What ClearstoneIP does

ClearstoneIP is a privately held SaaS company operating the Clearstone FTO platform, a purpose-built solution for patent freedom-to-operate analysis. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company serves in-house corporate IP teams and outside law firms across more than 25 named enterprise customers that include Bayer, Cytiva, Thales, ResMed, Mozilla, Stanley Black & Decker, Braskem, and JTI. Its product has been used to analyze over 3.1 million patent claims and review more than 1.6 million patents, spanning 100+ jurisdictions including the US, EP, WO, and JP coverage areas.

The platform is built around digital claim-by-claim patent review, real-time collaboration between legal, R&D, and outside counsel under role-based access controls, automated patent monitoring with prosecution updates, and an institutional knowledge base that compounds across engagements. FirstPass™, launched in June 2026, is the company's workflow-native AI capability, delivering structured claim-level analysis, risk ratings, design-around solution identification, and specification evidence extraction directly inside the review environment. The platform runs on AWS infrastructure with SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance certifications.

ClearstoneIP runs a freemium-to-enterprise GTM model: a free Standard tier, a Professional subscription at $450 per user per month (billed annually) or $550 monthly, and an Enterprise tier with custom pricing reached via direct sales ([email protected], +1 650 308 8351). Distribution blends a product-led growth motion for small teams with a sales-led motion for enterprise buyers, supplemented by content marketing, gated AI guides, conference presence at AIPLA and IPO events, and a strategic collaboration with MaxVal that has anchored deployments at law firms such as Michael Best.

Name

ClearstoneIP

Legal name

ClearstoneIP, Inc.

Website

https://clearstoneip.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Subscription - Standard Tier: Free tier ($0/month) for patent professionals with light FTO workload. Includes flexible capacity for 3 active reviews with up to 1,000 patents each, core review tools, collaboration functionality, global patent access, and reporting capabilities.
2. Subscription - Professional Tier: $450 per user per month billed annually ($550 billed monthly). Designed for active FTO teams with unlimited review needs, advanced collaboration features, project management capabilities, patent family reviews, cross-review patent finder, and customizable claim determinations.
3. Subscription - Enterprise Tier: Contact sales for custom pricing. Includes everything in Professional plus multiple-user access to common workspace, custom configuration, advanced security options, dedicated support for high-volume complex FTO analysis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ClearstoneIP provides the Clearstone FTO platform, a cloud-based SaaS application purpose-built for digital freedom-to-operate management. It enables patent teams to conduct claim-by-claim analysis, collaborate across in-house counsel, R&D, and outside counsel, and maintain institutional knowledge through role-based workflows. The platform incorporates FirstPass, a workflow-native AI capability that delivers structured claim-level analysis, risk ratings, and workflow status suggestions within the attorney review environment, along with patent monitoring, multilingual analysis, specification evidence extraction, and design-around solution identification.

Product overview

ClearstoneIP offers Clearstone FTO, a unified platform for patent freedom-to-operate management. The platform includes core capabilities for claim-by-claim patent review, digital review workflows, collaboration tools, patent monitoring, and an integrated AI suite. FirstPass™ is a workflow-native AI sub-product embedded within Clearstone FTO that delivers structured claim analysis and risk ratings to accelerate attorney review. The platform serves both in-house patent teams and law firms, with pricing tiers for Standard, Professional, and Enterprise deployments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Clearstone FTO: The company's flagship platform for digital freedom-to-operate management and patent clearance workflow.
• FirstPass

Products and services

• Clearstone FTO Purpose-built SaaS platform for digital freedom-to-operate management that enables patent teams to conduct claim-by-claim analysis, collaborate across in-house counsel, R&D, and outside counsel, manage workflows, and maintain institutional knowledge. Includes an integrated AI suite, patent monitoring, multilingual analysis, and role-based access controls. Targets in-house corporate IP teams, law firms, and R&D organizations.
• FirstPass™ Workflow-native AI capability integrated into the Clearstone FTO platform that delivers structured claim-level analysis, risk ratings, and workflow status suggestions within the attorney review environment. Leverages 10+ years of FTO workflow data to produce review-ready analysis. Analyzes 50 patent documents in under two minutes and identifies high-risk patents aligned with attorney judgment. Available to Clearstone FTO platform customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% reduction in FTO review time (beta participants with FirstPass)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MaxValcoreTechnology or IntegrationMaxVal and ClearstoneIP collaborated to deliver integrated technology solution for Michael Best law firm. MaxVal's willingness to incorporate feedback and develop innovative features based on firm requirements was a significant factor. Collaboration led to solution meeting current needs and positioning for future success. Case study published showcasing joint customer success.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Patsnap: AI-driven patent analytics and innovation intelligence platform offering patent search, landscape analysis, and competitive intelligence. Direct overlap with ClearstoneIP in patent analysis workflows, with stronger AI breadth and a much larger customer base.
• Minesoft: Patent search and monitoring software (Pat-KM, Pat-Express, MineSite) used by IP teams and law firms. Comparable in patent intelligence workflows with established position in monitoring and alerting — overlapping feature set with ClearstoneIP's monitoring module.
• Questel: IP intelligence and management software with Orbit Intelligence for patent search and analytics. Direct competition in patent analysis with established European enterprise customer base and broader IP service offering.
• Anaqua: IP management software platform serving corporate IP departments and law firms for patent and trademark portfolio management. Comparable in serving in-house IP teams with workflow tooling, though more focused on annuity/docketing than FTO-specific workflows.

Emerging players

• IPwe: Patent analytics and monetization platform with AI-enabled patent evaluation. Tangentially adjacent — focuses more on patent valuation and transactions than FTO workflow, but competes for the same corporate IP buyer attention.
• Dolcera: Patent research, analytics, and landscape services firm serving corporate IP departments. Competes in patent search and analysis services with custom tooling, though more services-led than platform-led.
• MaxVal: IP services and software provider with patent analytics capabilities. Already a ClearstoneIP technology partner (per Michael Best case study), positioning it as a partial collaborator rather than pure competitor.
• Gridlogics (PatSeer): PatSeer patent analytics platform offering search, analysis, and collaboration features for corporate IP teams. Comparable workflow tool with growing AI capabilities, smaller scale than ClearstoneIP's enterprise logos.

Broad incumbents

• Clarivate: Owner of Derwent, CPA Global, IPfolio, and MarkMonitor — the dominant IP software and services incumbent. Broad incumbent with overlapping patent analytics, IP management, and search capabilities, though not purpose-built for FTO workflow.
• LexisNexis PatentAdvisor: Patent analytics and prosecution tools from LexisNexis IP. Broad incumbent offering patent search, analytics, and litigation tools with deep enterprise distribution — competes for the same in-house IP and law firm buyer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ClearstoneIP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clearstoneip

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ClearstoneIP