Explain briefly the issues of Enforcement of rights relevant to Patent Protection in Digital Media.

Explain briefly the issues of Enforcement of rights relevant to Patent Protection in Digital Media.

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Explain briefly the issues of Enforcement of rights relevant to Patent Protection in Digital Media.

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Enforcement of Patent Rights:

• In most systems, a patent is the right enforceable in a court, usually to prevent the manufacture, sale and use of a patented invention. It is not, as many people think, permission to practice the patented invention, which may be subject to restrictions for other reasons such as security or public health. Application is made to the court to stop the unauthorized manufacture, sale or use of the invention, so that the court may grant the appropriate order and stop the infringement. In practice, however, the process is less straightforward than it sounds. Assessing the Scope of Patent Rights.
• When thinking about patent enforcement, a patentee must first assess what he has patented. It is now a feature of just about all patent systems that a patent must include either a specification containing claims or a description, claims or any required drawings (depending on the terminology of the particular law). In most systems, the claims are decisive, as they define the scope of protection sought and eventually granted through the patent. The specification or the description and drawings may be used to interpret the claims, which must be fully supported by them.
• Most inventors use the services of a patent attorney to write the specification for them. An inventor may not fully understand the specification, and particularly may have difficulties in understanding the claims. Even where the patentee has some idea of the exclusive right granted to him in his own country, it is very rare for him to know with any precision what rights he may have in corresponding patents in other jurisdictions. The patentee’s first real understanding of the extent of his patent rights often only comes to him when he is considering enforcement.
• Thus the basis for enforcement of patent rights is established at the start of the patenting process when the patent specification is written by the inventor or the inventor’s patent attorney. The examination process in the Patent Office can modify the original wording. The inventor will normally try to avoid any modification which will result in a limitation of the scope of protection, for any reduction in the scope of protection makes it easier for a competitor to avoid infringement. If a competitor can easily supply the market with something that is equivalent to the invention, but does not infringe the patent, then the patent may be of limited commercial value. Patent Office examiners should try to remember this when an applicant for a patent steadfastly resists amending his claims in order to overcome an objection, but instead tries to deal with the objection by argument. While acceding to an amendment might lead to the early grant of a patent on the application, it may also lead to a patent right of doubtful commercial utility. Evaluating Validity and Infringement of a Patent.
• Having assessed the scope of the patent right, the next task is for the patentee to decide if there is infringement. Before committing himself to the financial risk of a patent case — which can be among the most time-consuming and expensive of all forms of litigation — a patentee, unless he is very wealthy and relaxed about money, must make some attempt to forecast whether he can be successful.
• The issue of infringement is very rarely considered on its own. Patents, like other forms of intellectual property, do not only affect the parties to a dispute; they have an effect on the public at large. This being the case, it is normally considered that a patent which can be shown to be invalid cannot be enforceable. In spite of the examination of patent applications during prosecution, no patent system guarantees the validity of a granted patent. In a patent enforcement action, therefore, a defendant will usually add to any defense of non-infringement a further defense, often in the form of a counterclaim, that the patent is invalid and hence not enforceable even if infringed. In some jurisdictions, the issues of infringement and validity are heard together. In others, the question of validity is heard separately by a different court or it may be referred to the Patent Office.
• Because of the principle that no invalid patent should be enforceable, the defendant in a patent action is usually allowed to bring in evidence of invalidity at any stage of the proceedings, and in some jurisdictions even during the trial itself. As a result, the position of the patentee during patent enforcement proceedings tends to deteriorate as a defendant makes searches and often finds evidence which is relevant to validity.