Infringement analysis
Each independent claim of each candidate patent is charted element-by-element against the product's features, with a clear finding of infringement or non-infringement.
The most rigorous FTO clearance a product launch can have.
Freedom-to-Operate Clearance Engine assembles a litigation-grade, patent-attorney-signed freedom-to-operate opinion — feature-by-feature infringement analysis against the live global patent corpus, a ranked list of blocking patents, design-around options, and an advice-of-counsel-grade written opinion — produced by an internal AI engine and signed off by a registered patent attorney before the client ships.
Feature-by-feature claim chartingGlobal patent corpus search (USPTO, EPO, WIPO, JPO, etc.)Ranked blocking patents with risk scoresDesign-around options draftedRegistered patent attorney sign-off
Why opinions fail
A single missed patent can block a launch or trigger a lawsuit.
Every hardware, medtech, consumer-electronics, industrial, and biotech company that launches a product faces the same buried landmine: a third-party patent it never saw can block the launch, force a redesign, or trigger a lawsuit. U.S. patent litigation set a record $4.3B in damages in 2024, filings jumped 22% in 2025, and non-practicing entities drove ~90% of high-tech patent litigation. Median damages run around $5M and simply defending a suit costs $0.6M–$2.5M+.
The standard preventive control is a freedom-to-operate opinion, but companies face a broken market: boutique IP firms bill $10k–$50k hourly over 4–8 weeks, too slow and expensive for a startup shipping fast; offshore search shops deliver a raw hit list with no legal opinion; and self-serve AI tools chart claims but cannot render a signable, insured opinion.
Freedom-to-Operate Clearance Engine exists to close that gap with a single, exhaustive standard applied identically to every product.
$4.3B
record U.S. patent damages in 2024
The benchmark
Measured against the letter of the law — claim by claim.
We do not summarize the law and hope. Every opinion is scored against a versioned rule pack tied to the exact text of 35 U.S.C. §284 and Federal Circuit precedent. These are the provisions each opinion is held to.
Willful infringement defense
The opinion is structured to support an advice-of-counsel defense against treble damages, with documented reliance on competent legal analysis.
Claim construction
Claim terms are construed using the Phillips standard (ordinary meaning to a person of skill in the art), with intrinsic and extrinsic evidence considered.
Prior art validity considerations
Where relevant, the opinion notes potential invalidity arguments based on prior art, including anticipation and obviousness.
Expert qualification
The attorney signer is a registered patent attorney with technical competence in the relevant art, documented in the opinion.
Presumption of validity
The opinion acknowledges the presumption of validity for issued patents and addresses any challenges accordingly.
How an opinion is built
Intake to attorney sign-off, with deterministic gates the AI cannot overrule.
AI extracts and drafts. Deterministic rules — running as code, outside the model — decide what is complete. A registered patent attorney signs every release. That order is never reversed.
01
Product intake & feature decomposition
Upload product specs, drawings, or a description. We return a free clearance scan: a feature-by-feature breakdown and an initial patent landscape.
02
Global patent search & clustering
We search the live global patent corpus (USPTO, EPO, WIPO, JPO, etc.) using semantic and classification-based queries, clustering results by art unit and blocking potential.
03
Claim charting & risk scoring
Each independent claim of candidate patents is charted element-by-element against the product features. A risk score (high/medium/low) is assigned based on claim scope and product overlap.
04
Design-around drafting
For high-risk claims, the engine drafts alternative design options that avoid infringement, with legal reasoning for each.
05
Attorney review & sign-off
A registered patent attorney reviews the analysis, exercises independent judgment on claim construction and infringement conclusions, and signs the formal opinion.
06
Delivery & monitoring
You receive the FTO opinion, claim charts, design-around options, and a monitoring subscription that alerts you to newly published patents that may affect clearance.
The bar we hold
Rigor you can measure.
100%
Attorney-signed
No opinion ships without a registered patent attorney's signature.
10 days
Standard SLA
From complete intake to signed opinion.
<1%
Critical-defect target
Tracked against a gold-standard opinion library.
5+
Patent office databases searched
USPTO, EPO, WIPO, JPO, KIPO, and more.
Why Freedom-to-Operate Clearance Engine
Built to be the most thorough option a product team has.
Litigation-grade, by design
The deliverable is a formal legal opinion structured to support an advice-of-counsel defense. Every element is documented and defensible.
Deterministic, not vibes
The gates that decide completeness are code, not a model's opinion. A drafting error cannot slip past a statutory requirement.
In its lane, on purpose
We prepare documentation and run searches as your clerical agent. We never give legal advice outside the signed opinion, and the attorney signer is independent.
Engagement
Fixed fee per product, per tier. No hourly billing, ever.
Simple, predictable, and aligned with a documentation standard — not a cut of any recovery.
- A free clearance scan before you commit — see the patent landscape and risk profile.
- Three fixed-fee tiers: Clearance Scan ($2k), Clearance Memo ($6k), Formal FTO Opinion ($15k).
- Optional annual monitoring retainer ($3k/year per product) for newly published patents.
- Attorney review included in all tiers; no hidden fees.
FAQ
Questions, answered precisely.
Is Freedom-to-Operate Clearance Engine a law firm?
No. Freedom-to-Operate Clearance Engine, a service of Your Deputy, Obuke LLC, provides documentation-completeness services. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent you in any legal matter. The formal FTO opinion is rendered and signed by a registered patent attorney who is an independent contractor.
Do you guarantee that the opinion will protect against willful infringement?
No. No service can guarantee a legal outcome. The opinion is structured to support an advice-of-counsel defense under 35 U.S.C. §284, but the ultimate determination rests with a court. We provide a rigorous, documented analysis.
What makes an opinion 'complete'?
Completeness is defined by the statute and case law: each independent claim charted, claim construction documented, infringement findings clear, design-around options provided, and signed by a registered patent attorney. Deterministic gates enforce each one before release.
How fast is it?
The standard SLA is 10 business days from complete intake to a signed opinion. The free clearance scan is returned within 2 business days.
How are you priced?
Fixed fee per product, per tier. No hourly billing. Clearance Scan: $2k, Clearance Memo: $6k, Formal FTO Opinion: $15k. Annual monitoring retainer: $3k/year per product.
See what patents block your product before you launch.
Start with a free clearance scan. Send your product description and we'll return a patent landscape and risk profile.
Documentation-completeness service · not legal advice · the opinion is signed by a registered patent attorney.