Patent Infringement and Remedies

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When an inventor receives a patent for an invention or discovery, he or she has the exclusive right to keep others from using that invention.

• inventor is the only one who can make, sell, or use it
• protection begins when the patent is issued
  • lasts for as long as the patent is valid
• federal government does not enforce patents
  • inventors must enforce their own rights
    • must sue people who violate their patent rights, as well as people who make, use, or sell the patented invention during the patent period
    • may sue a person who makes, uses, or sells a substantially similar product

An infringer is a person who violates the IP rights of another.

• does not matter if the infringer intended to violate the inventor’s patent
  • called strict liability
    • means that people can be held responsible for their actions even if they did not intend to cause harm

Suing for patent infringement must be done in federal court.

• because patents are governed by federal law
• Federal district courts have original jurisdiction for patent infringement cases

Info

A patent troll is a person who owns a patent but does not intend to make, use, or sell the invention.

• enforce their patent rights and file lawsuits against alleged infringers
• refers to a person who is overly aggressive and opportunistic

Infringement Defense

• Infringers have two basic defenses to an inventor’s claim of patent infringement:
  1. The patent is invalid
     • Under patent law, an issued patent is presumed to be valid
     • means infringers cannot merely assert that a patent is invalid to defend themselves in a lawsuit
     • must prove that the patent is invalid for some reason
       • burden of proof
  2. The patent is valid, but the alleged infringer did not violate the patent
     • Courts and jurors must review the technical specifications of products and patents to decide whether infringement occurred

Remedies

• Remedies in an infringement case include:
  • injunctive relief
    • orders the infringer to stop violating the inventor’s paten
    • means that the infringer can no longer make, use, or sell a product that infringes on the inventor’s patent
  • damages
    • Inventors also are entitled to money damages in an infringement case
    • Damages compensate the inventor for profits that he or she may have lost because of the infringer’s actions
    • may be entitled to treble damages if the infringer willfully violated the inventor’s patent
    • may also be entitled to recover his or her attorney’s fees