Due Diligence & Freedom to Operate (FTO)
Insulating commercial launches against patent infringement exposure. We execute rigorous patent clearance searches, render authoritative legal opinions, and perform deep-dive M&A due diligence for high-tech ventures.
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De-Risking Commercial Product Launches
Launching a innovative technology without thorough Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) clearance exposes a company to catastrophic willful infringement liabilities and potential federal injunctions. A Freedom to Operate analysis verifies that making, using, selling, or importing your commercial product will not infringe active third-party patent rights.
At Weber Rosselli & Cannon LLP, our senior partners direct multi-jurisdictional patent clearance investigations. We formulate targeted search matrices across domestic and foreign databases, reviewing thousands of active patent claims to isolate relevant prior art. Because our attorneys possess graduate-level scientific backgrounds, we interpret complex claim language with exact technical precision.
When potentially blocking patents are identified, we perform deep claim construction analyses. If a third-party claim poses a risk, we provide strategic design-around recommendations or prepare formal Non-Infringement and Invalidity Opinions of Counsel.
M&A Due Diligence & Opinion Practice
During corporate acquisitions, venture funding rounds, or licensing transactions, intellectual property assets represent a significant portion of total enterprise value. Our firm conducts comprehensive acquisition-side due diligence reviews for corporate buyers, investment funds, and target entities preparing for liquidity events.
We audit target portfolios for chain-of-title integrity, inventor assignment validity, USPTO maintenance fee compliance, and security encumbrances. Furthermore, we analyze whether target patents provide real commercial exclusivity or are vulnerable to inter partes review (IPR) invalidation.
A formal Opinion of Counsel from a recognized patent firm provides essential legal protection. In federal patent litigation, establishing that a company sought a written non-infringement or invalidity opinion prior to launch serves as a primary defense against claims of willful infringement and treble damages.
The Due Diligence & FTO Process
Product Scope Scoping
Analyzing product technical specifications, component schematics, software flowcharts, and commercial launch roadmaps.
Database Search Matrix
Executing comprehensive patent searches across USPTO, EPO, WIPO, and key foreign patent databases using technical class codes.
Claim Construction & Filtering
Filtering search results, analyzing independent claims of active patents, and evaluating prosecution histories (file wrappers).
Design-Around Consultation
Collaborating with client R&D teams to implement subtle engineering modifications that completely bypass competitor claim scope.
Formal Opinion Rendering
Authoring formal Non-Infringement or Invalidity Opinions of Counsel to insulate commercial operations against willful infringement.
Due Diligence & FTO FAQs
A patentability search evaluates whether your invention is new and non-obvious to obtain a patent. An FTO search evaluates whether making or selling your commercial product will infringe active claims owned by third parties.
Obtaining a formal, written Non-Infringement or Invalidity Opinion from an independent patent attorney demonstrates good faith reliance and serves as a key defense against willful infringement claims and enhanced treble damages in federal court.
Because utility patents generally expire 20 years from their effective filing date, FTO searches focus primarily on active patents filed within the last 20 years, along with pending published patent applications.
We work with your engineering team to execute a technical design-around, negotiate a commercial license, or evaluate whether the blocking patent is invalid based on uncited prior art.