Customized assistance in all aspects of ipr
THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
Identification of third party rights and how Patrade can help.
A patent is a prohibitive right which gives its holder the
right to prohibit others commercially to produce, offer,
put on the market, import, use or possess a product or a
process which falls within the scope of protection of the
patent.
Before you launch or market your product, it is thus
necessary to investigate, whether or not the product is
already patented. Identification of third party rights can
be achieved by different analyses of which freedom to
operate, patent mapping and patent monitoring are the
most obvious.
Freedom to Operate Analysis
An investigation determining, whether a product is already
patented or whether there are dominant patents preventing you from utilising your invention is called a freedom
to operate (FTO) analysis. An FTO analysis is performed
through a thorough search for relevant patent documents.
The identified documents are assessed according to the
patent claims and the description in order to decide,
whether a product or a product description falls within
the scope of the patent protection given by the identified
patent documents.
Because a patent grants a national prohibitive right, it is
obviously important to identify relevant jurisdictions. In
the US, for example, you may be fined so-called “triple
damages” for not showing due care, if you violate another
party’s patent rights. If you, for example, failed to conduct
an FTO analysis before marketing a product in the US and it subsequently turns out that this marketing violates
existing US patent rights, you may be fined triple damages.
An FTO analysis should be an integral part of a knowledge-based company’s IPR strategy. Otherwise, investments
in patents or product development could be fully or partially wasted in case of an infringement. If you do not have
FTO, it may be necessary to make a license agreement
with those who own the blocking patent(s).
At Patrade A/S we have extensive experience in performing FTO analyses and license agreements customised to
your specific needs.
Patent Mapping
If you work within a technological field with a high patenting activity, it may for various reasons be necessary to
identify a competitor or a future business partner.
By searching for patents covering specific products or
technological fields, it is possible to identify the patent
situation in other countries. Such a “patent map” can be
used to identify potential competitors or business partners as well as important markets.
A “patent mapping” results in a report which based on
patents/patent applications identified provides a clear
picture of the patent situation with respect to a specific
product or technological field.
New patents are continuously applied for and granted, and
therefore patent maps are dynamic. Thus, it may be appropriate to combine a patent mapping with a patent monitoring (see below) in order to stay updated in the future.
At Patrade A/S we can assist you in performing a patent
mapping customised to your needs.
PATRADE A/S
FREDENS TORV 3A
DK-8000 AARHUS C
TEL +45 7020 3770
Offices in:
Aarhus
Aalborg
Kolding
Copenhagen
INFO@PATRADE.DK
WWW.PATRADE.COM
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONSULTANTS
Customized assistance in all aspects of ipr
Patent Monitoring
If you want to stay updated on your competitor’s patent
portfolio, or if you are part of a very patent active sector,
a patent monitoring within a particular technological field
or with respect to a particular applicant’s patents may be
beneficial.
However, in this context it is important to emphasise that
the first 18 months of a patent’s life are typically not available for monitoring due to lack of disclosure or confidentiality.
Monitoring may, for example, be performed specifically
with regard to one or more of the following:
Company
Technological field
Patent class
Status of a given patent application
The monitoring results in a report which outlines the extent of relevant patents/published patent applications.
At Patrade A/S, your patent monitoring is customised to
your needs with reference to the points listed above.
invention, you may need to obtain a license. To ensure the
best possible license agreement, it is essential to have the
best estimate of the market value of the invention.
Moreover, it is sometimes necessary to obtain a compulsory license, if the holder of a patent which prevents
you from utilising your invention will not give a license
voluntarily.
If you or your company have a granted patent concerning
subject-matter that turns out not to be within your core
area, you may out-license the rights to your invention to a
third party. This approach will turn a liability into an asset.
Finally, two parties may independently own rights which
the other party is interested in. For this reason, it may
be necessary to establish a cross-license allowing both
parties to use the patented invention of the other.
At Patrade A/S, we can assist you in obtaining the best
licensing agreement.
For further information please, contact Patrade A/S by
phone, +45 7020 3770 or by e-mail, info@patrade.dk to
receive more information about the subjects above.
Licensing
If you have a granted patent and subsequently find that a
second patent prevents you from utilising your patented
PATRADE A/S
FREDENS TORV 3A
DK-8000 AARHUS C
TEL +45 7020 3770
Offices in:
Aarhus
Aalborg
Kolding
Copenhagen
INFO@PATRADE.DK
WWW.PATRADE.COM
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONSULTANTS