Our IP attorneys represent patent owners enforcing their rights and individuals and businesses accused of infringing them. We offer free initial consultations and flexible fee arrangements. Call (410) 752-9300 to discuss patent litigation or defense.
Enforcement is the owner’s job
No government agency enforces a patent for you. The USPTO issues it, and after that bringing an action is the owner’s responsibility, as a civil matter in federal court. The burden of proof rests on you to establish that infringement occurred and to prove your damages.
What a patent owner can realistically recover
Being precise here matters, because patent litigation gets described in terms that promise more than the law delivers.
A court may order an infringer to stop, but injunctive relief does not follow automatically from a finding of infringement. Since eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, LLC, 547 U.S. 388 (2006), a patent owner seeking an injunction has to satisfy the traditional four-factor equitable test, covering irreparable harm, the inadequacy of money damages, the balance of hardships, and the public interest. Injunctions are granted. They are argued for, not assumed.
On money, 35 U.S.C. § 284 lets you recover damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, measured by lost profits or at minimum a reasonable royalty. Section 284 also permits a court to increase damages up to three times where infringement was willful. Since Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., 579 U.S. 93 (2016), that decision rests in the court’s discretion based on the particular circumstances of the case, replacing the more rigid framework courts previously applied. Enhancement is reserved for egregious conduct rather than awarded as a matter of course on a willfulness finding.
Attorneys’ fees run through 35 U.S.C. § 285, and a court may award reasonable fees to the prevailing party only in an exceptional case. Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 572 U.S. 545 (2014) relaxed that standard, but it remains a real threshold. Fees are the exception, not the norm, and this cuts both ways.
Most patent disputes end in a negotiated settlement or mediation. That avoids the cost and uncertainty of trial, and it still needs counsel to do properly.
Defending an infringement claim
Two defenses do most of the work. One is that the patent is invalid. The other is that the accused product or process does not infringe the claims as properly construed.
If you have been accused, or threatened, you also have an option that may not be obvious. A party accused of infringement can seek a declaratory judgment that the patent is invalid or that its conduct does not infringe, rather than waiting to be sued on the other side’s timetable. Whether that is the right move depends on the facts, but the choice is worth understanding early.
Selling or licensing rather than litigating
Enforcement is not always the best route to value. A patent can be sold or licensed through direct approach, brokers, trade shows or investors, and a license sometimes achieves commercially what a lawsuit would take years to. We handle both sides of that, and it is worth discussing before you commit to litigation.
Talk to a Maryland patent litigation attorney
Whether you are enforcing a patent or answering a claim, the early strategic decisions shape the cost of everything that follows. Call (410) 752-9300 or use the contact form on this page.