Types of proceedings
You might find yourself having to challenge other people's patents or perhaps find yourself in a dispute over your patent. Some of the most common disputes about patents are about ownership, licences and other technical issues.
Ownership
- Entitlement - disputes about who owns a patent or is entitled to own a patent
- Inventorship - disputes about adding or removing the names of an inventor
- Compensation - applications from employees who want compensation
- Joint applicant disputes - disputes between joint applicants about how a patent application in their names will go ahead
Technical issues
- Revocation - application to have a patent cancelled
- Amendment of patents - an opposition by another person to an application by the owner of the patent to amend it
- Declarations of non-infringement - applications asking for confirmation that a certain activity does not or would not 'infringe' a particular patent
- Infringement - disputes about infringement but only if both parties agree we should decide the matter. Our powers are limited and because of this it is usual for proceedings for infringement to be filed at the Patents Court or the Patents County Court
Licences
- Applications to decide on the terms of licences which can be given under a patent - where the owner of the patent and the person who wants a licence cannot agree terms
- Applications for a compulsory licence under a patent - requests that the patent owner be forced to grant a licence