[Patents] Very basic patent question

[Jim Bessen" <jbessen@researchoninnovation.org (Jim Bessen)]

I am not a lawyer, but have asked the same question of lawyers. In the US no 
suit can be brought against a firm for holding an invalid patent. Validity 
can only be raised in court when a patent holder has sued for infringement.

It is possible to petition the Patent Office for a re-examination of a suit 
thought to be invalid. This was the case, for example, with Compton's 
multimedia patent. However, even here many lawyers are reluctant to provide 
evidence of prior art. If prior art is submitted in a re-examination 
proceeding and the patent is nevertheless upheld by the USPTO, then that 
prior art is no longer useful as a defense in the event of an infringement 
suit.



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James Bessen
Research on Innovation
jbessen@researchoninnovation.org

I am not a lawyer, but have asked the same question of lawyers. In the US no suit can be brought against a firm for holding an invalid patent. Validity can only be raised in court when a patent holder has sued for infringement.

 

It is possible to petition the Patent Office for a re-examination of a suit thought to be invalid. This was the case, for example, with Compton's multimedia patent. However, even here many lawyers are reluctant to provide evidence of prior art. If prior art is submitted in a re-examination proceeding and the patent is nevertheless upheld by the USPTO, then that prior art is no longer useful as a defense in the event of an infringement suit.

 

 

 

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James Bessen
Research on Innovation
jbessen@researchoninnovation.org