Freedom to Operate analysis

Are you planning to commercialize a new product or manufacturing process? Before proceeding, it’s worth ensuring that you can enter the market without infringing on the patent rights of other companies. A Freedom to Operate (FTO) analysis greatly reduces the risk of unintentional patent infringement.

Our evaluation provides you with information on valid patents and filed applications that may limit your activities or even bar them completely. You will receive a listing of the most relevant publications, and our European patent attorney who is most familiar with your technical field will analyze the three to six most relevant publications and provide an estimate of the potential infringement risk. Our report includes the status information of the analyzed publications in the target countries that you have defined, to the extent that such information is available in databases such as Inpadoc or national patent registries.

The core of the FTO analysis is defining the target – a clearly delineated product or process – and then conducting a methodical search for it that is as complete as possible. Our FTO searches are carried out either by one of our attorneys who specializes in database searches, or a partner company using the best tools available.

The earlier in your product development you are aware of the possible patent rights of other parties, the more cost-effectively you will be able to modify your own plans when needed – saving time and effort. An FTO analysis also gives you an excellent overview of where your own IPR efforts are best focused.

Are you familiar with the full IPR situation in your own industry? If not, contact our FTO coordinator Hanna, and we can help you evaluate whether an FTO analysis could benefit your business.

Our FTO service package is priced at 6,000 € + VAT.