Patent due deligence:

Before investing in any technology, protected as a patent, it is important to understand whether it is safe to evaluate or investigate the monopoly it provides. An intellectual property asset is created via a documented journey (prosecution). The journey is marked by legal requirements to be fulfilled. This is important as the patent law provides provision after grant, that a granted patent may be opposed and/or revoked anytime before expiry. This means, patent office does not take responsibility for its decision of granting a patent and the onus is on the investors to ensure the validity of the patent. Hence, a granted patent does not mean a clean slate to write a success story. Therefore, proper investigation is required to mitigate the risk of investment in a patent or patent portfolio or technology. Further, a patent document is a techno-legal document which is not easily deciphered by a person who is not skilled in the art; hence proper diligence is required from Patent Professionals.

Reviewing ownership and dispute factors

Operability : whether the operation of claims tend to infringe the claims of other patents- operability, etc.