Infringement Opinions

Infringement opinions are recommended whenever a company considers the introduction of a new product or service that is similar to an existing competitor’s product or service in the marketplace.  A competent opinion of non-infringement will preclude a finding of willful infringement, which may otherwise operate to award attorney fees and increased or punitive damages.  In this context, infringement opinions are frequently regarded as insurance policies against claims of willful infringement.

Before investing in the manufacture of a new product or accepting distribution of imported goods, an infringement opinion can help avoid costly expenditures.  If your company has already manufactured or distributed products and received a notice of infringement, an infringement opinion can help you understand your rights and decide on an appropriate course of action.  After a careful evaluation of the patented technology, existing product lines and/or new products under development may be potentially salvaged by designing around the patent of interest so as to avoid subsequent claims of infringement.

The Noblitt Group provides a full range of services for infringement, validity and design around studies as well as the preparation of formal opinions in these areas.  We maintain resources for performing manual infringement and validity searches on-site at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to assure that the most relevant references are identified and considered in the drafting of our opinions.

We would be happy to discuss more specific details of this area of our practice at your request.

For more information, please give us a call.