Product Teardown & Reverse Engineering
How do I prove a competitor's product infringes my patent?
Speak with our teamI suspect a competitor's device is infringing on my patent through its internal components. How can I prove it?
Quick Answer
If your patent claims cover internal structures, materials, or dimensions that can’t be confirmed from a product’s exterior or publicly available documentation, a product teardown might be suitable for you.
A product teardown physically opens and analyzes a device using various techniques such as X-ray/CT imaging, cross-sectioning, decapsulation, SEM-EDS, and FTIR, to reveal its internal components, materials, and construction. It’s used to investigate a competitor’s technology, support patent infringement and Evidence of Use analysis, and guide reverse engineering or R&D.
What You Need
A Product Teardown can uncover what’s inside. Combine this with an Evidence of Use Search to map those findings against each element of your patent’s claims.
Find your starting point
What each product teardown technique can reveal
Technique Product teardown techniques and what they reveal | What it reveals |
|---|---|
2D X-ray imaging | Internal components, connections, PCB structures |
3D X-ray CT imaging | Internal architecture, spatial relationships, hidden structures |
Mechanical cross-sectioning | Internal layers, structures, dimensions |
Ion milling | Fine cross-sections with minimal mechanical damage |
Laser / chemical decapsulation | Semiconductor dies, wire bonds, package structures |
SEM | Microscopic surface and cross-sectional structures |
EDS | Elemental composition of targeted materials |
FTIR | Polymers, adhesives, resins, and other organic materials |
Product Teardown
How does a product teardown work?
Every investigation is designed around the questions you need answered. A typical teardown moves from careful, non-destructive imaging through to targeted microscopic and chemical analysis.
Common product teardown techniques
1. Non desctructive imaging
This is particularly important when the device needs to be preserved, and is especially useful for tightly packed or overlapping components.
We first examine the product and map its internal architecture before opening or altering it. 2D X-ray imaging reveals internal components, connections, and structures at a glance, while 3D X-ray CT builds a fully navigable model that can be examined layer by layer.
2. Physical disassembly and cross-sectioning
Once the internal architecture is mapped, selected components can be physically opened or sectioned for closer examination.
Mechanical cross-sectioning exposes internal layers and structures so they can be measured and analyzed. Precision cutting, grinding, and polishing can produce an edge-on view of otherwise inaccessible structures.
For particularly delicate structures, ion milling can remove material at a much finer scale while minimizing mechanical damage.
3. Semiconductor Decapsulation
For products with integrated circuits, the protective package is removed to reach the underlying silicon die. Laser or chemical decapsulation exposes the die while preserving delicate features like wire bonds for further analysis.
4. Microscopic and elemental analysis
Once a component or structure has been exposed, we can examine it at the microscopic level.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) provides high-resolution images of surfaces and cross-sections. Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) can identify the elemental composition of targeted areas.
This can help determine what materials are being used and characterize microscopic structures, coatings, solder joints, conductive traces, and other components.
5. Material and chemical analysis
Physical appearance alone does not always reveal what a component is made from.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) can identify organic materials based on their molecular signatures. This can be useful for analyzing polymers, adhesives, resins, coatings, and other materials used inside a product.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can a product teardown prove patent infringement?
A teardown turns a sealed, black-box product into observable technical evidence. Patent claims often concern features that can’t be confirmed from a product’s exterior or public specifications : internal structures, material composition, dimensions, and manufacturing characteristics usually require physical analysis to establish.
Can I use a product teardown for competitive intelligence?
Teardown analysis isn’t limited to disputes. Rather than relying on published specs or marketing claims, your team can examine the physical product itself to understand exactly how it’s built.
A teardown can help your engineering and R&D teams:
- Benchmark competing products against your own
- Understand unfamiliar technologies and manufacturing methods
- Identify components, materials, and construction choices
- Spot opportunities for design or process improvement
How long does a product teardown take?
This depends on the complexity of the product and the component you want to investigate. This can take a minimum of two weeks.
How do I know which product teardown technique to use?
Our team can assess your needs and develop a product teardown strategy that will be most suited to the product you are investigating and the information you need to extract.
How we can help
Build your technical evidence.
Patent Invalidity, Evidence of Use searches, and Product Teardown-based research give patent owners and patent counsel a documented, defensible starting point, before an enforcement position is tested by the other side.
Client Success Stories
Explore how we create value for our clients
Learn how we’ve partnered with law firms, in-house counsel, and technology companies in protecting innovations
A top U.S. IP law firm, shifting from defensive litigation to enforcement, engaged us for a device teardown to support their patent infringement assessments.
A global energy technology company specializing in solar power systems, needed to determine whether a competitor’s products infringed on key patents.
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