Patent Litigation

Patent Litigation Attorneys

Wherever technology and the law collide, chances are it’s around patent litigation. Nexio Law Firm’s award-winning intellectual property attorneys have represented represent parties on both sides of the equation -- those who need to pursue patent violations and those who need to defend patent infringement claims. We know how to “speak tech” effectively, so courts and juries fully appreciate your position. Using a thorough, methodical approach, we always strive to deliver winning results efficiently.

Patent Owners’ Rights and Remedies

An inventor or the person who the inventor sold/assigned the patent to has several important rights. Thy are “negative rights” meaning that during the term of the patent, an owner has the right to exclude “others from making using, offering for sales, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States.” An owner has no obligation to do anything with those rights, but often patent owners attempt to use those rights for a financial benefit by (i) selling the patent rights (ii) licensing the patent and receive royalties (iii) file lawsuits against infringers and/or (iv) making, selling, or using a product/service covered by the patent in the pursuit of profit.

Sometimes things go wrong in these economic pursuits. Other times entities use the invention without permission or otherwise cause/enable the infringement. Whether the harm was directly or indirectly caused, patent law provides three primary ways to curb those unlawful acts including injunctions, damages, and recovery of legal fees/costs. We’ve set out the relevant statutes for reference below:

“[C]ourts … may grant injunctions in accordance with the principles of equity to prevent the violation of any right secured by patent, on such terms as the court deems reasonable.” 35 U.S.C §283.
“[Courts] shall award the claimant damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the invention by the infringer, together with interest and costs as fixed by the court.” 35 U.S.C §284.
“[Courts] in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party.” 35 U.S.C §285.

If you feel someone is illegally benefitting from your invention or you’re being unfairly targeted for marketing or selling a patented product, it’s time to call Nexio Law Firm.

Defending Patent Infringement Cases

While IP owners certainly have an interest in protecting their rights, in some situations patent owners may not have been entitled to patent rights or really don’t have a remedy. Amongst the more common patent infringement defenses are:

Non-infringement – While arguably not a true defense, this basically asks the court find that the Defendant’s conduct doesn’t infringe on a patent rights.
Prior art invalidity – A Defendant claims the patent was an anticipated evolution to the industry and/or an obvious next step from existing technology. As such, a patent should never have issued.
Non-Prior art invalidity – There is a technical defect in the patent application that should not have been allowed during patent prosecution. As such, a patent should never have issued.
Inequitable conduct – The patent application was not truthful, withheld information, or otherwise intended to deceive the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Consent – The patent owner said or did something that led to a defendant being given a right to practice the invention.
Common law equitable defenses – Setting aside the patent itself, there is something wrong with the patent owner’s conduct which makes it wrong for the Court to award relief.

If you’re on the receiving end of a patent infringement dispute, our experienced attorneys can help. We assist clients with defenses of direct and indirect patent infringement claims.