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PATENT INFRINGEMENT
Since a patent gives its owner a monopoly on making, using, selling, or
importing the invention, any unauthorized making, using, selling, or importing
the invention is called infringement and the infringer can be sued by the patent
owner for patent infringement. In such a lawsuit, a Court may order the
infringer to stop the infringing activities and also award monetary damages to
the patent owner against the infringer.
In a patent infringement lawsuit, the Court determines the scope of the claims
in the patent, which means, in essence, how much and what is covered by the
patent. After the scope of the patent is determined, the patent owner must prove
that the accused infringer made, used, sold or imported something covered by the
patent.
The accused infringer has a number of ways to defend against the patent
infringement lawsuit brought by the patent owner, including challenging the
validity of the patent, arguing that whatever the accused infringer is doing
does not constitute infringement and even claiming that the patent was obtained
through fraud. All these determinations involve complex analysis of the relevant
law and facts in a specific case.
A patent owner who wins a patent infringement lawsuit can recover monetary
damages from the infringer calculated as either a "reasonable royalty" (the
amount the patent owner would have earned had there been a licensing agreement
providing for payment of royalties), or lost profits caused by the infringement.
If the infringement is found to be “willful”, the Court may triple the amount of
damages awarded to the patent owner.
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