Questions of patent validity (or invalidity) can arise in many situations. It can be raised during due diligence for an investment opportunity or strategic partnership, during a licensing negotiation, during a broader litigation proceeding, or during a reexamination or validity (annulment) proceeding itself. In many cases, the entity requesting the patent search for validity is not the inventor or owner of the patent, it is an interested party who wants to know the true value of the IP, or the potential liability of the lack of IP rights. Furthermore, in preparing to enforce a patent against an infringer, patent owners many times decide to perform their own patent analysis by conducting a validity search in order to be forewarned of unanticipated complications that can make the cost of litigation proceedings soar.

Validity searches serve as a background check for proceeding with the expansion of business activities, and the reference point for crafting patent-drafting strategies. They can be used to identify red flags early on, avoiding the misuse of valuable resources. Contact us to find out more about FPIP patent searches.

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