Search Report

A written report prepared by a patent examiner at a Patent Office to provide the results of their search for prior art that is relevant to a patent application. 

The prior art that is identified in the search report typically forms the corpus of prior art against which the patent application will be examined (although it is possible for additional prior art to arise later on in the proceedings). Each item of prior art listed in the report will be categorised into categories indicating their perceived relevance to the claimed invention.  For example, category "X" prior art is considered to be relevant to the novelty of the claimed invention.  Similarly, category "Y" prior art is considered to be relevant to the inventive step of the claimed invention. 

In some cases, the search report may be accompanied by an examination report (sometimes referred to as a "search opinion") providing the examiner's reasoned objections against the patent application based on the prior art that has been found.