Teardown Analysis
Teardown analysis is the systematic disassembly of a product to see how it is actually built. Analysts open the device, identify internal components and circuitry, and correlate what they find with the claims of a patent.
Why open the product at all
Teardown analysis is important for understanding a competitor's technologies and designs. It can help identify potential IP infringement during the product manufacturing or assembly stage.
It is vital when documents about the product are limited or unavailable, because the hardware itself becomes the record.
What the work involves
We conduct a systematic disassembly of a product or system to identify its internal components and circuitry, then correlate the findings with the relevant patent claims to support infringement claim charts and licensing opportunities.
Teardown or software reverse engineering?
Both answer infringement questions, but they look at different things and often work together.
Teardown analysis
Answers what is inside: which chips, boards, and circuits the device uses, and how they are connected.
Software reverse engineering
Answers how a function is carried out, working from the code a product runs or the signals it produces.
Many infringement questions need both, and a teardown is often the first step, because identifying the components tells you which software or protocol behaviour to examine next.
When it's worth doing
Documents fall short
Datasheets, manuals, and standards often stop short of the detail a claim element needs, and some implementation choices are never published at all.
Before or during manufacturing
Catching a potential IP infringement early is easier to act on than discovering it after a product ships in volume.
Where the findings go
Claim charts
Each component or circuit identified is correlated with a patent claim element, so the chart rests on physical evidence rather than inference.
Licensing
A clear picture of what a product contains makes an approach to an implementer concrete.
A patent family
The same disassembly can inform several patents at once, since one product often reads on more than one claim.
Who commissions it
Patent holders
Building infringement claim charts on physical evidence rather than inference.
Licensing teams
Looking for evidence of use to make an approach to an implementer concrete.
Product teams
Checking for potential IP infringement during manufacturing or assembly.
When the documents stop, the hardware keeps talking. We open it to hear what it says.
What you receive
- A systematic disassembly of the product, documenting internal components and circuitry
- A correlation of the teardown findings with the relevant patent claims
- Evidence formatted for use in infringement claim charts
- A written report of the findings, with a call to discuss licensing opportunities
Frequently asked questions
What is teardown analysis?
Teardown analysis is the systematic disassembly of a product or system to identify the internal components and circuitry it contains. The findings are then correlated with relevant patent claims. It is used to understand a competitor's technologies and designs, and it can identify potential IP infringement at the product manufacturing or assembly stage. Teardown is most valuable when public documents about a product are limited or unavailable, because the hardware itself becomes the record.
How does teardown analysis differ from reverse engineering of software?
Teardown works on the physical product, while software reverse engineering works on the code or the signals a product produces. A teardown answers what is inside: which chips, boards, and circuits the device uses, and how they are connected. Software analysis answers how a function is carried out. Many infringement questions need both, and a teardown is often the first step, because identifying the components tells you which software or protocol behaviour to examine next.
When is a teardown worth doing?
When the documents are limited or unavailable. Datasheets, manuals, and standards often stop short of the detail a claim element needs, and some implementation choices are never published at all. A teardown supplies that detail directly from the device. It is also worth doing before or during manufacturing and assembly, when identifying a potential IP infringement early is easier to act on than discovering it after a product ships in volume.
How are the results used afterwards?
The findings support infringement claim charts. Each component or circuit identified in the teardown is correlated with a patent claim element, so the chart rests on physical evidence rather than inference. The same material supports licensing opportunities, because a clear picture of what a product contains makes an approach to an implementer concrete. The same disassembly can also inform several patents in the same family, since one product often reads on more than one claim.
See what's actually inside
Send us the product and the claims you have in mind, and we'll scope the teardown.
