Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Trace—from getting started to security and confidentiality.
General
What is Trace?
Trace is a patent analysis tool that helps IP professionals create claim-chart style comparisons between patent claims and target products or evidence materials. It structures the analysis process, maps evidence to claim elements, and produces exportable drafts for attorney review.
Who is Trace for?
Trace is designed for patent attorneys, patent agents, IP litigation teams, corporate IP teams, licensing professionals, and anyone involved in patent infringement analysis. It fits workflows that involve claim charting, evidence mapping, and infringement evaluation.
Does Trace provide legal advice?
No. Trace is an analytical tool that produces structured comparisons and draft claim charts. All outputs are starting points for professional review—not legal conclusions. Attorneys and patent professionals must exercise their own judgment when using Trace outputs.
What jurisdictions and patent formats are supported?
Trace supports major patent formats including US, EP (European), WO (PCT), and other commonly used patent publication formats. The claim chart methodology is jurisdiction-agnostic, making outputs useful for analysis across different patent systems.
Features & Workflow
What do I need to upload to get good results?
You need two types of inputs: (1) the patent you want to analyze (either a publication number or PDF), and (2) evidence materials about the target product—such as product manuals, technical specifications, marketing materials, or datasheets. The more relevant and complete your evidence, the better the analysis.
How does Trace present results?
Results are presented in a claim-chart style format with claim elements on one side and mapped evidence excerpts on the other. Each mapping includes source citations, and match strength indicators help you quickly identify strong coverage versus gaps.
Can I edit the output?
Yes. Trace provides an interactive interface where you can review and refine mappings, adjust evidence selections, and iterate on the analysis. The goal is to give you a strong starting point that you can then customize.
What formats can I export?
You can export analyses to DOCX (Microsoft Word), PDF, XLSX (Excel), and CSV formats. This lets you integrate Trace outputs into your existing document workflows and share with colleagues or outside counsel.
How long does an analysis take?
Initial claim chart generation typically takes minutes rather than the hours or days of manual work. The exact time depends on the complexity of the patent and the volume of evidence materials, but the process is designed to be fast enough for iterative exploration.
Security & Privacy
How do you handle confidentiality?
We treat all uploaded materials as confidential. Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). Access is controlled by account authentication, and we minimize internal access to customer data. You can delete your data at any time.
Do you train models on my data?
No. We do not use customer-uploaded materials to train our models. Your patent documents and evidence materials remain confidential and are used only to provide the analysis service you requested.
Can multiple team members collaborate?
Yes. Team plans support multiple users with role-based access controls. You can share analyses with team members, assign reviewers, and control who can view, edit, or export specific projects.
What access controls are available?
Trace provides account-based authentication, role-based access control with granular permissions, session management, and configurable sharing controls. Enterprise customers can integrate with SSO providers.
Getting Started
How do I get started with Trace?
Contact our team to discuss your needs and get set up with an account. We'll walk you through the platform and help you understand how Trace fits your workflow.
Can I see a demo before signing up?
Yes. Contact us to schedule a demo where we can walk you through the platform and show you how Trace handles patent analysis for your specific use cases.
What support is available?
All plans include email support. Professional and Enterprise plans include priority support with faster response times. Enterprise customers also get a dedicated account manager and custom onboarding.
Is there a trial period?
Contact our team to discuss trial options. We want to make sure Trace is the right fit for your workflow before you commit.
Still have questions?
Our team is happy to walk you through Trace and answer any questions specific to your practice.