Obtaining an issued patent is an exciting event for all inventors and business owners. In the best-case scenario, once you receive your patent from the USPTO, you can grow your business in Tampa through production and revenues without threats from competitors. Unfortunately, the more successful a product, the more attractive it is for potential infringers to seek a share. When that happens your patent litigation lawyer at Larson and Larson becomes your best weapon in the fight to enforce your patent rights and protect your business.
What Rights Are Granted by a Patent?
Realize that legally registering your invention, design, or plant does not guarantee sole use, but rather the right to act against anyone who makes, uses, sells, or imports into the U.S. your invention. Patent enforcement is the only weapon for stopping someone in Tampa from infringing your inventions, copying your processes, mimicking your procedures, or replicating your chemical compositions. Some infringers counterfeit computer software or reverse engineer successful electronics, machines, and medical devices.
Your patent litigation lawyer can help you enforce your patent once infringed. This allows you to retain your sole rights, reclaim financial losses, and stop the infringement from continuing.
What Counter Attacks Should I Prepare For?
Once you file your patent infringement suit in federal court in Tampa, the infringing party will answer. The allegations of an infringing defendant will vary with each case. One of the most common defenses is an attempt to attack the validity of your patent. Patents may be challenged on invalidity grounds for the following common reasons:
- Prior Art Invalidity: The claim that the invention is not novel or nonobvious based on a review of the prior art in existence prior to the effective filing date of your patent application. For an invention to be patentable, it must be new, useful, and nonobvious. Products that are obvious or already in existence are not patentable.
- Fraud on the USPTO: An attack on the patent applicant’s statements to the USPTO may be challenged by a defendant, if the defendant believes the statements are false and were made intentionally.
- Non-Prior Art Invalidity: The defendant may attempt to attack the validity of your patent by alleging a failure to meet one or more statutory requirements.
A successful patent infringement case with the help of a competent patent litigation lawyer can turn in one of a few ways. The patent owner may obtain a court-ordered injunction against the infringer, which restricts the defendant from making, using, selling, or importing the invention. Additionally, the court may award damages to the patent owner in terms of a reasonable royalty or lost profits.
Call Your Patent Litigation Lawyer at Larson and Larson Today!
If you are facing patent infringement issues in Tampa, do not leave your case to chance — discuss your matter with a skilled patent litigation lawyer. Give Larson and Larson a call at 727-546-0660 to schedule your consultation. Our attorneys are not only experienced litigators but engineers and scientists who understand the technologies and intricacies of your invention.