How to Tell if There is Patent Infringement Quickly and Easily

Patents in the USA

In order to see if there is patent infringement you just need to look at the laundry list called the claims of the patent.  Compare what is on that list with the other product or service and you can tell if there is patent infringement.  You should think of it as a high school history exam.  Only in this exam you have to get every answer right.  Miss one answer and you fail.  So if you look through the independent claims and if every single element or limitation in the claims is in the other product or service, then there is patent infringement.  If it is missing even one part or limitation, it might fail the test of patent infringement.  (There are two exceptions: contributory or indirect patent infringement and the doctrine of equivalents.  Consult with an experienced patent attorney for more details).

You will find the claims in the back of the patent.  If you are having a hard time tracking it down, simply go to Google patents and download the pdf.  Or alternatively, you can just go to the USPTO website.  You should know that all you have to do is look at the independent claims such as the first claim and every other claim that doesn’t start off with the word "the".  You should also know that you can’t get around patent infringement by simply adding stuff to a product or service.  You can only get around a patent by taking stuff out.

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About the Author:

Andrew Y. Schroeder is a Los Angeles based patent attorney licensed before the USPTO.

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