{"id":5011,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/patent-infringement-and-litigation.html"},"modified":"2024-05-22T03:04:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T08:04:38","slug":"patent-infringement-and-litigation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/patent-infringement-and-litigation.html","title":{"rendered":"Patent Infringement and Litigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Patent Infringement and Litigation<\/h1>\n
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\n By FindLaw Staff<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Amber Sheppard, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last reviewed\n
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Many small businesses and inventors believe that receiving a patent offers complete protection against someone stealing their ideas. The legal term for this is \u201cinfringement." Patent holders take drastic measures to protect their interests. Often these patent owners file patent lawsuits to protect patents against infringement<\/a>. These lawsuits could grant a small company with patented invention monetary damages or an injunction.<\/p>\r\n

This article explains direct infringement, indirect infringement, demand letters, and the basics of patent infringement cases.<\/p>\r\n

What Is a Patent?<\/h2>\r\n

Patents<\/a> are a form of intellectual property<\/a>. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)<\/a> accepts and reviews patent applications<\/a>. Three types of patents exist: utility<\/a>, design<\/a>, and plant<\/a>. The USPTO requires the invention, method, design, or process to be useful, novel, and non-obvious<\/a> to receive patent protection.<\/p>\r\n

Patents are available to individual entrepreneurs, business owners, start-ups, and large businesses. Patent holders have exclusive rights to the invention or product they patent.<\/p>\r\n

What Is Patent Infringement?<\/h2>\r\n

Patent infringement occurs when another party makes, uses, or sells a patented item without the patent holder’s<\/a> permission. Permission happens through written contracts like a license. A person or small business receives a license after they pay licensing fees to the patent holder.<\/p>\r\n

The patent holder has a few options at this point. First, they may send a demand letter to the other party. This is also known as a \u201ccease and desist notice." Second, they may sue the infringing party to stop their activities. In doing so, the patent owner can demand compensation for the unauthorized use.<\/p>\r\n

Where Do Patent Infringement Trials Happen?<\/h3>\r\n

Federal law governs intellectual property. A patent holder must sue the unauthorized party in federal district court<\/a>. The patent holder can sue in any federal court where the infringed product is found. Patent lawsuits are time-consuming. Depending on where you live, these suits can take years to get to trial.<\/p>\r\n

Patent holders must bring infringement actions within six years<\/a> from the date of infringement. If the suit is not brought in this time frame, it is time-barred. This means an infringement case cannot get filed in any court after that time.<\/p>\r\n

Patent litigation proceeds like any other federal case. However, there are complex legal issues. Questions surrounding patent validity and infringement get decided in court. Some patent litigation cases use juries for different aspects of the overall claim.<\/p>\r\n

Different Types of Patent Infringement Cases<\/h2>\r\n

There are different ways another party may infringe on your patent, including:<\/p>\r\n