Instant Invalidity Screening That Will Change How You Assess Patent Risk

When a blocking patent lands on your radar, you need to know fast whether it’s a real threat, before you call outside counsel.

Today, when a granted patent surfaces, most teams face an uncomfortable gap: the only rigorous way to answer those questions is an expensive, time-consuming attorney-led invalidity exercise, even when all you need at that moment is a fast read on whether the patent looks vulnerable. Organisations either overspend on formal analysis too early or make strategic decisions without enough information.

Minesoft’s Invalidity Search closes that gap. It delivers a structured, first-pass invalidity screen within seconds.

For all those times where people have said, “We don’t need a full opinion right now, we just need to know if this patent has obvious weaknesses.” This is built for exactly that moment.

What is the Invalidity Search?

The Invalidity Search is a fast, first-pass assessment. Simply enter the number of a granted patent, and receive a structured invalidity assessment, identifying the most relevant earlier prior art, indicating whether the patent appears vulnerable to anticipation or obviousness challenges.

It sits between identifying a patent risk and commissioning a full attorney-led invalidity case. Stronger patents can be treated with appropriate caution. Genuinely complex cases can be escalated to human attorneys, with a structured evidence base already in hand.

Perfect for:

Law firms: Paralegals and junior attorneys can deliver structured early-stage invalidity screens efficiently, as a front-end service before a full attorney opinion is commissioned. Senior attorneys can focus their time on the patents that genuinely justify deeper legal and strategic attention.

In-house IP and legal teams: R&D-heavy companies and IP functions that regularly encounter third-party patents during searches, freedom-to-operate reviews, or portfolio risk assessments get a practical, repeatable way to assess patent strength before escalating to costly external counsel.

Emerging IP functions: Organisations without a mature patent department get a defensible, consistent screening process for potential blocking patents. without needing specialist expertise for every assessment.

Less guesswork. Lower costs. Better decisions.

• Faster risk assessment. Quickly understand whether a newly identified blocking patent looks robust or potentially vulnerable — before committing time or budget to formal invalidity work.
• Better triage, not legal decisions. Surface the most relevant earlier references and highlight obvious weaknesses using modern AI retrieval, while leaving complex legal questions to human attorneys.
• Lower external spend. Stop sending every potentially problematic patent straight into a full invalidity exercise with outside counsel.
• Smarter portfolio risk management. Early visibility into patent strength supports better decisions on whether to monitor, work around, deprioritise, or escalate.
• More efficient attorney time. Internal teams and external counsel can focus on the patents that genuinely justify deeper analysis — not every one that appears on a search report.
• Stronger strategic decision-making. Identifying potentially invalid patents early helps organisations respond more confidently to third-party patent risk.

Frequently asked questions

Will it affect my existing PatDocs workflows? No. The Invalidity Search is additive. All existing workflows, saved searches, and integrations remain unchanged.

Does the report constitute legal advice? No. The Invalidity Search is a triage tool designed to surface relevant prior art and support early decision-making. It does not provide formal invalidity opinions and should not replace advice from a qualified patent attorney.

Get early access

Want to be among the first to use the Invalidity Search? Book some time with our team or reach your account manager directly to discuss how the feature fits your team’s workflow..