Product Development
Identify blocking patents and gain insights on the best course of action: license, design around or initiate patent invalidation efforts by finding prior art
Freedom to Operate Search
Identify potential patent infringement risks before launching a new product or entering a new market with our freedom to operate search services
What is a freedom to operate search?
Before launching a new product or service or entering a new market, it is imperative to evaluate if one has “freedom to operate (FTO).” A Freedom to Operate Search, also called a clearance search, is conducted to determine if a product or service infringes upon any patented technologies within a given jurisdiction.
An FTO search identifies potentially infringing elements such as product features, subsystems, or components. It can identify infringement risks not only from existing patents but also from pending patent applications or “potential future rights.” This makes a freedom-to-operate search or a patent clearance search a critical step in reducing the risk of costly litigation or product launch delays.
Why is a freedom to operate search needed?
An FTO search identifies potentially infringing elements such as product features, subsystems, or components. It can identify infringement risks not only from existing patents but also from pending patent applications or “potential future rights.” This makes a freedom-to-operate search or a patent clearance search a critical step in reducing the risk of costly litigation or product launch delays.
When should you conduct a Freedom to Operate search?
We partner with clients to deliver FTO search and analysis aligned with each stage of the innovation process.
Get in touchWhat is a Freedom to Operate opinion?
A Freedom to Operate Opinion, also known as a clearance opinion, is a legal assessment provided by a patent attorney. The opinion, based on the results of the FTO search, provides guidance on whether the product or service can be commercialized or brought to new markets without infringing upon existing patent rights in a certain jurisdiction.
At Parola Analytics, we work with patent attorneys and trusted IP firms to provide clients with FTO Search and FTO Opinion. This end-to-end support helps businesses gain insights, reduce patent risks, and move forward with commercialization with an informed IP strategy.
Clients who engage us for both services get preferential rates, ensuring a more streamlined process at competitive costs.
What our clients are saying
“The first search Parola Analytics, Inc. performed for us provided the key reference supporting our invalidity position on a patent we were evaluating.”
Sean M. Dean, Ph.D.
Fish & Richardson
"Parola analysts uncovered prior art that even opposing counsel’s team could not during litigation.
The quality of their work and deeper understanding of the subject matter were instrumental to the case that we eventually won.”
Saqib J. Siddiqui
Mayer Brown
“Vincent and his team at Parola are excellent at locating prior art. We have worked with Parola on two matters, and both times, Parola delivered outstanding results. Parola’s highly-relevant search results and reports demonstrated a thorough understanding of the patent claims.”
Daniel Kiang
Knobbe Martens
“Vincent Violago and his excellent team at Parola Analytics provide high quality, detailed, prior art search results with minimal oversight and handholding.
These guys are highly educated and experienced in their field and work together with great efficiency. The work product is top-notch, and they are always available for follow up, including detailed discussions of the report and additional pinpoint searches based on the results.
I highly recommend Vincent and his team.”
James A. “Tripp” Fussell III
Mayer Brown
“The team at Parola Analytics did an excellent job in providing us with the highest-quality prior art research service.
The team’s search report highlighted the best prior art references with an easy-to-understand format. In short, the team proved itself.”
Ryan Phelan
Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
“I recently engaged Parola Analytics to conduct a prior art search on a difficult US patent that had already stymied another search firm that delivered two unusable references.
Parola found four much better references in two weeks that demonstrated a deeper understanding of the search and an effective selection of the best references.
I highly recommend Parola Analytics.”
Barry Shelton
Shelton Coburn
“Parola Analytics is our trusted partner for prior art search contests on PATROLL, Unified Patent’s crowdsourcing platform.
With their expertise in prior art searching, Vincent and his team at Parola Analytics are valuable partners in reviewing prior art submissions to our contests.
Parola Analytics provides broad knowledge across various subject-matters and offers competitive pricing.
They are easy to work with and are responsive to our needs.”
Sam Jaffna
Unified Patents
“In just weeks, our investments in our relationship with Parola Analytics started to pay handsome dividends.
Parola Analytics identified a patent filed by researchers at Yale that showed promise as a vaccine against malaria. Our article, authored by Monisha Ravisetti, was publicized in hundreds of newspapers and magazines worldwide and quoted thousands of times on social media.
Parola’s flexibility proved invaluable for a startup company like ours, and the reasonable fee structures allowed us to invest in the relationship with confidence.
Marius Meland
Founder, Law360
CEO and Founder, Fastinform
“Parola Analytics has consistently provided excellent search results coupled with an easy to navigate and detailed search report. Parola’s responsiveness and communication are exceptional.
I highly recommend Parola.”
Chris Hadley
Jones Waldo
“Parola Analytics is an outstanding resource for our boutique intellectual property firm.
Patentability searches are the first step for new patent clients. Vincent and his team take care of this crucial step, and provide us with high-quality and comprehensive search reports. The search reports provide our clients with a clear visual representation of the state-of-the-art and make our counseling even more impactful.
Our patent practice is enhanced by Parola Analytics’ search capabilities, and our favorite find is Parola Analytics.”
Justin H. Cross
HamiltonCross LLP
“Parola Analytics was able to quickly provide us with a key prior art reference despite other search vendors failing to find anything useful.
Parola’s thorough search report also provided detailed analysis and allowed us to easily assess the viability of the references and efficiently create invalidity contentions.
Would highly recommend.”
Luc Dahlin
Goodwin Procter
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Parola Analytics. Vincent Violago is very responsive and professional. He answers all your questions and ensures the right person does the search. The patentability report provided is very visually pleasing and easy to follow.
The searcher (who is a PhD chemist and registered US Patent Agent) took great care to understand the claim language of a biotech invention prior to doing the search. A very thorough search was done in a timely and efficient manner. I highly recommend Parola Analytics for patentability searches.”
Imtiaz Billah
Torrey Pines Law Group PC
“Parola Analytics is the perfect fit for us, start-ups. They offered us the flexibility we needed for our unique needs. We received high quality results fast at competitive prices.”
Alfredo Carranza
i6 Technology
For small IP firms looking for a reliable patent research partner, Parola is the perfect choice. Parola Analytics has consistently delivered high-quality results in the various patentability and design patentability projects we have worked on. They have a very collaborative and hands-on approach to each project. The researchers have vast experience and IP knowledge which allows me to get results well-aligned with my specifications.
Tom Tatonetti
Tatonetti IP
Parola Analytics delivered an exceptionally thorough and well-organized work product, tailored to the specific needs and requirements of my project. It is the best prior art search I have received across my nine issued patents.
Mike Weaver
Intrinsic Marks
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Freedom to Operate / Clearance Search FAQs
What is a Freedom to Operate (FTO) search?
A Freedom to Operate (FTO) search, also known as a clearance search, helps determine whether launching a product, process, or technology could potentially infringe existing patents. This type of prior art search provides insights into the potential legal risks associated with bringing an innovation to market.
When should I conduct a freedom to operate search?
It is advisable to conduct an FTO search before launching a new product, entering a new market, or investing in product development. Gaining insights on potential infringements allows you to make changes in design, inform your IP strategy or market planning.
What does a freedom to operate search?
A freedom to operate search analyzes existing patents and patent applications in a given jurisdiction. The search identifies patent claims that your product, service, or method could potentially infringe. A clearance search is typically bound by region (US, EU, China, etc), depending on where you want to market.
What is the difference between a freedom to operate search and a patentability search?
While both searches review existing patents, a patentability search focuses on assessing the novelty (and to some extent, the non-obviousness) of an invention. A patentability search may include a search on both patent and non-patent sources. A freedom to operate search determines if your product, service, or process infringes on existing patents. This type of search tends to focus on patent literature. The searches serve different purposes, but are often complementary.