At a written request of a user and subject to payment of appropriate administrative charges, the Office prepares search report on patents and distinguishing features and sends copies of patent documents.

The amounts of fees that are charged depend on whether a request refers to a search by bibliographic data or by the subject matter of an invention, in the domestic or in the international patent database. In formulating the request, in order to enable an efficient and relevant search of databases, it is necessary to provide a short description and a picture of the invention, as well as the catchwords or their combination of your choice, which best describe the essence of the invention. If the code under the International Patent Classification IPC8 is known to the user, it is desirable to include it in the request. Written requests for searches of patent databases are filed with the Information Dissemination Division.

Written requests for searches of available databases on distinguishing features (trademarks), charged according to appropriate fees, are filed with the Trademark Division.

Different types of information that can be found in the patent documentation can meet the needs of actual and potential users of this information for the following:

• information about existing or future industrial property rights in Serbia, especially in order to avoid infringements of rights;
• assessment of novelty and patentability of one’s own invention, with a view to filing a domestic, or maybe also international application for patent for invention;
• information about the contents of the state of the art in a particular field for the purpose of assessing the value and development of a particular technology;
• development of alternative technologies;
• improvement of the existing and the development of new products and processes;
• discoveries of technical solutions interesting for purchase or licensing;
• registration of the activities of competitors both in the country and abroad;
• market research for the purpose of identifying uncovered segments or new trends at early stages.