Patents, infringement

Generally, ignorance of the patent or trademark rights of others is no excuse to an 

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Erom the perspective of the Hcensee, a nonexclusive Hcense can be viewed as either a tax on the Hcensee s use of the patent or insurance against a patent infringement lawsuit. The Hcensor may want to make the technology broadly available to many parties in order to allow many parties to better exploit the technology. 

When evaluating an issued patent for purposes of determining the patentabiUty of a new invention, the entire patent must be considered. As a result, the figures, K, and The Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, Q, are every bit as important to an issued patent as the claims, S. At certain times any one of these elements may become more relevant than another. For example, claims tend to be more relevant to deterrninations of patent infringement or violation. However, in deterrninations concerning the patentabiUty of new inventions, the figures, K, and The Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, Q, may be the most relevant aspects of any previous patent. 

Issuance of a United States patent transforms a patent appHcant into a patentee, and new concerns may arise relevant to management. For example, the patent should be reviewed to determine formal and substantive correctness. An audit should be taken regularly to determine whether there is a continuing justification to pay the maintenance fees required to keep the patent in force during its effective period. The patentee or patent assignee may have to address concerns of patent infringement or patent vaHdity. 

Infringement of a patent occurs when an individual or company makes, uses, or sells an invention without the permission of the inventor, assignee, owner, or licensee. The U.S. courts will award damages and place penalties on the infringer. But patent infringement cases are very costly and time consuming. 

Litigation in the plastic and other industries usually involves patent infringement, theft of trade secret, product liability, or a specific performance. With the usual patent law, the expert is expected to report on the obviousness of an invention. Prior art and knowledge of the requirements for patentability will often be key parts of the expert s... 

Courts in both the United States and the United Kingdom have had to deal with this issue in patent infringements unrelated to pharmaceutical science. 

Patent infringement, 78 186. See also Infringement patent information searches... 

To What Extent Does 30 Months Approximate the Time Typically Required for FDA Review of a Generic s AND A or for Resolution of the Contemplated Patent Infringement Litigation ... 

Even without an additional 30-month stay, later-listed patents still receive the usual protections of patent infringement litigation. The brand-name company may sue for patent infringement with respect to any of its patents that it believes may be... 

How Have Generic Applicants Fared in Patent Infringement Litigation ... 

Chapter 2 Outcomes of Patent Infringement Lawsuits Under the Hatch-Waxman Amendments... 

Filing of the lawsuit stays the FDA s approval of the ANDA until the earliest of (1) the date the patents expire (2) a final determination of non-infringement or patent invalidity by a court in the patent litigation or (3) the expiration of 30 months from the receipt of notice of the paragraph IV certification. This chapter reviews the frequency and outcome of these patent infringement lawsuits. 

For nearly 75 percent of drug products this study covered, brand-name companies initiated patent infringement litigation against the first generic applicant. In the other 25 percent, there was no suit,... 

In 70 percent of the cases in which the brand-name company sued the first generic applicant, there has been either a court decision, or the parties have agreed to a final settlement. Of these lawsuits, involving 53 drug products, 20 settled without a court decision on the merits of the patent infringement lawsuit. These settlement agreements are discussed in detail in Chapter 3. In the other 30 percent of the cases, a district court had not yet mied as of June I, 2002. 

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