A US Medical devices company partnered with SciTech Patent Art to identify potential patents that could block the right to use of their multi-functional surgical device.
Problem & Context:
SciTech Patent Art Approach & Deliverables:
- A 3-member team of Biomedical engineers from SciTech Patent Art was assigned to the project.
- The multi-functional surgical device comprised about 30 critical components.
- The Right to use (RTU) study involved conducting searches for each of the structural components (including major and minor components), functional and mechanistic aspects.
- Searches by competitors and inventors were also conducted.
- Relevant patent documents were identified after screening large datasets, and an element by element analysis was done for all the aspects.
- Differences between the aspects of the client’s device vis-à-vis that claimed in identified patents were assessed.
- There were no blocking patents for the major components/aspects; however, there was a potential blocking patent that claimed a minor component that was identical to that in the client’s device.
- The client opted to procure a license from the patent holder for its use in their device and the device was subsequently commercialized.
- This study helped the client understand the potential freedom to operate (FTO) risks and undertake appropriate action.
The project was implemented over period of 5 months and costed $100,000