“Find Out Now if Our Patent Law Firm Can Help You Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights”
A potential patent infringement case can be brought to the attention of the inventor in many ways:
- a competing or identical product can appear in the market;
- a disclosure at an industry trade show;
- a statement by a sales person about activities in the trade; or,
- in trade literature.
In an intellectual property case involving a patent, the patent application, and the patent claims in particular, are under tremendous scrutiny. Initially, the validity of the patent is examined and confirmed. If the patent is deemed valid, then the claims are interpreted to determine whether or not an alleged infringer’s activities fall within the scope of any of the patent claims.
This analysis is very detailed and can be tedious. Many factors can influence how the claims are to be interpreted. The specification will determine in large part what was meant by the language in the claims. What the inventor intended can impact the interpretation of the claims.
“Involve a Patent Attorney as Soon as Possible”
If you suspect your patent is being infringed, it may be important to speak with a patent lawyer about your intellectual property rights, but you need as much information as possible. First steps to protecting your patent include:
- Try to determine the exact activity of the potential infringer. Obtain product literature, trade intelligence, reverse engineering, and press releases.
- Involve a patent lawyer in your case as early as possible.
- Retain documentation of your own patent activity and product development.
“Get an Attorney Who Protects Patents”
It is important to get as much documentation about the nature of the potential infringer and the alleged infringer’s activities through your own observation, experience, or what you have learned from others. Obtain an example of the infringing device if possible, or any evidence you can obtain related to the infringing activity. (With certain inventions such as business methods, or process patents, this can be very difficult). Obtain as much information about the potential infringer as possible, official name, office locations, activities/sales surrounding infringing activity, and the like.
Early involvement of a patent infringement attorney in any potential infringement matter is important. The matter involves issues related to determining damages, appropriate jurisdiction and the like. The patent owner’s own activities can impact these determinations. Therefore, it is important to obtain appropriate legal advice to navigate through the potential infringement matter. Additionally, laws change, and current proposed legislation, could further impact jurisdictional considerations, so it is wise to seek advice of counsel early. Fighting battles in court over appropriate jurisdiction and venue can in many cases waste valuable resources and more importantly detract from the most important issue: STOPPING THE INFRINGEMENT.
