Page 9 - February 2021 PPIAC Newsletter FINAL

Patent Infringement

Every year, several hundred thousand patents are granted in the United States. With

all the research, applications and litigations involving patents, this keeps patent

attorneys pretty busy. If one of these attorneys calls you and tells you that your help is

needed, prepare to be very busy and involved in one of the most interesting types of

cases you will ever have. Smart patent attorneys know that legal investigators are key

players for the defense team in patent infringement cases.

Patent infringement occurs when one party (the defendant) is accused of making,

using or selling a patented item without the permission of the patent holder (plaintiff).

The plaintiff brings a suit in federal court, and asks the court for an injunction to

demand that the defendant stop. The plaintiff may also ask the court to award

monetary damages for the unauthorized use of their patented item.

The United States patent law language specifies that anyone who “invents or discovers

any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any

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new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent.” A patent can only be
granted for an actual item or process, not an idea or suggestion.

If you are investigating any aspect of a patent case, it is helpful to first read through

the patent itself. Patents are widely available online on websites such as

www.pat2pdf.org and www.uspto.gov/patft/. Patent litigation almost always

revolves around the claims made in the patent. A claim is an assertion of what the

invention purports to accomplish, and claims of a patent define the invention and