Enforcing Patent Rights

In instances where a business or individual feels their patent rights are being infringed upon, legal action exercising their patent protection rights must be taken with the assistance of an intellectual property lawyer.  Patent litigation regarding infringement can be utilized by patent holders to place an injunction against infringing entities, or in some instances, even obtain fiscal damages.  In its most basic form, patent infringements happens when another entity produces, utilizes, commercializes, or distributes a previously patented item without express permission from existing patent holders. 

Through civil suit in the appropriate federal district court, a patent holder can exercise their legal recourse to stop the activities of infringers, as well as receive monetary compensation for unlawful use, among other items.  For individuals or entities seeking to take legal action against infringing companies, patent law specifies that legal action must be initiated within a period of six (6) years since the beginning of the infringement.  If not done within this time period, patent laws state that patent holders are time-barred from pursuing further infringement actions.  For this reason, acting swiftly with the assistance of a patent law attorney is essential.

Process of Patent Infringement Suits 

Patents are granted at a federal level, and therefore, any disputes regarding patent infringement will have to be heard within federal district courts.  Typically, a patent holder will file suit against an infringer, which in turn may countersue contesting the validity of the patent itself.  Common points of contention over patent validity may attempt to disparage the following vital points, including:

• Accurate and valid information in the patent application itself
• Non-obviousness of an invention
• Novelty, or distinctly new nature of an inventions

During the course of a patent infringement trial, plaintiffs, or the patent holders, must provide the burden of proof against defendant infringers.  This burden of proof, or preponderance of evidence, must provide that a valid patent was held, an infringement of this patent occurred, and the infringement occurred at a commercial or public level.

Types of Patent Infringement

In the court system, there are several types of recognized patent infringement that judges and in some instances, juries may find occurred.  The most commonly recognized forms of patent infringement include:

• Direct patent infringement
• Indirect patent infringement
• Contributory patent infringement
• Literal patent infringement
• Willful patent infringement
• Infringement under the doctrine of equivalents

Generally speaking, direct patent infringement occurs when a third party makes, produces, commercializes, or utilizes a patent without permission from a valid patent holder.  Indirect patent infringement, a derivative of direct patent infringement, occurs when another individual or entity aids, encourages, or abets another party infringe upon patent rights. 

Contributory infringement, which is more technical in definition, occurs when an individual or entity provides the materials necessary for production that can only be used in an infringing manner by a third party infringer.  Literal infringement, on the other hand, is a form of more direct infringement that uses similar or verbatim language from patent claims on the infringing device. The doctrine of equivalents infringement case would entail a device, design, or plan that provides for the substantially same process, result, and same methods as an invention previously patented.  

Within the realm of patent infringement, the courts must also determine whether or not the infringement was a willing, or willful, infringement on behalf of the defendants.  Willful infringement actions may include ceasing to end potentially infringing actions or productions when notified or for infringements that can be proven as known violations of patent rights.  Defendants found in violation of patent rights may face financial damage punishments treble the specified amounts requested in some instances. 

Patent Infringement Damages

For defendants found in infringement of the plaintiff’s patent rights, the courts will issue a judgment and order financial damages be paid to the plaintiff, or patent holder.  These damages and other judgments may include:

• Financial royalty payments
• Actual damage payments, such as lost profits and other detrimental factors
• Legal and court fees incurred by patent holders
• Permanent injunction against future infringing actions

• If you have more questions or may need legal assistance regarding a Patent matter, Consult Your Case for Free with a local experienced Intellectual Property Lawyer.