B&L was approached by a US Incorporated Company ABC to conduct an infringement patent search in EU and US and to prepare a legal opinion for the same.
Issues
Infringement patent search in USPTO and EPO, Patent infringement, International patent, Patent pending applications and its consequences.
Theoretical Strategy
Detailed analysis of patents registered in USPTO and in EPO, Patent laws applicable in US and UK to determine the different issues of patent and patent infringement.
Operational Strategy
B&L's IP team was assigned to work on this. Infringement patent search was commenced after gathering an understanding of the product. Conduct an initial study of the patents of high and general relevance and on the same basis prepare a report. Identify the possible legal issues related to patent infringement in UK, analyze the rules governing the same and prepare a legal framework. Clarify the aspect of international patent and whether a PCT application guarantees international protection. Determine the legal implications with regard to a patent pending application. Formulate legal opinion on the basis of the analysis of the respective statutes and regulations in UK and US and advice ABC accordingly. Deliver the Final Draft after "TOTAL QUALITY ANALYSIS". Do post delivery follow up
Result
The infringement patent search report revealed that there existed similar patents in US and UK and there was also a patent pending application with regard to this product. The legal opinion helped ABC understand in detail and at length the issues involved in obtaining a patent for the product. The opinion by B&L guided effectively in ABC's new business venture with commercial viability of patent application.