Best Practices While Conducting A Freedom To Operate Study

Introduction

The number of patent infringement suits being filed has been on the rise over the years. While it may not always be possible for companies to anticipate such lawsuits well in advance, some of suits may have been anticipated, and some of the anticipated ones could have been avoided by taking precautionary measures. A Freedom to Operate (FTO) study is one such precautionary measure to anticipate patent infringement and provide a chance to avoid infringement. A comprehensive FTO study takes several things into consideration, such as purpose of the study, jurisdiction, R&D stage and nature of analysis desired, among others. 

Purposes of conducting an FTO

An FTO study may be conducted for one or more reasons, some of which are discussed below.