Essential Business Strategies – Freedom to Operate Study Prior to Commercialization

In an article by Dr. Kowalski, has described about the essence of FTO. According to him, panning for the development, production and launch of a new product is as much a matter of forecasting future market developments as it is of minimizing risks. A major risk for any company, particularly companies in technology sectors in which there is extensive patenting, is that the commercialization of a new product or technology may be blocked by a competitor holding a patent over a technology that is incorporated in the new product.

In extreme scenarios, there may be "essential patents" that are indispensable for developing certain types of products or for meeting certain technical standards. In such cases, without prior authorization of the patent owners, the risks of being accused of infringement are extremely high.

This is why many companies, prior to launching a new product, and often even prior to initiating a new line of research that may lead to the development of a new product, seek to minimize the risk of infringement by securing their "freedom to operate" (FTO), i.e. ensuring that the commercial production, marketing and use of their new product, process or service does not infringe the intellectual property rights of others.