The value of intellectual property has
never been as high as it is today.
Patents in particular have become valuable assets for businesses of all sizes.
Over the past decade, the number of
patents issued by the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office has more than doubled.
During that same time, patent infringement
damage awards and settlements in the
United States continue to increase, reaching beyond $1 billion in some cases.
The value of intellectual property is
directly related to the ability to defend that
property, whether through litigation or
through a structured licensing program.
Smart Business spoke with Monte M.
Bond, partner and section chair, Godwin
Pappas Langley Ronquillo LLP, to learn
more about the role of patent attorneys in
patent infringement cases, and how business owners can protect themselves
against infringement.
Why are patent infringement cases on the
rise?
It is due in large part to a change in attitudes toward patents. Twenty years ago,
large corporations simply obtained patents
in the belief that if they had enough of them
they could defend themselves against others in their business. That was called a
‘mutually assured destruction’ scenario.
Things began to change in the early 1990s
as large companies moved to exploit their
patent portfolios, which sometimes numbered thousands of patents. They began to
market them and obtained record amounts
of licensing fees as a result. Companies
realized that their patents and fees were a
money-making asset.
Smaller companies emulated their larger
counterparts, which marked the beginning
of a paradigm change. As a result, companies of all sizes nowadays are extremely
protective of their patents and intellectual
property in general, and challenge any real
or perceived infringement in federal courts.
Why is it important for companies to protect
their patents?
Effective intellectual property evaluation, protection, exploitation, enforcement
and defense are crucial to the survival and
success of a business. Therefore, executives have to understand the risks and
rewards of intellectual property asset management and know how to develop and
integrate plans to make sure their intellectual property becomes and stays an asset
of their operations.
The whole point of protecting intellectual property is for a company to be rewarded for the risks it takes by investing in
research and development. So investments have to be protected under the rule
of law.
Do clients need an attorney to help them protect their patents?
Patents are federal rights that can only be
enforced in federal courts. Attorneys who
deal with patents and patent infringement
cases have to be highly specialized in that
area of the law. It takes a great deal of
experience and knowledge to handle these
highly complex cases.
To practice patent applications for
clients, an attorney must be licensed to
practice before the Patent Trademark
Office. Litigation requires a combination of patent-savvy knowledge of the technology
and trial skills.
Why is there a need for strong patents?
In essence, the client is making a bargain
with the government. If a technology
owner discloses everything that he or she
knows about the invention as required by
the patent laws of the United States, the
government, in turn, will give the owner
the right to commercially exploit that
invention for 20 years. That explains why it
is essential for clients to protect themselves against patent infringements.
At what point in the patent process should
clients involve attorneys?
Clients should involve attorneys before
the patent is ever filed. The attorney can
help get the information needed for filing
and prepare and complete a proper application with the assistance of the inventors.
Attorneys can work with clients to develop
plans to protect their intellectual property
and recommend courses of action to be
taken when infringement lawsuits are filed
against them.
What benefits accrue to clients who involve
attorneys in the patent process?
Clients who acquire patents have made
significant investments in time, money and
effort in research and development. By filing a patent application, they have complied with patent law and should receive
the benefit of doing so. They do not want
others to come in and take advantage of
their hard work and money spent.
If clients have competent counsel who
knows the ins and outs of several aspects
of patent law and prosecution — someone
applying for and nursing through the
patent process — they will be better prepared to protect their own patents and
defend themselves against infringement
claims.
MONTE M. BOND is a partner and chair of the Intellectual
Property Section at Godwin Pappas Langley Ronquillo LLP.
Reach him at (214) 939-4617 or [email protected].