November 1, 2007
Every so often, a story about patents makes the news. Just last week, Intel announced that it had settled a patent lawsuit with Transmeta, a microprocessor designer, for $250 million. Last year, Blackberry users cringed as a federal judge considered whether to shut down the email service over allegations of patent infringement. Although patent cases making news often involve cutting edge computer technology or pharmaceuticals, patent holders bring lawsuits covering all types of inventions every year. For example, last year the federal court in South Carolina handled patent cases involving a wide variety of inventions, including those related to washer and dryer packaging, tennis courts, classroom teaching tools, pet car seats, tire tread patterns, wood chippers, and camouflage. These cases illustrate that all types of businesses, not just high tech ones, need to understand what patents are and how they might affect them.
A patent is the right, granted by the government, to exclude other people from practicing an invention for a certain period of time. To obtain a patent, an inventor files an application with the United States Patent and Trademark office setting forth a legal description of the invention. The patent office responds, often debating whether the invention is truly patentable under the law. To be patentable, the invention must be new and useful. Yet, even if "new," the invention will not be patentable if it would have been "obvious" to someone in that field. Other issues, including the inventor's prior sales of the invention, can also prevent it from being patented. If an inventor emerges from this process with a patent, however, it can be a very useful piece of property. Patent in hand, an inventor can legally force others to stop practicing the invention or, as often happens, force them to pay a royalty and, in some cases, enhanced damages and attorney's fees. However, companies accused of patent infringement are not without options. Rather than paying a royalty, some litigate in court, arguing that they do not infringe the patent or that the patent is invalid because the invention did not meet the legal requirements for patentability.
What does all of these mean for your business? On the upside, your business could be a fertile ground for new, revenue-generating patents, especially if your employees are constantly improving products or coming up with new ways to solve old problems. On the downside, your current products and services could be infringing the patents of others in the industry, exposing your company to liability. Either way, because the government grants patents on all kinds of inventions, business owners need to understand how patents might impact their business and the products and services they sell, whether high-tech, low-tech, or no-tech.
Tom Vanderbloemen is a registered patent attorney at Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A., and practices in the areas of intellectual property and business litigation. For more information, visit www.gwblawfirm.com or call (864) 271-9580.
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