A patentability assessment is carried out to determine whether the idea is ‘patentable’ or not. This involves not only ascertaining the novel aspect of the idea but also verifying the obviousness of an idea t0 a person skilled in the art and utility of the idea vis-à-vis its industrial application. A patentability assessment typically involves conducting a search for patent and non-patent literature disclosing content similar to those of the idea to be patented.

At Epiphany, we strongly recommend patentability assessment prior to initiating drafting of the patent application, as it not only helps in ascertaining the patentability of the invention prior to indulging in the expensive process of obtaining a patent but also helps in determining the boundaries of state-of-art so that the patent application can be drafted in an optimal way.

A team of patent experts at Epiphany follows a systematic approach to obtain quality search results to help the clients make smarter and better strategic IP decisions. We provide customized search reports along with search summary opinion documents, based on well-crafted search strategies developed over the years of experience in search assignments and by harnessing the power of multiple paid and free search databases and libraries. We employ manual and AI powered search strategies such as Semantic & Linguistic Search, Patent Classification Search, Citation Analysis, Attribute Clustering, and Non-Patent Literature Search on databases of worldwide coverage of 100+ jurisdictions for finding prior-art search results. We have native language translation system in place to perform native language searching. Our prior-art search assessments will give you an indication of whether your invention is new before you commit yourself to the costs associated with a patent application.

An FTO study is conducted to determine whether introduction of a product in geography would infringe upon the valid IP rights of an entity residing in that geography. An FTO study is typically conducted by identifying active patents or patent application publications that could pose as commercial barriers in the jurisdiction targeted for the manufacture, sale, use or export of the proposed product.

Therefore, the FTO study serves as an effective risk assessment tool for assessing the commercialization of a given product at a given time, and in a given jurisdiction.

At Epiphany, our team of experienced professionals first develops an in-depth understanding of the product features, and, thereafter conducts a detailed search for identifying active patents or patent application publications that map on to the product features. The claims of the identified active patents or patent application publications are then analyzed for potential infringement by the product features. The findings of the FTO study are collated in a customized report based on client’s requirements.