How to Avoid Patent Infringement

Patents protect inventors against the unauthorized use by others of their inventions. Patent infringement may be committed intentionally or unintentionally, and a successful claim of intentional or "willful" patent infringement can subject an infringer to very large monetary penalties. You can help avoid committing patent infringement by searching for prior patents.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet access
• Consultation with a patent attorney

Avoid Committing Patent Infringement

1. Organize your thoughts before conducting an Internet search. If your product or process is complex, think of the main points that a search engine is likely to flag.
2. Do your own patent search on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site using the key words you devised (see Resources below).
3. Search carefully for any similar products or business methods. Look carefully at the claims made within patents for similar products or business methods. These are the essential points of the patent, upon which you cannot infringe.
4. Contact a patent attorney, if you feel yourself that your idea will not infringe on a patent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site also has a list of official U.S. patent attorneys.
5. Know that your initial search, which you can do online via the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the European Patent Office, is considered an "informal search." A patent attorney will conduct a "formal search" with the help of a patent agent.
6. Work with your patent attorney or a business affairs lawyer to either make an agreement to license an existing patent or to submit an application for a patent on your own process or invention.

Tips & Warnings

• If you get to the point of putting together a patent application, be sure to have your attorney conduct a final patent search. Ask the attorney to specifically do an "opinion of infringement." This means that when the lawyer hands over the formal search to a patent agent, he or she will ask the agent to be vigilant about infringement issues.
• Don't assume that if you take a chance on a potential infringement that you will not be caught. Patent infringement lawsuits are filed often, and they are incredibly costly to both parties. If you are sued for patent infringement, you could be liable for court costs, attorney's fees and damages if you lose. It's much easier and more cost-effective to avoid committing patent infringement in the first place.