Engineering-driven patent analysis for medical device teams.
Understand how a concept differs from existing technology, how a proposed product maps to relevant patent claims, and where engineering changes may create clearer technical differentiation. WJH has reviewed thousands of patents and applications perfecting these skills.
Concept patentability & prior art
Break an invention into technical elements, identify relevant patents and publications, and clarify where the proposed concept appears technically differentiated.
- Invention decomposition
- Prior-art searching and screening
- Patent-family review
- Technical differentiation matrices
- Technical summaries for patent counsel
Freedom-to-operate technical support
Translate a product architecture into features that can be compared with potentially relevant claims and patent families.
- Product-feature decomposition
- Relevant patent-family identification
- Claim-to-product mapping
- Technical claim charts
- Alternative architecture screening
Patent claim & landscape analysis
Review patent families and claims from an engineering perspective to identify technology clusters, recurring architecture, and competitive white-space questions.
- Competitive patent landscape
- Claim-element comparison
- Technology clustering
- Due-diligence support
Patent design-around engineering
When a claim constrains a preferred design, explore alternate mechanisms, materials, geometry, delivery methods, or procedural approaches that may meet the clinical objective differently.
- Alternative architecture ideation
- Concept down-selection
- FEA / CFD feasibility screening
- Prototype and bench-test planning
- Technical packages for counsel finalization
Patent claims describe products in technical terms. Product teams have to make those terms real.
WJH helps bridge the gap between legal claim language and the physical device — mechanisms, materials, loads, tolerances, delivery sequence, failure modes, and testable performance.
WJH Engineering provides technical and engineering support. Final opinions regarding infringement, validity, enforceability, or freedom to operate should be confirmed by client’s patent counsel.
Where this support fits.
Before filing
Clarify potentially novel features, identify prior art, and sharpen the technical description provided to patent counsel.
Before design freeze
Review relevant claim language early enough that design changes remain practical and affordable.
During diligence
Support founders, investors, or acquirers with technical patent landscaping and device-to-claim mapping.
Frequently asked questions.
What is the difference between patentability and freedom to operate?
Patentability asks whether a proposed invention may be sufficiently new and non-obvious compared with prior art to support patent protection. Freedom to operate focuses on whether making or selling a proposed product may implicate enforceable claims owned by others. A product can raise different answers to those two questions.
When should a medical device team look at FTO?
Early enough that architecture changes remain feasible, and again as the design and intended commercial configuration become more concrete. The appropriate timing and legal scope should be coordinated with patent counsel.
Can WJH provide a legal FTO opinion?
No. WJH provides the technical engineering analysis that can support an FTO investigation and counsel's formal legal opinion.
Can patent work lead directly to design changes?
Yes. One advantage of combining patent analysis with engineering development is that potential overlaps can be translated into alternative mechanisms, geometry, materials, or workflows and then screened technically.