§For patent practitioners
Outsourced patent search for law firms that keep the judgment
Patent attorneys and agents use us for searches, drawings, and administrative coordination. We deliver references, figures, and records. You deliver the advice. We never contact your client without your permission.
§ 01Where you are
We lay out the instruments. You perform the work.
Outsourced patent search for law firms exists for a simple reason. Search is the part of patent practice where an hour of careful reading saves many hours of argument later, and it is also the part that is hardest to staff. Associate time is costly, and reference lists from generalist vendors often arrive with little sign of what was actually read. Neither helps when a client needs a filing decision this month.
We built our service around what practitioners need from a search: references that were read, mapping you can check, and a record you can defend. Every report carries technical claim-element mapping and an audit trail of databases, CPC groups, query strings, date cut-offs, AI tools, and analyst notes. If you want to extend the search, challenge it, or explain it to a client, the whole method is in front of you. A second analyst reviews every report before it reaches your inbox.
What we never do matters as much. Our reports contain no conclusions about patentability, validity, or freedom to operate; those are yours. We don’t draft claims, prepare applications, or respond to office actions. We don’t contact your client unless you ask us to. When our own clients need a practitioner, we share a list of independent practitioners to contact, and we receive no referral fees. Our scope and disclosures page sets out the full line.
§ 02Services
Services practitioners use
Patentability Search
A full prior-art report with patent and non-patent literature, technical claim-element mapping, and an audit trail.
5–7 business days12Validity & Invalidity Search
A deep prior-art hunt against a specific patent’s claims, including non-patent and foreign-language sources.
2–3 weeks14Product Clearance Search
In-force patents mapped to your client’s product features and organized by jurisdiction, as the search behind your opinion.
2–3 weeks16Design & Interface Patent Search
Image-led searches of design patents and registrations, including GUIs, icons, and AR/VR designs.
4–6 business days18Utility & Design Patent Drawings
USPTO-format line drawings and shaded design views from your specifications, as PDF plus source files on request, with two revision rounds included.
First proofs: utility 3–5, design 4–6 business days20Portfolio Administration
Public status and fee-window tracking, inventories, and management reports, with communications coordinated through you.
Onboarding in about 2 weeks§ 03A typical path
How a practitioner engagement runs
- 01
You send the scope
Claims, a disclosure, or drawing specifications, under NDA. Tell us the deadline and the format you need.
- 02
We confirm elements and cut-offs
The lead analyst confirms the claim elements, jurisdictions, and date cut-offs with you before searching, and you receive a fixed-fee quote within one business day.
- 03
Search or draw, then review
Every reference is read by an analyst, and a second analyst reviews the report. Drawings go through our own check before your first proofs.
- 04
Delivery to you
The report, a spreadsheet of references with links, and the audit trail come to you, not your client, unless you direct otherwise.
- 05
Extend or revise
Drawings include two revision rounds. If you want another jurisdiction or claim set searched, we quote the extension first.
Your client stays your client
When you engage us, we never contact your client without your permission, and we don’t refer your client to other practitioners. We take no referral fees from anyone. Legal judgment stays entirely with you.
§ 04Questions
Questions from attorneys and agents
Something else on your mind? Call (505) 357-5188 or write to info@metadragons.com.
Will your report include patentability conclusions?
No. It contains references, technical claim-element mapping, and analyst notes on relevance. Conclusions about what those references mean legally are yours to draw.
Can you deliver in our format?
Tell us your requirements on the scoping call and we’ll quote them. Reports come with a spreadsheet of references and links, and drawings come as USPTO-format PDF plus source files on request.
Do you offer rush timing?
Yes, on searches and drawings when scope allows. Rush timing is quoted separately, so you and your client can decide whether it is worth it.
How do you handle AI and confidentiality?
AI tools widen recall, and every reference is read by a person. Client materials are never used to train AI models, files sit in US-based systems encrypted in transit and at rest, and every audit trail names the AI tools used. See our method.
Keep reading
Related pages
§Next step
Send us the search you don’t have time to run
Book a free scoping call or send the scope under NDA. You’ll have a fixed-fee quote within one business day.