What is the process for enforcing one’s patent rights?

If anyone infringes upon a patent holders valid patent, the holder may bring a federal lawsuit to prevent further use and to seek recovery of damages suffered as a result of the infringement. The patent holder must file a legal action in the federal district court with jurisdiction over the defendant. At the time of filing, the patent holder will state the grounds for the action and request a preliminary injunction against infringement during the pendency of the hearing. The court will review the circumstances to determine whether an injunction is warranted.

What are the grounds for a patent infringement action?

The grounds for the action must demonstrate one of the following types of infringement:

Direct Infringement – This means the direct production and sale of a product protected by patent.

Indirect Infringement – This means inducing or encouraging an infringer.

Contributory Infringement – This means assisting in the infringement process – such as producing parts or elements of an invention that are known will be assembled into a patent-infringing product.

Literal Infringement – This means that the infringing product or process directly infringes some of the stated terms in the patent filing.

Doctrine of Equivalents – A creation that does not literally infringe upon an invention as written in the patent may still be an infringement if it functions the same manner to achieve the same function. This doctrine is commonly employed in mechanical devices and computer software.