Terms of Service
Last updated: August 4, 2026
These Terms of Service govern your purchase and use of PatentabilityCheck, a service of Underwood & Associates, LLC ("the firm", "we", "us"), offered at search.underwoodpatents.com. By purchasing a report you agree to these terms.
1. The service
PatentabilityCheck performs a patentability search across patent databases and delivers a written report called a Preliminary Patentability Assessment. The search and draft report are produced by the firm's search system, which uses AI-assisted analysis tools; every report is then reviewed and approved by a registered U.S. patent practitioner before delivery, and the delivered report identifies the approving practitioner and the approval date on its cover. Review and approval of a report is part of the service described here; it does not constitute legal representation (see section 2).
2. Not legal advice; no representation
The report is a preliminary patentability assessment provided for informational purposes only. It is not a legal opinion and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client or practitioner-client relationship is created by the purchase or delivery of a report. Patent database coverage is necessarily incomplete, and no search can guarantee that all relevant prior art has been identified. A definitive patentability determination requires professional analysis of properly drafted claims by a registered practitioner. Underwood & Associates, LLC makes no warranty as to the patentability of any invention described in a report.
3. Price and payment
The report price is $199. The optional 30-minute Report Review Consultation is $250. Payment is processed by Stripe; we do not receive or store your card details.
4. Refund policy
A full refund is issued if the report fails to be delivered. All sales are otherwise final, because the search and the practitioner's review are performed on your specific invention beginning at your submission.
5. Submission access
After payment you receive a private, single-use submission link. The link admits exactly one invention disclosure submission and then expires. Unused links expire 30 days after purchase, with a reminder sent after 7 days. You are responsible for keeping the link confidential; anyone holding the link can use its one submission.
6. Delivery within one business day
Reports are delivered by on-page download and by email within one business day of submission, after review and approval by the firm's practitioner; most reports arrive sooner. Delivery to the email address you provided at checkout constitutes delivery.
7. Data retention and deletion
Your invention disclosure, uploaded figures, and intermediate search data are retained only as long as the search and the practitioner's review require, and are permanently deleted from our systems, together with the report file, within 15 minutes of delivery; files are overwritten before deletion. After deletion we retain only: (a) payment and order records (your email address, Stripe transaction identifiers, amounts, and timestamps), and (b) the firm's copies of the practitioner review correspondence (the draft report and your disclosure, sent to the reviewing practitioner) and of the delivery email, including the report, which the firm keeps as its record of the work performed and of what was delivered, for dispute resolution, and for regulatory compliance. See the Privacy Policy for details.
8. Your responsibilities
You represent that you are authorized to disclose the submitted invention to us and that your submission does not violate any obligation to a third party. Keep your report: after the deletion described in section 7, we cannot regenerate or re-send it.
9. Consultation
The Report Review Consultation is a 30-minute discussion of your report with the practitioner. It is scheduled by email after purchase. The consultation itself does not create an ongoing representation unless separately agreed in writing.
10. Gift certificates
A PatentabilityCheck gift certificate is a single-use code redeemable on this site for the service purchased with it: one Preliminary Patentability Assessment, or one Preliminary Patentability Assessment together with one 30-minute Report Review Consultation. A code is consumed when it is redeemed and cannot be reused. Unredeemed codes do not expire. Gift certificates have no cash value, are not redeemable or refundable for cash except where the law requires otherwise, and may not be resold. A gift certificate purchase is refunded in full if we fail to deliver the code; once a code has been delivered, the sale is final, and the refund policy above applies to the report produced when the code is redeemed. Whoever enters a valid code may redeem it; safeguard your code as you would cash. Codes are transmitted by email, and we are not responsible for a code used by someone who obtained it from the purchaser or recipient.
11. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the firm's total liability arising from the service is limited to the amount you paid. The firm is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including lost profits or lost patent rights.
12. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to conflict of law principles.
13. Contact
Underwood & Associates, LLC, 3904 Valley View Rd., Crystal Lake, Illinois, 60012, United States. See the Contact page.