With the enterprises entering foreign
markets, the patent infringement risk faced by their products will
be correspondingly increased. In order to better prevent and
control related infringement risks in advance, it becomes more and
more important for the enterprises to conduct FTO analysis.
1. What is FTO
FTO is short for Freedom to Operate,
which means free implementation. The word "FTO" first
appeared in foreign countries, referring to the free implementation
of the technology of the implementer without infringing others'
patent rights. From the most essential point of FTO, it refers to
the analysis of patent infringement risk.
The content and objects of the FTO
analysis are mainly valid patents (granted patents and patent
applications under examination), as well as invalid existing
technologies. The FTO analysis mainly aims to prove that the
technology to be implemented could be freely implemented without
infringing others' patent rights.
