IP Landscape Analysis

Do you have a good view of your company’s IP landscape? Potential investors want to know that you have protected yourself against infringement. Get an analysis through this twice-yearly program at UC Law SF and Berkeley Law.

Patenting your invention is just one step in being able to commercialize a technology. You need to make sure that you are not infringing on existing patents that could limit your ability to apply your technology. A clear view of your IP landscape is a must.

Ensuring that you have “freedom to operate” can take many hours of a patent attorney’s time. A full FTO analysis is often conducted before a major funding round to satisfy investors’ concerns. At earlier stages, e.g. for seed rounds, it is still necessary to get a sense of the legal barriers that might be constrain a company. This is done through an IP landscape analysis.

To provide IP landscape analysis to selected startups at no charge, QB3 has partnered with the UC Law SF Startup Legal Garage and Berkeley Law. For companies accepted to the program, a team of law students with technical backgrounds will perform an FTO analysis under the supervision of an experienced attorney. The company has to interact with the students weekly to ensure progress of the project. The program itself will take approximately two months to complete and will require a time commitment of 4-8 hours from the startup.

This is a selective program. Approximately four applications will be chosen based on a match with the law students’ technical background and interests. Strong preference will be given to incorporated companies with issued patents. Qualified applicants that we are unable to match with a student team may be offered a similar service by one of our partner law firms.