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Freedom-to-Operate Patent Triage

Gives a first-pass screen of patents that could block a product, flagged as not a clearance opinion

Source Download skill
Repository
anthropics/claude-for-legal
Stars
9,870
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
1 file

What it does

When you ask whether a product, process, or feature might be blocked by existing patents, this skill has the agent run a structured first look: it gathers facts about the product, identifies the 2-5 most plausible patents (using a patent-search connector if one is set up, otherwise only patents you supply), and builds a rough element-by-element comparison of each patent's independent claims against your product. It then lists open questions and next steps, and writes a memo. It is explicitly designed never to conclude a product is clear to launch; a 'nothing obvious found' result only means the triage didn't find a blocker.

Great for

  • Engineers or product teams who want a rough list of patents to hand to patent counsel before a launch decision
  • In-house lawyers or patent staff who want a structured first draft of a claim-chart review to refine
  • Non-lawyers who need research notes to take to counsel, not a final answer

Skip it if

  • Getting a clearance decision or a legal opinion to launch a product: the skill itself says it is not an FTO opinion and that only registered patent counsel can give one, and a clean result is not clearance
  • Situations where a thorough patent search is required, since the triage is a first look and can miss blocking patents
  • Sharing or discussing the surfaced patents outside privileged channels, since knowledge of specific patents can later bear on willfulness

Try asking

  • “/ip-legal:fto-triage "an on-device speech recognition model for consumer wearables, US launch first"”
  • “Is anything blocking our planned launch of a battery-management feature in the EU and US?”
  • “Build a first-pass claim chart against the most plausible patents for our new checkout flow.”
  • “What open questions would a real freedom-to-operate study need to resolve for this process?”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Freedom-to-Operate Patent TriageInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 1 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    fto-triage.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip fto-triage.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip fto-triage.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Give specific technical detail and target jurisdictions up front; the intake step asks for them otherwise.
  • Supply known patent numbers if you have them, since without a search connector the triage relies only on what you provide.
  • Treat the output as a list to hand to patent counsel, and keep the memo in a privileged matter folder if a lawyer is involved.

What's inside

  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from anthropics/claude-for-legal under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.