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Patent infringement
Patent infringement is becoming a common problem that many firms are consistently trying to combat. Most people will be aware of the patent war between Samsung and Apple, which began in 2011.
These technology giants are two of many organisations that are in patent infringement battles.
What are the consequences of patent infringement and how do they occur..?
What is a Patent?
A patent is a licence or government authority that validates a title (or right) for a period of time. A patent confirms the exclusive right to exclude others from using, selling, replicating or copying another person’s invention. Patents protect new inventions and covers what they do, how they work, how they do it, what they are made of and how they are made. They protect the features and processes that make things work, allowing the sole inventor to profit from their inventions.
Why do companies have them?
A patent gives a monopoly right to the inventor or owner of the product or process that has been approved and deemed ‘patentable’. Companies use patents to ensure they have exclusivity to the product or invention that they have created. Patents ensure that the end user receives the original product that is produced from the inventor’s desired process. This helps ensure the correct production and gives companies the chance to stay ahead of their competition.
What purpose do they serve?
The purpose of a patent is to protect the patentee’s innovative ideas and prevent unfair competition.
Having a patent granted is no easy or quick process, but can be very important to help companies grow through the protection of their assets.
What is Patent infringement?
Selling, manufacturing, copying, or importing a product or process without the patent owner’s grant of rights to do so is described as ‘infringing a patent’ and the patent owner can take legal action.
What are the consequences of patent infringement?
If a court identifies that somebody has infringed a patent, the infringer may face several penalties which can vary in severity. The financial penalties are to compensate the inventor for the wrongful use of the product by the infringer. This is calculated by identifying the royalty rate that would have been paid if the infringer legally licensed the invention. However, the general penalty is for courts to award damage fees to the patent owner, which will have been caused through infringement of the goods. In addition to these fees, the infringer would also be required to pay interest on all money owed with addition to the patent owner’s court costs. Moving away from financial fees, the court will also issue an injunction to prevent the infringer infringing the patent again in the future by way of a ‘cease and desist’ order.
To ensure our products stay ahead of the competition, we have partnered up with many world leading patent owning companies. Our competitors have in the past imitated our innovative ideas by purchasing from unlicensed companies or unknowingly re-producing a patented product without approval. This is a matter that we take very seriously.
It is important to proceed with great caution when selecting low-cost alternatives that do not respect or understand patents and patent owner rights. Working with VideoPak and Fuse Innovation gives you the reassurance that products are the ‘real deal’ and of the best quality and value. If it looks cool, creative and innovative, it is likely to have design or utility patent.
Fuse Innovation is a production agency specialising in the mass-production of innovative products for marketing promotions.
Our Physical-Digital engagement products are attention-grabbing communication tools that offer multi-channel solutions and maximum interactivity.
They work extremely well as Invitations, Product (or service) Launches, Training / Education, Announcements, Welcome-Packs, Promotions, Pitches, Showreels and Press-Releases.
