Freedom to Operate Search: Understanding FTO Search Analysis Suppose- You have hit on a great idea, which has high potential. You started working on it with your product development team. You spent a lot of money on its R&D. As you are completely known of Intellectual Property, you can easily secure several features of your products after performing a patentability search. But, now as your product is ready to be launched in the market, but it results that there is an issue. Do you commit one big mistake in the procedure that could result in some unwanted litigation? Do you know what mistake you have made? It turns out that you relied on a patentability search at the end and hire an intellectual property firm for conducting an FTO search just before the launch of a product. With FTO search, you come to know that your product cannot be launched in the market on which you spent thousands of dollars. Your product is infringing on various patents, which incorporates your competitors. But, cancelling the commercialization of your product is not an option as you have spent a large amount of money on the development of the product and patent filing. Now, what can you do? In this scenario, you have two options: • •
Filing an IPR for the patents with identical claims Purchase all the relevant patents
Well, this option only works when you spend thousands of dollars, but still, there is not any certainty of thwarting litigation. This situation can be mitigated by getting an FTO search done in the started stage of product development. Performing FTO searches prior has many advantages too. It can help you avoid all the main barriers in the phase of development. And when you are ready to launch your product, you will have the freedom to operate. Following this valuable approach can help you reap great benefits. Let us now get to know in detail what FTO Search is…! What is FTO (Freedom to Operate) Search? The purpose of FTO or right to use search is to ascertain whether your planned product would infringe any patents or not. An Freedom To Operate Search might also incorporate the potential designs (possible product modification can mitigate the risk of patent infringement). The aim of the FTO search will be on patent claims and not the detailed descriptions or drawings. The main goal is to check If the product ignores any feature of each claim in the patents evaluated in the search. Not the same as validity or novelty search where the primary aim