So how do people do it? How do they find out what the next and latest technologies to hit the market will be? Many times by the patent that is filed. If a patent has been filed well in advance and approved for certain products before they are launched, then by doing a search of the latest patents filed you may discover some possible up and coming products. For example, Nokia has an exciting product that may be soon to hit the market here. They have filed a patent for the self charging cell phone. Something like this could certainly revolutionize the cell phone industry. Businesses can use this information for preparations for these types of products to hit the markets. New agencies love this in that they can talk about the news of the product well before it is launched. Once the patent has been approved and logged onto the US patent search system, it seems that everyone could know about the prospects that a new product is coming. So if you plan on filing and getting a patent on something, assume that it may be out there for the world to see. It is nice, however, that the patent does give you protection of the rights of your invention.