Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Search
Map the in-force patents standing between your client and a market — before launch, not after a cease-and-desist.
Use it when: Before a product launch, market entry, new feature release, or investment decision in a target jurisdiction.
The job, done properly
An FTO search is about live risk: which un-expired, in-force claims in your target markets a product or process might read on. I scope tightly with you first (product features, target countries, must-have vs nice-to-have), build a feature-to-claim risk matrix, and check legal status so you are not chasing patents that have already lapsed. The result is an evidence pack your counsel can turn into a clearance opinion.
- Feature / product breakdown agreed with you at scoping
- Risk matrix: relevant in-force patents mapped to each feature, by jurisdiction
- Legal-status and patent-family (INPADOC) check on each hit
- Severity flagging so counsel can triage the high-risk items first
- Clean evidence pack ready for a formal clearance opinion by your attorney
From brief to deliverable
Brief & scope
You share the target and jurisdictions; I confirm what's in scope, the price and a realistic date.
NDA
Your NDA and conflict-clearance signed before any confidential detail changes hands.
Search & log
Classification-led search with the full, reproducible strategy log captured as I go.
Deliver
Report in your template, plus one round of refinement on the findings.