PatSeer, a company that helps users do patent searches, has created a new service for industrial design firms and manufacturers. The problem the service was designed to solve, is as follows:

"In the past decade, design registrations have surged in Asia and North America owing to market globalization and the rising value of designs as a competitive asset. This has led to more frequent and complex legal disputes."

Designers can stay out of legal trouble, the company reckons, by first doing research to see if anyone's designed anything similar to the thing you're working on. To make this easier, they've created an AI-powered Industrial Design Search service "with unparalleled coverage," they claim, citing access to 20 million design registrations across 86 different design registers.

To use it, you upload images of what you're intending to produce, check off boxes narrowing down function, materials, finishes, etc., and AI returns similar designs that have already been registered.

"Design searching has been stuck in sand for a long period," says company founder Manish Sinha. "Professional users have had no option but to scan thousands of images to ensure reliability in their outputs. By combining leading edge AI with enriched content, we are offering a hybrid intelligence solution that redefines how designs are searched. This platform represents the future of industrial design search and provides professionals with indispensable tools for the task."

The company says you have to request access to the service by providing a name and e-mail address. Their pricing is opaque—"Contact Us"—but they're providing a free two-week trial.