Freedom to Operate, abbreviated as FTO, is the ability to perform a particular commercial activity of your technology, product or service without infringing third party's valid Intellectual Property (IP) rights.
When planning a commercial activity, it is imperative to do the utmost to avoid infringing third-party rights. Luzzatto and Luzzatto generates freedom to operate (FTO) opinions for our clients, both for localized FTO and international issues.
FTO analysis includes identifying and analyzing the patents of others that may subject your company to patent-infringement liability. Performing an FTO analysis before launching a new product or acquiring a new company, can limit the risk of future litigation, avoiding unnecessary expense. FTO analysis done early in the cycle of product development gives companies the opportunity to take a license or to modify the design and avoid infringement.
FTO can also help identify opportunities for further development. Performing FTO analysis as part of due diligence enables you to steer clear of an opportunity fraught with the danger of litigation.
FTO analysis begins with an assessment of the product or service. A patent search is performed for unexpired patents and published applications that may claim the various components. Our experienced patent attorneys then evaluate the information and provide an opinion on the risks of going forward with the product, service, or acquisition.
The need to generate patent oriented FTOs emphasizes the advantage of our firm’s in-house searching ability, which allows the patent attorney (who needs to analyze rights that may interfere with our clients) to be a core part of the early planning of searches that are at the basis of the FTO. In addition, in order to generate useful FTO opinions, the scope of the review must expand beyond only patents, to include other potentially related IP rights, such as trademarks and designs.
FTO analysis can play a valuable role in your IP strategy. It allows you to identify, minimize, and manage risk while also identifying areas where patent coverage is thin or absent and therefore also presents opportunities.
