How to Correct Patent Inventor Interference

Protecting bright ideas with a patent can be a complex process.

Intellectual property rights are a key element to a free market system dependent on innovation and development. As technological advances grow more and more complex in science, medicine, infrastructure and information, so too does the need to effectively patent innovations to protect the property rights of the inventor. Inevitably, inventors will need to contest patents of other individuals or companies based on similarity or errors in patent information. The process of correcting patents may involve a simple application to the patent office or lengthy mediation in federal court.

Instructions

1. Agree to correct patents. If all parties in a patent dispute agree to correct misinformation regarding inventors' names or other information, they may apply for a correction with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under 35 U.S.C. 256. If an interference proceeding has already begun with the patent office, all parties must also file motions under 41.121.

2. Apply for patent interference with the Patent Office. Existing patents can be contested with the patent office within one year of the patent issue or the patent's publishing. The Patent Office generally relies on existing patents to determine the validity of an interference claim.

3. File for interference with district court. Federal courts can only become involved in correcting or contesting patents once the Patent Office has either corrected or maintained a patent through interference procedings. District courts will provide a much more thorough examination of a patent's validity with the potential for full disclosure of evidence from all parties. For an inventor seeking interference, this process can open them up for countersuits in areas that they had no intention of contesting.

4. Claim patent infringement. If all other remedies fail, patents can be corrected through litigation claiming patent infringement on the grounds that a similar patent was already in existence. Therefore, only existing patent holders can benefit from this process.

Tips & Warnings

• Inventors should be wary of litigating intellectual property when they may be exposed to damaging counter-litigation. Even mountains of evidence proving initial conception and practice can often fail to correct existing patents.

References

• United States Patent and Trademark Office: 1.324 Correction of Inventorship in Patent, Pursuant to 35 U.S.C.
• Finnegan: Why Patent Interference Proceedings are Worth It"