More on patents....
.......Patents, in fact, have always driven the development of new markets. In the 1870s and 1880s the number of new patents rose 56 percent each year as the nascent steam, railroad, telegraph, telephone and electric industries powered the industrialization of the U.S. Between 1902 and 1916, as well, patent issuances surged 100 percent as the automobile and aircraft industries developed into potent engines of the economy. And in each case, notes one observer of U.S. patent history, "the ultimate winner in the race to capture the lead position in a new industry [was] often determined by the outcome of a patent shoot-out."
But in today's knowledge economy, where intellectual assets have replaced land and natural resources as the wellsprings of wealth and competitive advantage, patents are playing a far more crucial role than ever before. As global markets have become increasingly more efficient, traditional grounds for building competitive advantage such as economic scale or capital resources have narrowed.........
............A little-known area of concern not yet on many people's radar isn't simply the danger of direct infringement lawsuits, but rather the "contributory" and "inducement to infringe" provisions of patent law. These hold that a company is liable for damages not only if its own products or services infringe upon another firm's patents, but also if any of the third-party or vendor-supplied technology it uses infringes on someone else's patents............
thestandard.com
Patent Infringement
The word "infringement" means an encroachment upon the domain belonging to a patentee that is described by the claims of her/his patent. If a patent is analogized to real property, the claims correspond to the boundary recited in the deed. Invasion of the boundary of a landowner's real estate is called trespass, while invasion of a patentee's claims is called infringement. Both are civil wrongs or "torts." Unlike a trespass, patent infringement is a statutory wrong and is governed by federal law. 35 U.S.C. 271 defines infringement as "whoever without authority makes, uses, or sells any patented invention, within the United States during the term of the patent therefor, infringes the patent."
A determination of patent infringement involves a two-step process. First, the claims are analyzed by studying all of the relevant patent documents. Second, the claims must "read on" the accused device or process. This merely means that the device or process is examined to see if it is substantially described by the claims; in other words, the claims are tested to see whether they describe the accused infringement.
Infringement can be direct, indirect, or contributory. Anyone who makes, uses, or sells the patented invention is a direct infringer. If a person actively encourages another to make, use, or sell the invention, the person so inducing is liable for indirect infringement. Contributory infringement can be committed by knowingly selling or supplying an item for which the only use is in connection with a patented invention. Good faith or ignorance is no defense for direct infringement, but it can be for indirect or contributory infringement.
The remedies for infringement consist of:
1) Injunctive relief,
2) damages (including treble damages for willful infringement)
3) attorneys' fees in some cases, and
4) court costs.
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