posted by on Dec 21
How can you tell if someone is stepping on your patent, or if you are stepping on someone else’s patent? That can be tough because there is a lot of misunderstanding about what is covered and what is not covered. Just as with insurance policies, it is imperative that you know what is covered and what is not covered.
Your first chore to get an idea of what is covered is to look at the claims of the patent, and you can find those in the back. They will begin with numbers. And you don’t have to bother with the dependent claims. Those are the ones that start off with the word “the” and talk about the other claims of the patent.
After that you need to write out each piece or limitation in those claims. Compare that list with either your product, or a product which may be infringing upon your patent. If everything is in the other product, there is patent infringement. But if it is just missing one thing or limitation, then there is no patent infringement. (Caution here: there may be contributory patent infringement, or other problems).