Patent Opinions and Enforcement

After you have issued patents, you need to enforce them. The ultimate remedy for enforcement is litigation, but there are many steps you can take short of filing a lawsuit to enforce your patents and protect your property. This includes appropriately worded letters, negotiations, and license agreements that can satisfy all parties in a potential dispute.

On the flip side, we also help people who have been contacted (or sued) by a patent owner with an allegation that they are infringing a patent. We can help you analyze the issues and recommend a course of action, which may include a settlement, a license agreement, or a well-reasoned response.

If litigation is unavoidable, we have partners and affiliates with significant experience to handle the process.

Patent opinions are closely related to enforcement issues. Some of the questions address by patent opinions include:

• Freedom to operate opinions. These opinions address the question of whether something can be manufactured and sold without infringing the valid patents of someone else.
• Validity opinions. These opinions address the question of whether a particular patent is likely valid. A person who is concerned about the patents or a portfolio of a competitor may want this kind of opinion for peace of mind that if accused of infringement, they have solid arguments to use as a basis for a favorable settlement.

In the generic-drug space, we are experts at analyzing “Orange Book” listings for pharmaceutical products, and drafting the non-infringement/invalidity opinions these projects require. We also prepare “Paragraph IV” notice letters. Look to use for your Hatch-Waxman legal needs.

We are experts at the legal analysis these opinions require. You can rely on us to help you with this important strategic task.