Before hiring a professional searcher, you can do some of the research on our own.  Below is a video we created that will teach you the basics of patent research, in particular, using patent classification in your research.  In our own research, we rely heavily on patent classification to get better, more thorough search results.   However, it’s difficult to do good classification-based research without experience and specialized tools.  Nevertheless, you should make an attempt get to know the classifications associated with your invention. If you do proceed to a professional search, you can submit your results along with commentary as to why a each reference is deficient in solving your problem. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find several documents that you should download and review prior to starting the course.