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Coming up next · Meet STEL · Patent Intelligence Lead

Technical questions become reproducible patent research

Meet STEL, a patent research employee. STEL turns a product question into a feature map, search history, ranked references, patent-family record, and counsel packet. Patentability, validity, infringement, and freedom-to-operate opinions remain with patent counsel.

First useful file
A prior-art research brief with feature map, search history, ranked references, and counsel questions
Planned first delivery
Same day after the technical question is defined
Best for
Product and engineering teams that need a disciplined research record before formal patent-counsel analysis

Expert tier · In formation. See how the tiers work.

The workflows STEL owns

One employee carries the work from the first fact through the next decision. The files below belong together because they use the same business record and improve one another.

  1. 01

    Prior-art research

    Turns the technical concept into feature combinations, vocabulary, classifications, documented searches, and a ranked reference set.

    • Invention feature map
    • Search vocabulary and classification record
    • Ranked reference set
    • Dated prior-art report

    For each defined invention or novelty question

  2. 02

    Patent landscape

    Groups patent families, assignees, inventors, filing themes, geography, status, and time into a reviewable market and technology view.

    • Assignee and inventor map
    • Patent family table
    • Filing-theme analysis
    • Status and expiration view

    Quarterly or at a strategic technology review

  3. 03

    Product-to-claim research

    Maps documented product features to selected claim language as a factual working aid and records questions requiring legal interpretation.

    • Product feature list
    • Claim-element working chart
    • Evidence index
    • Counsel interpretation packet

    Before formal freedom-to-operate or infringement analysis

  4. 04

    Competitive watch

    Tracks selected new publications, family changes, assignments, prosecution events, status changes, and expiry events.

    • New publication alert
    • Family and status update
    • Assignment change note
    • Monthly competitor brief

    Continuous watch with monthly review

  5. 05

    White-space research

    Compares documented filing density and technical approaches to form questions about crowded and less-crowded areas for R&D and counsel.

    • Technology cluster map
    • Crowded-area brief
    • Less-crowded-area evidence table
    • R&D and counsel question list

    At roadmap and research planning cycles

Illustrative work product

A file you can inspect before STEL ships

This is not customer work. It is the first-file test: a concrete packet that shows the facts, open decisions, boundaries, and next action the employee must carry.

  • The illustrative invention and reference groups demonstrate method and are not actual search results.
  • Patentability, validity, claim interpretation, infringement, and freedom-to-operate opinions remain outside the role.
  • Search records retain databases, queries, classifications, filters, retrieval dates, and cited passages.

STEL-01 · formation file

A prior-art research brief with feature map, search history, ranked references, and counsel questions

Illustrative

Illustrative sample · not customer work

Concept-led prior-art research brief

Illustrative file for a proposed system in which an autonomous drone inspects bridge components using thermal and visible-light imaging, identifies possible defects, and produces a prioritized inspection record. The example describes research method, not actual search results. It is not a patentability, validity, infringement, or freedom-to-operate opinion.

Feature map and search question

The working concept contains five separable features: autonomous navigation around bridge geometry; thermal and visible-light image capture; image alignment; defect detection or anomaly scoring; and a location-linked inspection report. The first search asks whether one reference or a supported combination teaches those features before the owner’s stated date. A second path looks for the narrower combination of thermal imaging, autonomous route adjustment, and defect prioritization.

Search paths recorded

STEL records plain-language and technical synonyms for bridge, structural member, unmanned aircraft, thermography, image registration, anomaly detection, crack or delamination, route planning, and inspection report. Searches combine terms with Cooperative Patent Classification areas identified from close seed records. Citation chains, related families, inventor names, assignees, and non-patent technical literature open additional paths. Each query, filter, database, and retrieval date remains reproducible.

  • Reference group A: bridge inspection by unmanned aircraft; compare navigation and reporting features.
  • Reference group B: thermal defect detection for civil structures; compare imaging and anomaly methods.
  • Reference group C: autonomous inspection route adjustment; compare control inputs and location mapping.
  • Counsel: determine which dates, family members, claim language, and combinations are legally relevant.

Reference treatment

A candidate is not ranked because its title sounds close. The record shows the passage, figure, claim, or technical section connected to each feature and labels whether the support is explicit, inferential, or absent. Family members are grouped to reduce double counting. Publication, priority, filing, grant, assignment, and current status fields remain distinct.

Limits and next work

The report names databases searched, inaccessible material, language limits, date coverage, and unresolved terminology. Search absence does not prove novelty. Counsel decides legal relevance and whether more searching is required. Engineering receives separate questions about the actual navigation inputs, imaging sequence, model training, and report output so the next search uses the invention as built rather than the broad concept alone.

STEL next to the tool and human paths

Google Patents searches patent documents, claims, classifications, families, and non-patent literature. STEL turns the product question into a feature map, search history, ranked references, status record, and counsel packet. Patent counsel interprets claims and gives patentability, validity, infringement, or freedom-to-operate opinions.

What STEL, Google Patents, and a Patent counsel each do.
ResponsibilitySTELGoogle PatentsPatent counsel
Search patents and non-patent literatureYesYesYes
Build a feature map and reproducible search historyYesLimitedYes
Rank references and explain their relevanceYesLimitedYes
Maintain landscapes, families, status, and watchesYesLimitedYes
Interpret a claim as a legal conclusionNoNoYes
Give an FTO or infringement opinionNoNoYes

Tool column checked against the official Google Patents product page on August 6, 2026. Features vary by plan. “Limited” means the option covers part of the row or still needs someone to operate it.

What forms STEL

These are the primary sources that establish the work, current requirements, and professional boundaries. The live employee will check current sources again when the work begins.

The first month with STEL

By day 30, every priority patent question can be traced from the technical feature through search history, source evidence, family and status record, and unresolved legal question.

  1. 01 · Day 1

    I define the technical question, dates, feature map, known references, search sources, and missing engineering facts.

  2. 02 · Week 1

    I deliver the first reproducible search record, ranked references, family normalization, cited evidence, and counsel questions.

  3. 03 · Month 1

    I maintain the selected landscape or watch, close research gaps, and deliver the next evidence-based technical and counsel brief.

Works with your existing systems

  • Slack
  • USPTO Patent Public Search
  • WIPO PATENTSCOPE
  • Espacenet
  • Google Patents
  • Technical literature databases
  • Google Drive

What STEL does not do

I do not provide patentability, validity, enforceability, infringement, claim-construction, or freedom-to-operate opinions.

I do not promise a complete prior-art set or treat search absence as proof of novelty or clearance.

I do not decide whether references may be legally combined, whether a claim reads on a product, or whether an activity should proceed.

I do not file, amend, abandon, assign, license, challenge, contact, or make a representation about a patent without approval.

The line that does not move

I will not give a patentability, validity, infringement, or freedom-to-operate opinion.

When the record conflicts

If feature definitions, dates, family records, legal status, product evidence, or counsel instructions conflict, I preserve each source and stop the affected conclusion or alert.

Functional adjacency

The employees STEL hands work to

Put STEL next in line

Tell us which part of the function is still sitting with you. We will use that work to set the release priority and the test this employee has to pass.

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