What is an Infringement Opinion?

An infringement opinion is an analysis to see if a specific product or process infringes a patent. This opinion can go hand-in-hand with a validity opinion, but the purpose of an infringement opinion is really to take a very close look at the claims in the patent and see if the product or process infringes any of the claims. An entire patent is considered to be infringed if just a single claim is infringed.

In order for a product or process to infringe a patent, the product or process must include each and every element in any one of the claims in the patent. Determining exactly what each term means in a patent’s claims can be difficult enough, and patent infringement cases are often won or lost just trying to define these terms.

Patent law is the ultimate in high-stake semantic games. Billions are won and lost each year by convincing a judge or jury that your definition is correct and your opponent’s is wrong.

Related Topics:

What is a Patent Search?

What is Prior Art?

What is a Clearance Search, or Freedom-to-Operate Search?

What is a Validity Opinion?