• The 1-To-4 Transformation, a process developed by The Juhasz Law Firm, is an operation useful in patent clearance (and other patent assessments) that deconstructs a business opportunity (product, process, patent, invention, etc.) and transforms its definition into four business attributes—product; strategy; core competency; and market
  • 1-To-4 Transformation expands the patent clearance (freedom to operate) assessment scope from a narrow focus on the product domain to encompass the entire strategic domain, where a broad spectrum of strategic options can be considered

In this day and age, CEOs are being held more accountable by shareholders to show a return on patent investment.  The Juhasz Law 1-To-4 Transformation in patent clearance assessments can help measure and increase future return on patent investment.

The greatest threat to long-term return on patent investments is a too-narrow definition of a business opportunity (product, process, patent, invention, etc.) in the early stage of business decision making. By transforming the product definition into its multi-dimensional attributes, Juhasz Law empowers business decision makers with greater strategic insight and risk awareness.

A Business Primer

What is the Patent Clearance Process?

A patent clearance assessment, also known as a freedom-to-operate assessment (FTOA), is a legal assessment that a company performs with respect to a business opportunity (a product, a process, a patent, an invention, etc.) to determine whether patents held by others could block commercialization and success of the opportunity.   FTOA typically involves:

1)      study of the product or process to be commercialized;

2)      creation of a strategy for searching patents relevant to the product or process in the countries where the product is to be manufactured, used, or sold;

3)      execution on the search strategy to uncover relevant patents;

4)      reading of the claims of the patents found to be relevant onto the product or process to determine the existence or absence of infringement of the claims by the product or process; and

5)      dealing with any third party patents the product or process is found to infringe by license, design around, abandonment of product, or in some other manner.

Traditional freedom-to-operate assessments (FTOAs) often lose their strategic edge right at the starting gate when the first step tends to be overly focused on the product to be studied. This narrow product focus in the early stage of scoping fails to consider the role that a product will play in the overall strategic vision of the company.  That vision necessarily includes four key attributes, or key drivers:

          (a) the business strategy of the company;

          (b) the core competency of the company;

          (c) the market readiness with respect to this product under consideration; and

          (d) the product itself. 

By focusing the FTOA at the outset on these four key attributes, and not limiting the FTOA to a narrow product perspective, the FTOA can lead to a strategic clearance of the business with respect to the third party patent landscape unlike a traditional FTOA, which typically clears only an individual product. Money spent on FTOAs can now be better spent investing on assessing strategic products and on the technology platform from which future products will be derived.

The Juhasz Law 1-To-4 Transformation

How we guide in-house patent experts in expanding the business focus and delivering return on patent investment

Our proprietary approach to a more encompassing, strategic FTOA we call “1-To-4” – a simple operation of deconstructing a business opportunity (product, process, patent, invention or other opportunity) into its four business attributes of product; strategy; core competency; and market.

A study performed on the original product alone we call a product-domain representation (P-Domain).

A fully strategic study encompasses the product itself, as well as business strategy, a company’s core competency, and the market readiness for this business opportunity. We call this the S-Domain.

Read this article for more details on how to perform the 1-To-4 Transformation “Enhancing Shareholder Value by Assessing Company intellectual Property.” (link to https://patenthorizon.com/main/research-and-insights/white-papers/attachment/lj_0810_juhasz)

Once the transformation is complete and the multi-dimensional business opportunity is seen in the S-domain, the spectrum of strategic patent clearance options for the products becomes clearer.  Depending on many variables including the business objectives of the company, product life cycle, tolerance level of a company to litigation, etc., the option can be selected for the product clearance that is most strategic, effective, and efficient.

The Juhasz Law 1-To-4 Transform is not limited to only FTOAs.  A wide variety of patent assessments can be made more strategic with this operation. 

The Juhasz Law Firm can help you to better understand the effect of the 1-To-4  Transform on your patents. For more information regarding the 1-To-4  Transform and how it can help to make your patent clearance and other patent assessments more strategic, please contact The Juhasz Law Firm.

Your patents may be your most important asset. To help you protect your patents contact Juhasz Law, the firm committed to Positioning Your Patent Beyond The Horizon℠.

For an in-depth analysis on the 1-To-4  Transform, the new approach to patent clearance and other patent assessments, go to the December 2010 Juhasz Law Advisory.