Before spending on a patent application, it helps to know what already exists. We search patents and published literature, compare the closest references against your invention, and tell you plainly where the novelty seems to sit. That shapes whether to file, what to claim, and what to leave out.
At a glance
- Practice
- IP
- Pricing
- Flat fee, quoted before we start
- Included
- 6 deliverables
- Process
- 3 steps, one named attorney
- Where we work
- Slack, email or a call
When founders call us
The moments that usually bring a company to us for this work.
- 01
An engineer says the team invented something and you want to check before filing
- 02
You have a provisional on file and need to decide whether to convert it
- 03
A board member asks whether your core method is actually patentable
- 04
You are choosing between two technical approaches and want to know which is more protectable
What you get
Scoped in writing before we start. One flat fee for all of it.
- Search of US and international patents and published applications
- Targeted search of technical literature where relevant to your field
- Written analysis of the closest references against your invention's key features
- Assessment of novelty, obviousness and subject-matter eligibility issues
- Recommendations on claim focus and features worth emphasizing
- Copies or links to the most relevant references found
How it works
- 1
Invention briefing
Your technical lead walks us through how the invention works and what makes it different.
- 2
Search and comparison
We run the search and map the closest prior art against each key feature.
- 3
Written opinion
You receive the analysis and a call to decide whether and how to file.
Mistakes we help you avoid
The ones we see most often, and catch before they cost you.
- Avoided
Filing an application on a feature that a published reference already discloses
- Avoided
Treating a patentability search as clearance to sell the product, which is a separate freedom-to-operate question
- Avoided
Describing the invention at too high a level, so it reads like an abstract idea under eligibility rules
- Avoided
Ignoring your own earlier blog posts, talks or code releases as prior art
Patentability & Prior Art Analysis: questions founders ask
It is a search for existing patents, applications and publications that are close to your invention. The goal is to judge whether your invention is new and non-obvious compared with what is already public. No search is exhaustive, so the result is an informed view, not a guarantee of allowance.
No. Patentability asks whether you can get a patent. Freedom to operate asks whether your product might infringe someone else's in-force patents. You can have a patentable invention and still need a license from another patent owner.
It is not required, and sometimes timing means you file first. A search still helps you write the provisional around what is actually new, which makes the later conversion stronger. If a launch is days away, filing first and searching during the 12-month window can be reasonable.
They can when the claims are tied to a specific technical improvement rather than a general idea or business method. Courts and the USPTO look closely at eligibility for these inventions. The analysis will flag where your description needs more technical detail to hold up.
Get a flat-fee quote for Patentability & Prior Art Analysis.
A short call with an attorney. You leave with a written scope and one fixed price.
Book a call