Patent Litigation

A patent is an exclusive right of inventors of a patented item. Patent litigation generally begins when the inventor feels his or her patent rights are infringed. Patent infringement is a complex term. Courts surmise infringement into a definition of any use, sale or attempted sale, implementation, or reproduction of a patented invention. The legal system protects the exclusive intellectual property rights of an inventor and their patent. The civil courts take on cases of patent infringement. Patent litigation is the process used by parties to resolve patent disputes in and outside of civil court.

United States patent law contains several varied forms of patent infringement. The purpose of all these infringement laws is to protect the rights of the inventor. For an infringement action to occur, an invention must already be under published patent. In the case of pre-patent protection, inventors can only recoup financial losses from previous infringement after an invention gains a patent. This financial payment is in the form of royalties. For infringement of this nature to occur, plaintiffs must show infringement occurred after a patent was published, the patented works are identical to those in question, and the defendants must be aware of the pending or published patent. Other forms of infringement exist as well.

Other forms of infringement include:

Direct infringement
Contributory infringement
Induced infringement
Indirect infringement
Active infringement inducement

All forms of infringement are punishable in the civil courts. Damages for patent infringement are harsh. In the United States, patent infringement damages include royalties or profits lost due to the infringement. For cases of direct infringement, treble damages are common. Furthering the corrective action, courts will order infringing products removed from all forms of commerce. In all instances, a patent litigation lawyer is essential in reclaiming your losses. Patent litigation lawyers protect clients from wanton infringement and massive fiscal losses stemming from any form of patent.