Laws Related To Patent InfringementPatents are the most common forms used by individuals to protect their inventions and intellectual property. It patent gives the owner of the patent the right to exclude others from using or utilizing the invention for which the patent has been granted. However, granting the patent does not ensure that the patented invention is ensured freedom form abuse in the hands of others. When someone lese uses the patented invention without seeking the permission of the patent owner, it is known as patent infringement. Like any other infringement, this is an offence and is treated as such. There are many kinds of patent infringement that can happen. If anyone uses, manufacturers, sells or even plans to sell the patented object or technology, it amounts to patent infringement in the eyes of the law. But his infringement is seen to be valid only if it takes place during the term when the patent is still valid and if the infringement happens within the borders of the country in which the patent has been issued. However, the way in which a patent infringement claim of the owner of the patent is seen as valid differs from country to country. While in some countries, the product of the infringer has to fall within a few of the claims which have been registered in the patent, in other countries which use the method of "peripheral claiming", the patent infringement is seen as valid only if the new/infringing product or technique embodies every aspect or element that is given in the original claim. If all the elements of the original claim are embodied by the new product or technology, the technical term given to this phenomenon is that the new product "read(s) on" the claim. So, in case pf peripheral claiming, if the new product dies not infringe on all the claims of the original patent, the patent infringement claim of the owner of the patented object is seen as invalid. As is the case with deciding on whether the patent infringement claim of the owner of the patented object is valid or not, the laws on how a patent infringement is to be dealt with also differs from country to country. There are also many ways of defending a claim of infringement for example, the accused may prove that the original idea or product that was patented was not novel and was in use even before the patent was granted and thus the original patent is rendered invalid. Other methods may include: pointing out the defects or loopholes in the original patent which would mean that the patent claim (in which the paten owner originally put forth his idea about the product he plans to develop) could never be put into practice (i.e. the product could never be manufactured because of the given loophole in the plan) although the patent was granted, claiming that the accused is already in possession of a license to use the patented product or technology or that the patent holder has, in fact infringed upon the patent of the accused. |