Patent rights offer owners absolute control over their invention and provide them with the right to exhaust it. The patent rights might last for about 20 years. These patent rights are very important in that they protect your expected revenue, market share enhances the commercial value of your product, and preserves your reputation in the market. Therefore, once you lose these rights, you lose control over your product. With some competitors trying to capitalize on processes or products without the authority of the patent owner, it has since led to an increase in patent disputes. Cases of people selling, using, and importing already patented inventions continue to surge.
Types of Patent Disputes
Patent disputes are characterized into two. The first one is the case of a competitor who exploits a process or product that is under your patent rights. Besides, if a competitor claims that you are exploiting or selling a process or product that is within their patent rights, it might result in a patent dispute.
Other instances that can lead to patent disputes include contract disputes, specifically a breach of the terms and conditions through which a particular invention is exploited for instance the technology transfer contract. A case on who is the real owner of an invention is also one of the most common patent disputes.
Resolving Patent Disputes
Solving patent issues is not a walk in the park. That tussle of who is the rightful owner of electronic discovery can be very frustrating. Complex civil litigation will soon ensue in order to reach a convincing ruling of who is the owner of that invention. Below are some of the most reliable options that can be used to resolve patent disputes.
Patent Litigation
Patent litigation can be an aggressive process but is a very crucial commercial litigation. It can be used in conducting corporate investigations, electronic case management, and contract disputes during a patent dispute in order to come with a very satisfactory and informed ruling. The process is free and fair since you will be get updated as the litigation outcome unfolds.
Alternative dispute resolution methods
Amid the patent disputes, the involved parties might decide to solve the issue outside the court. This is where approaches like mediation, arbitration, settlement, and neutral evaluation come into place. Alternative dispute resolution methods will ensure there is communication between those parties with an ultimate goal of reaching a satisfactory settlement to the patent dispute. Several patent disputes have been resolved through ADR thus preventing the frustrating experiences caused by long legal proceedings. Through a mediator, legal fees are saved, and the chances of the dispute becoming worse are quite minimal.
Conclusion
Patent disputes continue to be a very serious challenge with the ever-increasing innovations. Some innovators have been shortchanged with their full patent rights being transferred to an unauthorized party. To solve such occurrences, aggressive patent litigation can be adopted or the parties in conflict can resolve to use alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation or arbitration. The goal is to establish the real owner of the patent, and ensures the individual gets to regain total patent rights, control the product’s share and reap big for the intensive investment made in coming up with their invention. Creating awareness about patent rights will be a step forward in preventing various patent disputes that might arise in the future.
