Patent misuse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the United States, patent misuse is an affirmative defense used in patent litigation after the defendant has been found to have infringed a patent. This umbrella term usually describes:

• violation of antitrust laws
• improper expansion of the scope or term of the patent

In the United States, a patent is a publication that grants the patentee the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the claimed invention that is disclosed in the patent. It is not patent misuse to enforce rights to a patent irrespective of any use or non-use by the patent owner.

[edit] See also

• Biopiracy
• Copyright misuse
• Inequitable conduct
• Patent troll
• Submarine patent