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REDUCING THE RISK OF PATENT INFRINGEMENT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2023

Larry Stauffer
Larry Stauffer*
Affiliation:
University of Idaho
*
Stauffer, Larry, University of Idaho, United States of America, stauffer@uidaho.ed

Abstract

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One life-cycle issue that is often overlooked in the design process is that of intellectual property (IP). Yet the IP associated with a product is a valuable asset of the company, sometime comparable to the materials produced or the manufacturing infrastructure. In particular, this paper addresses the IP of patents, the opportunity for patent infringement, and ways to reduce the risk of getting into this situation. One poorly managed patent infringement case could cost the company millions of dollars, wiping out years of profit from production of that product. Patent infringement is a complex topic that combines design and law with many uncertainties. Designing products that do not infringe the patent rights of others is a goal that cannot be done with certainty. A primary reason is due to the uncertainty of understanding what is protected in a patent and the uncertainty of the patent infringement process. The purpose of this paper is to educate the designer on what constitutes patent infringement and explain some ways to reduce the risk of infringing the patent rights of others.

Keywords

Design for X (DfX)New product developmentDesign methods
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 3: ICED23 , July 2023 , pp. 3035 - 3044
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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