Freedom to Operate Opinion
A written freedom to operate analysis for a product or process, identifying in-force patents that could read on it and analyzing each claim against your implementation.
Includes design-around options where a real risk is found. This is the opinion that supports a good-faith defense to willfulness. Prepared, checked, and filed with the agency, with the filing receipt and next-step deadlines reported back to you.
Frequently asked questions
The fee covers preparation of the filing and its supporting materials, submission to the agency and confirmation of receipt, and a written report of the outcome and the next deadlines. It is fixed at this scope: one product, one jurisdiction, and excludes search fees. 1 round of revisions are included. If your matter falls outside that scope we tell you before starting and quote the difference — we do not bill past a flat fee without agreeing it first.
2 to 3 weeks from a complete set of instructions, plus time for the 1 round of revisions included in the fee. If you are working to a court deadline or a closing date, tell us when you order and we will confirm in writing whether we can meet it before you commit.
$9,750 is $325/hour × 30 hours — the time this deliverable takes in an ordinary patent opinions matter, at the firm's standard rate. Because it is a flat fee, the risk of the work running long sits with the firm: you pay $9,750 whether it takes us the estimate or twice it.
Third-party costs are never inside a flat fee and are passed through at cost, never marked up: court and agency filing fees, court reporter and transcript charges, expert witness fees, search vendor and e-discovery hosting charges, process server fees, and travel.
The filing you need and the deadline you are working to, the applicant or entity details the form requires, prior filings, receipts, or correspondence with the agency, and the supporting documents or exhibits the agency expects. Send what you have — if something is missing we will tell you what else we need before the turnaround clock starts.
Clients also order
Other Patent Opinions work MC Law prepares on a flat fee.
Patent Invalidity Opinion
A written invalidity analysis of a specific patent, with claim charts mapping prior art to each limitation.
Patent Non-Infringement Opinion
A written non-infringement analysis comparing your product to each asserted claim element by element, including the doctrine of equivalents and any prosecution history estoppel.
Copyright Infringement: Opposition to Preliminary Injunction
An opposition to preliminary injunctive relief in a Copyright Infringement case, attacking the merits showing and, just as importantly, the claimed irreparable harm and the delay in seeking relief.
Copyright Infringement: Temporary Restraining Order Application — Full Package
An emergency TRO application in a Copyright Infringement case, assembled on a compressed timeline.
Patent Infringement: Claim Construction Reply Brief
A reply on claim construction in a Patent Infringement case, narrowed to the terms still genuinely disputed after the responsive briefs.
Trade Dress Infringement: Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim — Full Package
The complete Rule 12(b)(6) package for a Trade Dress Infringement case: notice of motion, supporting memorandum, declaration with up to five exhibits, and proposed order, filed as one coordinated set.