§Solutions
Patent services for inventors, startups, labs, investors, and IP teams
Six kinds of clients bring us six different first questions. The evidence underneath is the same: verified references, documented methods, and commercial facts stated with their assumptions.
§ 01Context
Six doors, one corridor
We built our patent services for inventors, startups, universities, investors, corporate teams, and patent practitioners, and each of them walks in through a different door. An inventor asks whether the idea already exists. A grant applicant asks how to show reviewers where the field stands. A tech-transfer office asks who might license a disclosure. An investor asks what a portfolio actually contains. A corporate team asks what competitors are filing. A law firm asks for a search it can rely on by Thursday.
Behind every door is the same corridor. The same method finds and verifies references, the same second reader checks every report, and the same audit trail travels with the work. That matters when one question leads to the next. A startup’s landscape becomes the evidence in its investor deck. A university’s licensee list becomes a set of documented introductions. Nothing is rebuilt from scratch, because the record was kept from the start.
Choose the page that sounds like you. If none does, a free scoping call will sort it out in 20–30 minutes, and our scope and disclosures page explains what we never do, whoever you are.
§ 02Who we work with
Choose your starting point
Each page describes the situation that audience is usually in, the services that fit, and a typical path through them.
Independent Inventors
Honest first looks and protection from hype.
Startups & Grant Applicants
Evidence for SBIR/STTR proposals and investor decks.
Universities & Labs
Landscapes, licensee lists and marketing for tech transfer.
Investors & Lenders
Due-diligence data packs and commercial valuations.
Corporate IP & R&D Teams
Monitoring, landscapes, pruning and scouting.
Patent Practitioners
Searches, drawings and admin support for your clients.
Wherever you start, the evidence is the same.
Every engagement gets analyst-verified references, a second reader, and an audit trail you or your counsel can check.
§ 03Compare
What each audience usually asks first
A rough guide. Your first question may be different, and the scoping call is where we find out.
| Item | The first question | Where we usually start | A common next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent inventors | Does something like my idea already exist? | Prior-Art Snapshot, 3 business days | A full Patentability Search for your patent attorney or agent, or an honest stop |
| Startups and grant applicants | How do we show reviewers and investors where the field stands? | Patent Landscape & Whitespace, 3–6 weeks | 3D visuals for the proposal or deck, then competitor monitoring |
| Universities and labs | Who might license this, and is it worth the next fee? | Licensee Identification, 3–5 weeks | Marketing packets and documented introductions, or pruning analytics |
| Investors and lenders | What does this portfolio actually contain? | IP Due-Diligence Data Packs, 5–10 business days | A commercial valuation range with stated assumptions |
| Corporate IP and R&D teams | What are competitors filing, and where is the open ground? | Competitive Patent Intelligence, first profile in 2–3 weeks | Hoard Watch digests, then pruning before the next fee window |
| Patent practitioners | Can you run this search, or draw these figures, for my client? | Patentability Search, 5–7 business days | Drawings, design searches, and administrative coordination |
Turnarounds are typical, not promised, and every engagement is quoted at a fixed fee after a free scoping call.
§ 04Questions
Questions about where to start
Something else on your mind? Call (505) 357-5188 or write to info@metadragons.com.
I fit more than one audience. Which page should I read?
Read the one closest to the decision you face now. A university spinout applying for an SBIR grant, for example, will find the most useful path on the startups page. On the scoping call we’ll combine whatever fits.
Do all audiences get the same method?
Yes. Depth and deliverables change with scope, but every search uses AI-assisted recall, analyst reading, a second reader, and a delivered audit trail. That is what lets one engagement build on another.
Are any of these services legal work?
No. Everything we do is technical, analytical, commercial, or administrative. Legal judgments stay with your patent attorney or agent, and we coordinate with them when a legal step is needed.
Can I see examples?
Our engagement profiles are illustrative composites drawn from typical engagements, with details changed and no real client depicted. They show how a path through our services usually unfolds.
Keep reading
Related pages
§Next step
Not sure which door is yours?
Describe the decision in front of you. A free 20–30-minute scoping call will point you to the right starting service, and you’ll have a fixed-fee quote within one business day.