IP At Sea

A patent is an Intellectual Property (IP) right. As a legal right, patents have geographical limitations that set the area in which the patent owner can exercise their rights. Understanding the geographical extent of a patent right is especially important for inventions used at sea where potentially infringing products may transit between may different territories.

It is also necessary to consider to what extent a patent right can be used to stop exploitation of an invention within this territory. Under UK law a patent owner has the right to stop an unauthorised party from: making, offering to dispose, disposing, using, importing or keeping a patented product.

In the interest of promoting international trade a series of exemptions to infringement laws have been developed that seek to limit the extent to which patent rights can be used to stop the use of a patented product on vessels making a journey in to UK waters (e.g. to deliver goods).