This article explains how to run a screening project on patents you do not own, such as a target company's portfolio. Use it to size up a target's patents before an acquisition or to run a first-pass freedom-to-operate check.
Prerequisites
You have a screening project (see How to Create a Screening Project).
Steps
Choosing the External Portfolio
Open the project from Patents > Intelligence > Screening and click Add Patents.
On the Choose a Target to Analyze step, select the Company whose products you want to screen against, then click Next: Source. To add the portfolio without scoring, leave the target empty and click Skip Analysis.
On the Choose Your Patent Source step, select External portfolio.
Search for the company by name or website and pick it from the list. A website is resolved to the matching patent assignee. A company that belongs to a larger group shows Part of and its parent's name.
Check the card. It shows the patent count and sample titles so you can confirm it is the right entity.
Read the coverage line. It either shows how many patents are on file for the company or says ArcPrime will fetch them when you continue.
Pasting Specific Patent Numbers
To screen only some of a company's patents, select Paste a list of patent numbers instead. Enter US or foreign patent, application, or publication numbers, one per line or separated by spaces. Do not separate them with commas, because US numbers such as US10,123,456 contain commas.
Numbers already in your workspace are added as your own patents. Numbers found only in ArcPrime's patent data are added as external patents. Numbers found nowhere are listed as not found and left out.
Running the Analysis
Click Run Analysis, or Fetch external patents and analyze if the portfolio is not on file yet. With no target, the button reads Add all to project or Fetch patents.
A fetch reports its progress on the Result step. Large portfolios take a while; you can close the wizard and ArcPrime emails you when the patents are ready.
When scoring finishes, set the Minimum Likelihood of Infringement and click Add N patents to project.
Working with External Patents
External patents appear in the project's Patent List alongside your own, marked External, with the same Infringement % score. Click one to open a read-only page marked Third-party patent · read-only, with its abstract, claims, and worldwide applications. In the projects list, a project holding external patents shows an External badge.
You can remove external patents with Remove from Screening Project or the bulk Remove action, and they are included in Export. Notes are not available for them.
Running Deep Research on External Patents
You can run deep research, including claim charts, on external patents in three ways:
Click Do Deep Research on the external patent's row in the Patent List. When the run finishes, the button reads Go to Report.
Tick several rows, including external ones, and click Do Deep Research in the selection bar.
Click Do Deep Research in the Deep Research card on the external patent's page.
Runs use units the same way as runs on your own patents. Reports on external patents are visible only in your workspace.
Note: A library target cannot be combined with the External portfolio card. To screen another company's patents against library documents, paste their numbers instead.
Related Articles
How to Add and Remove Patents — Full walkthrough of the Add Patents wizard
How to Create a Screening Project — Set up the project first
Screening Project Claim Charts — Review chart evidence for project patents
Patent Portfolio Management FAQ — Common questions about managing portfolios