A patentability search is performed to check the patentability of an invention or idea before applying for patent protection. The basic requirements for an invention to be patentable are as follows:                         
i) Novelty: The invention disclosed should not be in the public domain, anywhere in the world, and in any form of communication, at the time of filing of the patent application.
ii) Inventiveness: The invention has a technical or economic significance or both, and would not be obvious to a  skilled person in the field of invention, at the time of filing of the patent application.
iii) Industrial applicability: The invention should be capable of being made or used in the industry.
The patentability search is conducted with the help of several free and paid databases that cover patent and non-patent literature, worldwide. The search is also conducted on other sources of public information such as non-scientific journals, articles, news reports, press releases, blogs, product literature, and audio-visual media content available online. The report cites pre-existing identical or similar literature, to help evaluate the probability of a patent grant for an invention.