In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

, a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

provides its proprietor with the right to exclude others from utilizing the

invention An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...

claimed in that patent. Should a person utilize that invention, without the permission of the patent proprietor, they may infringe that patent.

Legislation

Infringement under United Kingdom patent law is defined by Section 60 of the

Patents Act 1977 A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

(as amended), which sets out the different types of infringement.

Infringement

* Where the invention is a product, by the making, disposing of, offering to dispose of, using, importing or keeping a patented product. * Where the invention is a process, by the use, or offer for use where it is known that the use of the process would be an infringement. Also, by the disposal of, offer to dispose of, use or import of a product obtained directly by means of that process, or the keeping of any such product whether for disposal or otherwise. * By the supply, or offer to supply, in the United Kingdom, a person not entitled to work the invention, with any of the means, relating to an essential element of the invention, for putting the invention into effect, when it is known (or it is reasonable to expect such knowledge) that those means are suitable for putting, and are intended to put, the invention into effect in the United Kingdom. An action for infringement can only be brought after grant of the patent, but

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

can be recovered under Section 69 for infringing acts conducted after publication of the application, but before grant, provided those acts infringe the claims both as published and as granted, and provided the defendant can be shown to have been aware of the existence of the patent (or patent application). The protection conferred by publication of the application is known as ''provisional protection''. Publication of European applications and

Patent Cooperation Treaty The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed und ...

(PCT) applications confers provisional protection in the same manner, provided the application is published in English.

Remedies

A claimant for infringement may be awarded a range of remedies (under section 61), depending on the facts of the particular case.

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

may be awarded to rectify financial harm suffered, an

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in ...

may be granted to prevent further action by the infringer, an

account of profits An account of profits (sometimes referred to as an ''accounting for profits'' or simply an ''accounting'') is a type of equitable remedy most commonly used in cases of breach of fiduciary duty. It is an action taken against a defendant to recover ...

may be ordered, an order for the delivery up or destruction of infringing items may be made or a declaration that the patent is valid and infringed may be granted to the patentee. Both damages and an account of profits may not be ordered in respect of the same infringement. Limitations on damages or costs may apply under certain circumstances, for example if the defendant was unaware of the patent's existence damages may not be awarded, or where the patent was subject to a transaction that was not registered at the Patent Office within 6 months an award of costs to the successful party may not be awarded.The Patents Act 1977 (as amended), section 68

References

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External links

The_UK_Patents_Act_1977_(as_amended)_[PDF
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="DF">The UK Patents Act 1977 (as amended) [PDF
/nowiki>">DF">The UK Patents Act 1977 (as amended) [PDF
/nowiki>
Patent law
on the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) web site United Kingdom patent law, Infringement, United Kingdom patent law

Legislation

Infringement

Remedies

See also

References

External links