Patent litigation enforces the exclusive rights granted to inventors for their innovations. When competitors use patented technology without authorization, patent owners can seek damages and injunctions through litigation. Conversely, those accused of infringement must defend against claims that can threaten their products and businesses. Understanding patent litigation helps both patent holders and accused infringers navigate this complex area of law.
The Patent Right
Patents grant inventors exclusive rights to make, use, sell, and import their inventions for limited periods, typically 20 years from the filing date. This exclusivity allows patent owners to prevent competitors from practicing their technology without permission. In exchange for this monopoly, inventors disclose their inventions publicly, adding to the body of technical knowledge.
Patent claims define the protected invention. Claims are the specific legal descriptions of what the patent covers, written in precise technical language. Infringement analysis focuses on whether accused products or processes practice what the claims describe. Understanding claim scope is essential for both asserting and defending against infringement allegations.
Bringing Patent Infringement Claims
Patent owners file infringement lawsuits in federal district courts, as patent cases fall under exclusive federal jurisdiction. Complaints must identify the patents allegedly infringed and describe how the defendant's products or processes practice the claimed inventions. Patent holders typically seek both monetary damages and injunctive relief stopping future infringement.
Claim construction early in litigation determines what the patent claims mean. This legal interpretation of claim language often decides cases, as claim meanings determine whether accused products actually infringe. Claim construction hearings involve detailed analysis of claim language, patent specifications, and prosecution history.
Patent Infringement Theories
Direct infringement occurs when someone makes, uses, sells, offers to sell, or imports a patented invention without authorization. The infringer need not know about the patent or intend to infringe. Indirect infringement includes inducing others to infringe and contributing to infringement by supplying components with no substantial non-infringing uses.
Willful infringement occurs when defendants knew of the patent and intentionally infringed or acted with reckless disregard for patent rights. Willful infringement can result in enhanced damages up to three times actual damages, significantly increasing exposure for defendants who proceed despite patent knowledge.
Defenses to Infringement
Non-infringement argues that accused products don't actually practice the patent claims when properly construed. This defense focuses on claim construction and whether the accused technology includes all claimed elements. Even if products seem similar to patented inventions, technical differences can establish non-infringement.
Invalidity challenges argue the patent should never have been granted. Prior art showing the invention was known before filing can invalidate patents. Obviousness, insufficient disclosure, and other patent law requirements may not have been met. Invalid patents cannot be infringed regardless of how closely accused products resemble the claimed invention.
Damages and Remedies
Patent damages compensate owners for infringement injury, typically measured as lost profits or reasonable royalties. Lost profits apply when patent owners would have made sales absent infringement. Reasonable royalty damages estimate what willing parties would have negotiated as a license fee. In exceptional cases, enhanced damages and attorney fees may be awarded.
Injunctions can stop infringing activity, though courts now require patent holders to demonstrate irreparable harm and other equitable factors rather than automatically issuing injunctions for proven infringement.