Patent infringement litigation involves a dispute over patent rights. Patents protect tangible inventions, copyrights protect artistic works, and trademarks protect identifying marks. Infringement can occur even if the idea was developed independently. Evidence is presented by both parties during litigation.
Patent infringement litigation refers to a lawsuit in which two parties are disputing the rights conferred by a patent. A patent protects the intellectual property rights of inventions and ideas. When a patent infringement dispute arises, it generally focuses on whether one person took another person’s idea improperly, and if so, what damages were caused by that infringement.
Most countries provide some form of intellectual property protection. Patents are one such form of protection in the United States, along with copyrights and trademarks. Patents protect ideas for tangible and functional inventions; copyrights protect the intellectual property rights of authors in works of art that perform no other function than that of works of art; and finally, trademarks protect trademarks that identify trademarks, such as Apple Inc.’s apple with a bite.
When a person invents a product, he can patent that product. While patents exist in all industries, they are especially common in the pharmaceutical and technology industries. For example, when a scientist invents a new drug, the formula for that drug is patented. Similarly, when a technology company invents a new means of transmitting data through a cell phone, it patents the product.
If someone else then comes along and takes that idea – using the formula for the drug or the means of data transmission – then a patent infringement dispute can ensue. The person who believes that his rights to his patented invention are being infringed will initiate litigation. The individual initiating the patent dispute will then need to demonstrate that the other party’s idea is substantially the same as the patented idea.
Patent infringement litigation does not require that the defendant in the case stole the idea. If, for example, company A patents a formula and company B develops the same formula autonomously, company B still cannot use the formula because company A has already patented it and owns the rights. Thus, Company A would only need to prove that Company B’s formula was essentially the same as the patented formula to successfully initiate a patent infringement lawsuit.
During a patent infringement dispute, each party will present their own evidence. The plaintiff suing will present evidence to show that the defendant is infringing the patent. The defendant will present evidence to show that he is not infringing because his invention is unique and different and not covered by the patent.
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