Technology Outcomes - Products

The most common reason a patent concept is considered hard-to-get is that it is too similar to a previous invention. When a new concept is similar to a previous invention, patenting can be very difficult, because patents must be new and non-obvious in relation to prior art.

The process of a competitor IP analysis involves searching through numerous databases for patents, products and claims that are close to your own technology. The importance and value of a competitor IP analysis will depend on where in the commercialisation process your technology sits.

Your competitor’s are going to look for weaknesses in your intellectual property, you should know about these weaknesses before your competitors in order to take the appropriate next steps to strengthen your IP position. A non-standard but extremely valuable intellectual property due diligence initiative is to conduct a mock-hostile-audit or a patent-circumvention-audit for a company’s patent-protected products.