· Patent Infringement Home

· What is Patent Infringement? / Remedies

· Determining Patent Infringement

· Infringement by the Government

· Importance of Being First to File

· Information Needed to Determine a Patent Infringement Case

· Recovering Treble Damages

· Damage Award Examples

The word "infringement" means an encroachment upon the domain belonging to a patentee that is described by the claims of his patent. If a patent is analogized to real property, the claims correspond to the boundary recited in the deed. Invasion of the boundary of a landowner's real estate is called trespass, while invasion of a patentee's claims is called infringement. Both are civil wrongs or "torts."

Patent infringement is a statutory wrong and is governed by federal law. 35 U.S.C. 271 defines infringement as "whoever without authority makes, uses, or sells any patented invention, within the United States during the term of the patent therefor, infringes the patent."

Remedies

The remedies for infringement consist of:

• Injunctive relief (stopping the infringer from continuing to make and sell the infringing product);
• Damages (including treble damages for willful infringement);
• Attorneys' fees in some cases, and;
• Court costs.

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Determining Patent Infringement | Importance of Being First to File