Pabst Patent Group (PPG) provides in-depth oral and written intellectual property opinions that shape our clients’ most important business decisions and protect them against challenges from competitors.

Our team conducts patentability analyses to gauge if the subject matter of an invention disclosure will likely be considered patentable. We perform searches to evaluate whether the technology described in a disclosure is useful, novel, and non-obvious.

In addition, PPG regularly provides validity opinions to determine if a patent is in-force and assess the scope of the claims. Our lawyers analyze the claims to identify any enablement or written description issues. When needed, we perform validity searches in an effort to find prior art that was not considered by the examiner during prosecution of the patent application.

Our group also prepares non-infringement opinions for clients who need to distinguish a product from claims of a third-party patent. These opinions are typically rendered when the characteristics of a product or potential product are well-known. The non-infringement opinion helps confirm that the product is not covered by a third party's patent claims and averts enhanced damages from willfulness should the product be ultimately found to infringe by a court.

We also conduct investigations to render freedom to operate opinions regarding whether a product or process made available by our client would infringe the valid and enforceable rights of a third party. While these investigations can be time-intensive, they are often crucial to our clients in a high-stakes situation.

If the investigation is conducted in the late design stage, we may also provide suggestions for avoiding potential infringement by modifying the product or process. This type of opinion is generally authorized before the company is fully committed to product launch, but after significant investment is made to fully define the company's product.