The grid is
being rewritten.

What we see, day to day.

Services tuned to energy & cleantech.

Where this work lives.

Frequently asked questions about energy & cleantech IP.

• 01What IP issues are unique to energy and cleantech?

  Energy and cleantech IP often spans both hardware and software — storage chemistries paired with grid-edge controls, generation systems paired with optimization software — so coverage strategy needs to extend across both. There are also DOE/ARPA-E compliance considerations for federally-funded innovation, ITC exposure for imported components, and trade-secret programs for materials and process know-how that resist patent disclosure. Lynch LLP coordinates patent, trade-secret, and enforcement workstreams together rather than treating them as separate engagements.
• 02How does Lynch LLP approach patent-filing timing in energy and cleantech?

  Cleantech filing strategy is shaped by public-disclosure events, federal-grant narratives, and deployment markets that often differ from the R&D location. Lynch LLP works through those variables with energy and cleantech companies and sequences U.S. and PCT/national-stage filings as one coordinated roadmap.

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• 03How do we approach freedom-to-operate analysis in energy and cleantech?

  We start with focused searches around your specific implementation rather than the broader industry; FTO is about patents that would actually block your product, not patents that mention your sector. The deliverable for each potentially-blocking patent classifies as clear (no concern), monitor (have a non-infringement or invalidity argument ready), or design-around (engineering changes that preserve the product's value while avoiding the claim). For cleantech specifically, we coordinate U.S. and European searches when EU deployment is on the roadmap, and we're explicit about which markets the FTO covers. We document the analysis with enough rigor to support a willfulness defense if you're ever sued — a weak FTO opinion is worse than no opinion in litigation.
• 04How does our experience in energy and cleantech differ from a general-practice firm?

  Three things distinguish our cleantech work. First, our attorneys have mechanical and electrical engineering backgrounds — the right depth for systems-level patents on energy storage, power electronics, and grid hardware. Second, the attorney you meet is the attorney doing the work. Strategic decisions happen with the same lawyer through the matter, not handed off to a rotating cast of staff. Third, we coordinate U.S. and international filings as a single strategy. Cleantech deployment markets — EU, China, Korea, India — vary by technology and partner geography. We approach PCT national-stage decisions as commercial questions rather than default checklists.

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