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. Written and signed by an MC Law attorney, with the analysis and the assumptions it rests on set out in full.
Frequently asked questions
The fee covers the search and analysis the opinion rests on, a written opinion signed by the attorney, with its reasoning and assumptions set out, and a call to walk you through the conclusions and the next step. 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.
1 round of revisions is included. You can add more when you order, or later, at $1,475 per additional round. A round is one consolidated set of your comments and our revised draft back to you.
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 product, process, mark, or patent the opinion is about, the question you need answered and the decision it supports, any patents, marks, or prior art you already know about, and the launch, filing, or litigation timeline you are working to. 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.
2 to 3 weeks1 revision
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.
2 to 3 weeks1 revision
Patentability Search and Written Opinion
A prior art search and written patentability opinion for an invention, covering patents, published applications, and non-patent literature.
1 to 2 weeks1 revision
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.
2 to 3 weeks2 revisions