How to avoid patent infringement lawsuits?

October 7, 2021

There are hundreds of thousands of patents filled all around the world every year. That means that sometimes it may be possible that you might be manufacturing or selling something that you do not know is someone’s intellectual property. Imagine waking up someday with a patent infringement notice at your doorstep. We can understand the kind of situation it will become for you as patent infringement cases can become really hectic and expensive. To top it up, it is also time-consuming and might take years to resolve. But panic can only worsen the situation, and the only thing that can save you at such times is the right information. 

Patent lawsuits are very expensive, and it may take millions of dollars just to resolve the case. We also said that it is time-consuming, and it may take years, which means you or your company will lose those valuable years with low productivity and growth. It can cost several million just to pay the legal fees during these years. And to make things even worse, if the judgment is not in your favor, you will have to pay the damage to the owner of the intellectual property too. Considering all these factors, your first priority in such cases should be to avoid a lawsuit. 

Non-infringement defense

The first option that you have is to get the non-infringement defense. It simply means that your product does not fall within the patent. In this case, the person who filed for patent infringement is right, and he has a valid patent in his name, but your product simply does not qualify to be in his patented terms. If you are able to prove the same, it means the other person has no right over your product, and the case will be automatically eliminated. It can save you from the risk of being sued in court for the infringement issue. 

Prove the claim is invalid

Another similar step that can save you from landing in a lawsuit is proving the claim invalid. You need to prove that even if the patent is granted to the owner of the patent who claimed infringement, the patent is invalid. Obviously, you can not use this method or prove the other person wrong if they are not. But in case you think that there are chances of the patent being invalid, you can initiate the same thing in your defense. It will ultimately help you save from any lawsuit, and you can also continue manufacturing and selling that product as the other party will not be able to prove their right on the patent. If the patent is invalid, there is nothing they can do about it. 

What if you land in a lawsuit?

Even after trying everything, if you land in a lawsuit against you, you should never be aggressive or respond too early on it. You should gather the information around the patent. You can look at the prior art and other related information to get a better insight into their patent. You must be aware of what to communicate and when to communicate as even the smallest of mistakes can cost you millions and much more in this case. Never communicate to the third party without including a technical expert or a lawyer. Hire an IP attorney to understand all the details that you need to take care of in order to strengthen the case in your favor. 

As said earlier, never show aggression in any case. Follows the instructions of the lawyers and legal experts to avoid any negative circumstances. If things can be settles without getting in legal trouble, it is the best that you can get. It will not only help you but will also be beneficial for the other party. 

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