Patent Litigation Attorney - Protect Yourself from Infringement
Do you need to defend your patent or protect your product? An expert litigator will help you pursue an infringement or defense case.
A Patent Litigation Attorney Can Provide Patent Infringement & Patent Litigation Support
Companies and inventors apply for patents through the United States Patent and Trademark Office to protect their intellectual property, including items of manufacture, designs, business processes, software, and hardware.
If you catch someone else making, selling, or using an idea for which you hold the patent, you may need a patent litigation attorney with extensive experience to help you defend against the patent infringement.
If you win the patent litigation case, you could receive a substantial sum of money from the infringing party. You will also protect your intellectual property from being copied. So the stakes are high in patent litigation.
It pays to know what to expect when you experience patent infringement and where to turn for patent litigation support. The Patent Professor® provides what you need to know and the best steps to take if someone has infringed upon your United States patent.
What Is Patent Infringement?
Patent infringement means that another individual or organization is making, using, or selling your patented invention, material, or concept. Patent infringement costs inventors untold amounts in lost revenue. You can lose profits if someone takes the idea, device, or invention you developed and brought to market and begins to sell it for less money.
You put in the time and money for research and development on your device. You want to be the one to collect money from selling it.
You can also earn royalties by licensing your patent to others. But people who infringe on your patents without permission are taking money right out of your pocket.
By keeping an eye out for patent infringement and stopping those who seek to profit from your intellectual property, you can help ensure continued success for your company. People will only be able to buy your inventions from you or your authorized licensees. Tight control of your patent can also help ensure quality control of your devices, which can further boost your reputation and your company's success.
What Does a Patent Litigator Do?
If you think someone has infringed upon your patent or copied your intellectual property, your first step should be to call on the expertise of a patent litigator. The Patent Professor® is an experienced patent litigator who can help you.
A patent litigator is a specialized attorney with extensive experience in intellectual property, or IP, litigation.
A patent litigator can help determine if you have a patent infringement claim against another business or individual. Patent attorneys take the time to ensure your patent is valid and that the opposing party (defendant) did violate your patent.
A patent litigator can draft a cease-and-desist letter in the first step toward stopping patent infringement. If the cease-and-desist letter doesn't work, the law firm can represent you in district court or the federal circuit court of appeals.
What Type of Intellectual Property Can Patent Litigation Attorneys Help You Protect?
Litigation attorneys can help you defend any idea, invention, plant, or design that has a patent.
Patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office fall into three categories:
- Utility patents
- Plant patents
- Design patents
Litigation attorneys at The Patent Professor® can help protect any of the three types of patents. They can also protect against the use or disclosure of trade secrets, which fall under another category of IP litigation.
Items you can patent with non-provisional utility patents include:
- Items of manufacture, including consumer products
- Machines
- Medical devices
- Business processes
- Software
- Hardware
- Electronics
Botanists protect plants that are newly formed or discovered using a plant patent. Those who create ornamental objects or designs that are part of an item or invention, as well as fabric patterns, may apply for design patents.
Patent Litigation Support Services
Patent litigators take several steps before going to court to encourage the person that infringed on the patent to stop their behavior.
These patent litigation support services help ensure you have a case. A patent litigator will confirm the following elements to show a patent infringement case exists.
Patent ownership and title – You must show that you are the inventor who filed the patent. You must also confirm you haven’t given away any claims to the patent, and that you still own the title to the invention.
Patent validity – The patent is valid under the current laws of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A patent may be declared invalid if:
- The invention was disclosed or offered for sale more than 12 months before filing the non-provisional patent application
- The patent was used as part of an illegal anti-competitive strategy
- The patentholder has attempted to license their invention beyond the bounds of the patent
- The existence of prior art invalidates the patent
Patent infringement – Finally, your litigation attorney will investigate to find out if the defending party committed patent infringement.
Patent Litigation: Not Always a Court Case
If you’ve been a victim of patent infringement, you may not have to spend the money to engage in a district court case.
Often, litigation attorneys can draft a cease-and-desist letter, asking the alleged offending party to stop violating your patent.
The cease-and-desist letter shows that:
- You own the patent
- The alleged offending party is infringing on that patent
The cease-and-desist letter often gives the recipient choices:
- Stop infringing on the patent immediately
- Enter a licensing agreement and pay fees to use the patent
- Pay damages to the patentholder
- Face legal action
Sometimes, you may not be interested in offering a licensing agreement. Then, the letter would simply ask the alleged infringing party to stop violating your patent immediately. You may even ask for damages.
In either case, if the defendant does not comply, you have the right to file a court case.
In a best-case scenario, the defendant will:
- Agree to your terms
- Cease patent infringement
- Pay any damages or licensing fees requested
Sometimes, the alleged patent-infringer will refuse to stop. If the company or organization doesn’t stop and/or pay damages, you can take them to court.
If you’ve already sent a cease-and-desist letter, the offending party could be tried for “willful infringement” when the case goes to court. Willful infringement means they know what they were doing is wrong and continued anyway. They may be subject to even greater damages and fines.
In a worst-case scenario, the defendant may conduct their own inter parties review (IPR) to show your patent isn’t valid under current patent law. Depending on the findings, this could give them an advantage in court.
However, only 1% of patent infringement cases go to court. It’s easier and less costly for both parties to settle out of court.
District Court: What Happens If You Go to Trial
If the alleged defendant fails to respond favorably to your cease-and-desist letter by agreeing to a licensing arrangement or stopping all manufacturing and sales that violate your patent, you may be facing a court case.
Most cases are tried in one of three district courts:
- Eastern District of Texas
- Northern District of California
- District of Delaware
If your case goes to court, the patent litigator will take several steps to defend your intellectual property and show patent infringement:
- Conduct the discovery process prior to court hearings
- Investigate prior art to show how your invention is different
- Work with technical experts to show the differences between your invention and prior art
- Line up expert testimony
- Engage in claim construction, where the patent litigator aims to prove your patent covers the invention or technology in question
- Represent you and defend your patent rights in court
If you lose the case, you may decide to file in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Appellate court gives you another opportunity to assert your patent rights and protect your intellectual property.
Winning Your Patent Litigation Case
The stakes are high in patent litigation. If you win the case, you receive up to three times the monetary damages assessed by the court. This can include:
- Profits you lost due to the patent infringement
- Reasonable royalties, or money you may have received if you licensed the patent to the other party
- Your legal costs
If you win the litigation, the infringing party also has to stop making, using, or selling your invention.
Trust a Law Firm with Extensive Experience in Patent Litigation
The Patent Professor® is a board-certified law firm specializing in intellectual property law. We have fought on both sides of patent litigation with positive outcomes for our client.
Don't be afraid of patent litigation. It's worth it to defend your intellectual property if you believe someone has committed patent infringement.
The Patent Professor® has extensive experience in patent infringement cases and patent litigation support. If someone has infringed on your patent, we can help. Just call (877) 902-8153.