAS Search Service, which began operation 27 years ago. While Science IP emphasizes its extensive capability in IP-related patent searching, their degreed scientist-searchers also can deliver comprehensive searches in most areas of published scientific research.

More good news from Science IP:

The electronic form of our search results includes links to the full text of the patent, when available, via the EPO Espacenet web site. This convenient link will provide direct access to the full text of a specific patent when additional details are needed.

*The Competitive Analysis was conducted by an independent research firm in January 2009