What is the best action to take if you find that someone has infringed upon your patent?
/// Filed in: Patent
Law
Since
patent litigation is a very expensive option it is important to
make sure there is sufficient evidence to support the patent
infringement dispute in trial. Thus, the first step for the
plaintiff should be to acquire and evaluate the evidence of
infringement. This often involves purchasing the infringing
invention, documenting the dates of infringement, researching
whether the infringing party has been sued for patent infringement
in the past, and evaluating the legal claims.
The best action to take depends on many factors. These include the economic and legal resources of the plaintiff in comparison to those of the defendant, the significance of protecting the specific patent (i.e. the commercial value of the invention for the plaintiff and to the defendant), whether the infringement is literal or falls within the doctrine of equivalents, and other factors. For instance, if the plaintiff is an individual inventor with limited resources that has not been able to commercialize the invention, and she finds that a large corporation clearly infringes her patent property rights, she may want to consider negotiating a licensing or assignment agreement to obtain appropriate royalties. As a first step, the inventor can use a cease and desist letter informing the party the nature of the believed infringement and possible remedies.
The best action to take depends on many factors. These include the economic and legal resources of the plaintiff in comparison to those of the defendant, the significance of protecting the specific patent (i.e. the commercial value of the invention for the plaintiff and to the defendant), whether the infringement is literal or falls within the doctrine of equivalents, and other factors. For instance, if the plaintiff is an individual inventor with limited resources that has not been able to commercialize the invention, and she finds that a large corporation clearly infringes her patent property rights, she may want to consider negotiating a licensing or assignment agreement to obtain appropriate royalties. As a first step, the inventor can use a cease and desist letter informing the party the nature of the believed infringement and possible remedies.