Working in the field of design and development, it is generally acknowledged that the significance of not finding out if you can legitimately proceed with a project, can be catastrophic. It is therefore highly recommended that a thorough check is undertaken to ascertain whether a product, technology or invention has already been patented.
A Freedom to Operate search or FTO, as it is more commonly known, therefore reduces the risk of infringement on someone else’s patent claims. I say reducing, because there are no guarantees. An FTO analysis will only identify those patents that have been filed, not those inventions and technologies that are currently being developed. So, after a great deal of technical time and money has been incurred in the research and development stage, there could still be a patent which suddenly appears and halts or hinders progress, whilst necessary adjustments to the design are being discussed and debated.
Litigation is also a risky factor to consider. If a patent is believed to be too similar to another product or technical advancement that has already been licensed by a competitor, then a company may go-ahead with patent infringing proceedings. So you see, this whole area of new product development is, indeed, very complex. If you are, however, in the process of launching a new product and need someone who has experience in patent monitoring, then we can help.
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