By (author unknown), Groklaw NewsPicks – February 27, 2013 at 10:08PM
3. Get on the phone:
Don’t fear cold-calling. If the patent identifies people, or papers cited look promising, locate and contact the authors to see what materials they maintain, or if they can refer you to others. One search led me to the cell phone number of a CEO, was on a golf course when I called – he was very helpful pointing me to the right person.
4. Find the packrats and hoarders – those that build their own collections, either from their career, or interest. These folks exist, but they don’t publicize their collections, it isn’t indexed, and they may not appreciate visibility. Other sources are from estate sales and antique stores, but this is better for proactively building a collection for future use.
5. A by-product of the non-patent prior art search is identification of potential testifying experts. Sign ’em up. – Stuart Soffer, Patently O