What is the Need for Freedom to Operate Search Report?

Freedom to operate (FTO) search may not be the first thing that comes to mind when developing a new product. However, it is an important step that should not be overlooked, particularly during research & development or launching a new product.

An in-depth freedom to operate search report provides individual inventors or businesses with a detailed infringement risk analysis of existing patents and patent applications. And provides insights on how to navigate these risks.

Businesses can leverage FTO reports to avoid costly legal fights, ruining relationships with customers and business partners, and the loss of an otherwise promising product. Other benefits include saving funds in development and marketing activities, exploring licensing opportunities, and ensuring a trouble-free market debut.

Before further discussing the importance of the FTO search report, let’s start with the FTO search basics.

What Is Freedom To Operate Search?

Freedom to operate (FTO) search, also known as clearance search, is a search that determines whether the product, technology or process infringes on any existing patent claim or not. Simply put, the FTO search determines whether an invention/product can be used or marketed freely in a specific country from a legal standpoint.

If the Freedom to Operate search report is negative, the organization can pursue one of the following options to operate the invention:

• • Do not proceed to operate the innovation.

  • Oppose or invalidate the relevant patent.

  • Purchase the relevant patent or apply for a license.

Must Read: How Much Does Freedom to Operate (FTO) Search Cost?

How To Do FTO Search Effectively?

You probably already keep an eye on your competitors’ activities and believe you have a good notion of what they’re working on; you may even have looked into what patents they’ve filed. Whatever the case may be, a complete freedom-to-operate search must go far further.

To begin, examine both granted and pending patents, as well as the databases of various national and regional patent offices.

You should check a patent’s expiry date and whether it is still valid; many issued patents are allowed to lapse before their 20-year term expires, while others are canceled after a lawsuit. Examining the claims of issued patents is also important since they may provide more protection than the products on the market indicate. Furthermore, not all patents are available in English, thus translation will be required in some circumstances.

It’s also crucial to look beyond your direct competition. Many high-tech firms do research with wide-ranging implications and file patent applications as a result. This means they can collect royalties from businesses in entirely different sectors. Based on technological classification and keywords, a good freedom-to-operate search will uncover such patents.

Watch to our comprehensive guide on FTO (Freedom to Operate) versus Infringement on YouTube.

How to do FTO search effectively?

You probably already keep an eye on your competitors’ activities and believe you have a good notion of what they’re working on; you may even have looked into what patents they’ve filed. Whatever the case may be, a complete freedom-to-operate search must go far further.

To begin, examine both granted and pending patents, as well as the databases of various national and regional patent offices.

You should check a patent’s expiry date and whether it is still valid; many issued patents are allowed to lapse before their 20-year term expires, while others are canceled after a lawsuit. Examining the claims of issued patents is also important since they may provide more protection than the products on the market indicate. Furthermore, not all patents are available in English, thus translation will be required in some circumstances.

It’s also crucial to look beyond your direct competition. Many high-tech firms do research with wide-ranging implications and file patent applications as a result. This means they can collect royalties from businesses in entirely different sectors. Based on technological classification and keywords, a good freedom-to-operate search will uncover such patents.

Importance Of Freedom To Operate Analysis Report

FTO search results, analysis, and opinions are frequently included in a FTO search report. It can be a helpful resource for an inventor or corporation in the product or process development, and if FTO report indicates the patent infringement, it allows adequate time to work around and minimize loss of resources.

Results from the Freedom to Operate search report can be quite useful in reducing risk. For example, FTO provides:

• • Assist in avoiding charges of “willful infringement” by showing thorough research.
  • Mitigation of investor or shareholder worry or concern about infringement.
  • We do mapping of key features of the product against the claims of the prior art. So the inventor/organization can decide which direction to proceed.

 Conclusion