Focus on Patents, Inc. stands ready to assist inventors in determining the scope of competitors' publicly known intellectual property by conducting electronic patent searches in the United States Patent & Trademark Office and in the Patent Depository Libraries in Missouri. Physical searches of available literature in local libraries and on-line services augment the information found in the patent art. Finally, a review of competitor's literature available directly from the client forms the basis for a complete analysis of the state of the art. From this written review, a client can choose to pursue formal protection or maintain the knowledge as trade secret information. Focus on Patents, Inc. will also be pleased to assist with determining alternatives and/or potentially patentable directions based on the review of competitor's current state of the art in view of client's products and processes.