Alleged infringement of a patent occurs when the patent owner claims that a party uses, sells, offers to sell (advertises), or imports a patented invention without permission. This section will provide an overview of allegations of patent infringement, including some of the legal issues relevant to proving or defending against claims of infringement.
Patent infringement occurs when someone uses or exploits a patented invention without the patent owner’s permission. Producing, selling, offering to sell, importing, or using a product or method within the scope of one or more patent claim constitutes patent infringement, assuming the accused does not have a license or the product or service was not acquired from one with a license.
The two primary categories of patent infringement are literal infringement and infringement based on the doctrine of equivalents. The accused product or method infringes literally when it lies within the scope of the patent claims. Under the doctrine of equivalents, patent infringement occurs when the accused product or process is substantially similar to the patented invention, even if it does not directly violate the patent claims.
To establish patent infringement, the patent owner must demonstrate the following elements of the law:
The accused product or method lies within a patent claim’s scope. This requires thoroughly analyzing the claim language and interpreting that language in light of the specification of the patent and the understanding of one skilled in the applicable art.
Next, the interpreted claims are compared to the accused product or process.
Third, the patent owner must show the accused product or method is used, sold, manufactured, or imported without the patent owner’s permission within the territorial limits of the United States.
A successful patent plaintiff can obtain a judgment and/or injunction prohibiting the accused party from using, selling, manufacturing, or importing the infringing product or process. Damages may also be awarded to the patent owner for the injury caused by the infringement.
An accused party may raise a variety of defenses against patent infringement claims. These include arguing that the patent is invalid, ineligible, or unenforceable, that the accused product or process falls outside the scope of the patent claims, or that the patent owner obtained the patent through inequitable means.
Other strategic and procedural means for defending against patent infringement claims including filing motions to dismiss, motions to find the patent claims constitute ineligible subject matter, interpreting the claims of the patent in light of the patent file history to show that it does not cover the accused product or service, demonstrating the alleged infringing activity was extra-territorial, challenging damages, demonstrating that the patent claims are indefinite, filing a challenge of the patent at the USPTO, and others.
A patent infringement lawsuit is a complicated suit that requires the input of qualified and experienced lawyers. If you are so accused, you should contact a lawyer immediately.
In the following section of this series, we will further examine the various legal defenses that can be raised against patent infringement claims.
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