Patent infringement

In law, a patent infringement occurs when the subject-matter claimed in a patent has been utilized by someone other than the rightholder, without the owner's approval or in disagreement with the terms of use given by the owner. Depending on the patent laws in the country where the patent infringement has taken place, the owner of the patent may take action in equity or in law such as an injunction or lawsuit against those who did the infringement.

Related Topics:
Law - Claim - Patent - Rightholder - Equity - Injunction - Lawsuit

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In U.S. law, an infringement may occur where the defendant has made, used, sold, offered to sell, or imported the infringing invention or its equivalent {{fn|1}}.

Related Topics:
U.S. - Invention - Equivalent

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In U.S. law, no infringement action may be started until the patent is issued. Pre-grant protection may however be available in some countries. For instance, all European Patent Convention (EPC) signatories should allow an applicant to seek reasonable compensation for pre-grant infringement (Art. 67 (2) EPC http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/epc/e/ar67.html).

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