Freedom to operate (FTO)

Freedom to operate (FTO) is the legal ability to commercialize a product, process, or service in a given market without infringing the patents of third parties. An FTO assessment compares the technical features of the product against active, in-force patents in each country where launch is planned. Because patents are jurisdictional, FTO is always evaluated country by country. A clean FTO opinion does not guarantee absence of risk — it states that no relevant blocking rights were identified at the time of the search. FTO assessments are usually combined with a clear understanding of the protective scope of each potentially blocking patent.