Landscape

A landscape search is helpful in making strategic decisions. A landscape report from Appropriate IP Services provides relevant prior art, patents in force and patent applications pending allowance/grant. It provides details on patent expiries and also preliminary comments on the possible path forward.

The report also includes non-patent literature of value in designing a strategy. The report can be designed as per the client’s needs, including focus with respect to specific geography, assignee, and/or any other aspect of particular interest.

The IP landscape report will also include details on the reference product (as the case may be), specific and critical regulatory aspects for consideration in strategy design, competitor activity information, and/or any other important aspect required during strategy design.

Freedom to Operate & Infringement Analysis

An Infringement or Non-infringement Search identifies patents having claims that may read on a prospective product. Appropriate IP Services can provide a Freedom to Operate (FTO) search to identify patents and published applications that may pose an infringement risk to your product, as well as abandoned and expired patents/applications.

Depending on your needs, the FTO search may be limited to a specific geography of your business interest, and/or for the major global markets such as US, EU, CA, JP, CN, AU, NZ, LatAm, MENA, AsiaPac and other emerging markets.

Prior to conducting the FTO search, Appropriate’s team will work closely with you to establish the features of the product that should be considered for analysis and will understand your business needs. With this information, we will conduct a search, identify relevant patents & pending applications, understand the IP regulatory overlap and highlight the relevant details in the search report to better design the filing strategy. Appropriate IP Services strives to work closely with the client so as to meet the client’s business goals.

Validity/Invalidity Searches

Our Standard Invalidity or Validity Search identifies prior art references that may be used alone or in combination to contest the validity of the claims in a patent or patent application. We support you through the legal opinion work that would be needed for the geography of interest and help you by supporting your legal teams.

Our prior art searches are not about providing you with a long list of references, including everything that comes up and that may have little to no overlap with the claims on hand that need to be invalidated, but we work to provide you the right set of arguments and references to support those arguments. We work closely with you and your legal teams to put together the story that will win the case for you. We are very particular about ensuring that the strategy is in sync with business goals and maintains business viability.

Competitive Monitoring

Competitor activity tracking is provided with landscape and FTO reports, and can also be provided as a standalone report, based on your need. Typically, the competitor activity monitoring involves

Review/tracking of amendments to competitor patent claims as they are made

Monitoring of issuing patents and analysis of the same for possible future actions to be taken

Tracking of re-examination proceedings and keeping the client updated on the progress, while constantly keeping an eye on the need for any change in strategy

Identifying and monitoring new filings within patent families and analysis of the impact of the same on overall strategy

Identifying competitor products and global status of the competitor products

Tracking of clinical trials, PRs, government filings, analyst reports, IMS reports, and conducting searches to collect relevant information

Due Diligence

Mergers and acquisitions are often complex and time-sensitive. Success depends on sound due diligence.
We have the necessary skills and experience to assist you in this process. Our services include:

Strength Assessment
Invalidity research ensuring you don’t overpay

Liability Assessment
Freedom to Operate (FTO) review providing ongoing risk exposure

Assignee/Ownership Review
Title and assignee research to determine entitlement of IP

Maintenance Fee Review
Confirm status of annuities and maintenance fees

Historical Litigation Analysis
Court record research providing current and past assertions or patents identified during liability assessment

We have significant experience in handling due diligence for small molecules, biologics/biosimilars and other technical areas such as devices and digital therapeutics. We have worked on several projects and provided support through the entire process, sometimes at very short notices, and without losing eye on quality of the work product.

Analytics

Product identification for global pharma markets – business case preparation, therapy area analysis, cost/price/volume projections, IP strategy.

IP Landscape preparation and analysis – including help on identifying an opportunity for API, polymorphs and formulations, and design around strategies.

IP Landscape preparation and analysis for biosimilar and biologic products

IP Landscape preparation and analysis for any technology, product, process, AI/ML and the like

Freedom to operate reports – close hand-holding with R&D, BD, regulatory teams and inhouse/outside counsel to define and support design-around strategies.

Invalidity searches and infringement analysis – IPR, PGR, Opposition/Revocation and Litigation support.

Competitive monitoring – Patents and market activity.

Due diligence – at M&A and during in-licensing

Portfolio evaluation for VCs and for M&A

Strategy for IP fencing of products

Patents

Prior art searches

Drafting and filing of patent applications – including Indian and International (including National phase and convention) applications.

Patent prosecution – Including preparing of response to office actions in Indian and foreign jurisdictions.

Opposition matters – crafting strategy, conducting searches, drafting arguments and filing oppositions, followed by successfully taking the pposition through

Annuity services

Patent enforcement

Revocation and counter suits

Appeals