Patent Law Infringement

Patent U.S. Patent Law Infringement

Introduction to Patent Law Infringement

Anyone who makes, uses, offers to sell, sells, or imports a patented invention without the permission of the patent holder is guilty of infringement. A party can be guilty of infringement even if his or her device is not identical to the item described in the patent. Under a rule known as the doctrine of equivalents, a device infringes if it does the same work in the same way as the patented invention, even if there are minor differences between the two. However, the courts interpret this rule cautiously to avoid giving the patent holder more protection than it is properly entitled to.

The person holding the patent, called the patentee, may sue the infringer in federal court to recover damages. The patentee may also obtain an injunction requiring the infringer to refrain from committing future acts of infringement. The accused infringer may argue in court that the patent should never have been granted in the first place. If the accused infringer raises this argument, the court will determine whether the patent is valid or invalid. Another important defense against claims of infringement is the first sale doctrine. Under this principle, once the patentee sells a particular item, the purchaser of that specific physical item may use it or resell it without being considered an infringer. For example, this is why people can use computers, which have many patented parts, without being considered patent infringers.

Patent lawsuits can be filed in any federal court in the United States. Appeals in patent cases all go to the same court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Washington, D.C. (see Courts in the United States: Federal Courts). This helps ensure that patent law is uniform throughout the United States. ” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Patent Law Infringement in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Patent Law Infringement