Patent Design Arounds: Minimizing Risk of Infringement or Reducing Likelihood of Design Arounds

Description

When preparing to launch a product and discovering an already existing similar patent, patent counsel and their clients should weigh several considerations, including what elements can they do without that does not include all the same details, what can be altered or tweaked, and whether the owner of the patent that may be infringed by the client’s product have pendency.

Likewise, when patent counsel is preparing a patent application, they should keep in mind the possibility of design arounds and take steps to minimize the likelihood that a competitor can design around the patent.

Design arounds have become particularly important in the context of damages. The cost of executing design arounds will vary. They will probably be less than the potential damages for infringement and may be less than paying for a license. Further, design arounds demonstrate an intent to avoid infringement.

Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys examines key considerations when seeking to design around a patent and when patenting an innovation to minimize the likelihood of design arounds. The panel will also discuss design arounds in the context of damages.