Patent Invalidity Search/Opposition Search

Patent invalidity search is conducted to support clients in complex litigation, opposition, and patent acquisition cases, particularly where a detailed claim chart—also referred to as the Rule 11 EoU chart—is crucial to facilitate legal efforts. The detailed invalidity search report drafted by Ingenious e-Brain encompasses all relevant patent and non-patent literature (NPL) that may impact the claims of a specific target patent. Before performing any invalidity search, we comprehensively analyze the patent case, reviewing litigation and opposition documents (if available), the file wrapper, and other relevant materials to establish a solid understanding of the case. We categorize the identified references into three categories: “X”, “Y”, and “A”, based on the international search report (ISR).

“X” Category: Indicates novelty or inventiveness found in a single reference.
“Y” Category: Indicates lack of novelty or inventiveness in one document; two or more references are identified to construct a claim chart.
“A” Category: Refers to background art that does not disclose novelty or inventiveness.

IeB’s Invalidity search report includes a feature matrix created for each aspect. This matrix allows attorneys to quickly navigate through fully supported, partially supported, inferentially supported, and unsupported features. Below is our methodology for an exhaustive invalidity search.