Free Tool · Freedom-to-Operate
Does your product infringe this claim?
U.S. literal infringementinfringementMaking, using, selling, or importing a patented invention without permission from the patent holder.Read more → follows the all-elements rule: you infringe a claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → only if your product practices every single element. Break the claim down, mark what your product has, and find the one element that sets you free.
The all-elements rule
One missing element sets you free
A patent claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → is a list of elements joined by 'comprising.' To literally infringe, an accused product must practice every one of them. If your product is missing even a single claimed element, it does not literally infringe that claim — no matter how similar the rest looks.
That is why patent professionals build claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → charts: a table mapping each claim element to the accused product. This tool builds that table for you, then flags the elements where you are clear. Independent claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more → are the ones to chart first — they are the broadest, and if you clear the independent claimindependent claimA claim that stands alone — doesn't reference other claims. Defines the broadest scope of the invention.Read more → you clear all of its dependent claims too.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is a claim chart?
A claim chartclaim chartA table mapping each element of a patent claim to a feature of an accused product or prior art reference. Standard tool in infringement and invalidity analyses.Read more → maps each element of a patent claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → against a product or a prior-art reference, element by element, to show whether every element is present. It's the standard format for infringementinfringementMaking, using, selling, or importing a patented invention without permission from the patent holder.Read more → and invalidity analysis.
What is the all-elements rule?
To literally infringe a claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more →, a product must include every single element of that claim. If it omits even one element, there is no literal infringementinfringementMaking, using, selling, or importing a patented invention without permission from the patent holder.Read more → — which is exactly the gap a freedom-to-operate analysis looks for.
Where this fits · The patent process
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