Relief For Infringement Of Partially Valid Patent

A partially valid patent refers to a situation where some claims in a granted patent are found valid while other typically broader claims are found invalid, e.g. during infringement proceedings.

Under the infringement provisions in the Singapore Patents Act, section 70 provides relief for infringement of a partially valid patent, subject to certain circumstances. Specifically, section 70(2) states that when "it is found that a patent is only partially valid, the court or the Registrar shall not grant relief by way of damages, costs or expenses, except where the plantiff proves that the specification for the patent was framed in good faith and with reasonable skill and knowledge, and in that event the court or the Registrar may grant relief in respect of that part of the patent which is valid and infringed, subject to the discretion of the court or the Registrar as to costs or expenses and as to the date from which damages should be reckoned".