The Infringer Has To Prove A Lack Of Good Faith Or
Reasonable Skill And Knowledge ("GFRSK")
Before the UK Patents Act was amended with effect from 1st
October 2005, a defendant found to infringe a patent could escape
having to pay damages where the patent had been amended and the
patent attorney responsible for the amendment was found not to have
acted with good faith and reasonable skill and knowledge
("GFRSK"). This could put patent attorneys and their
patentee clients in adversarial positions, even though the patent
attorneys would normally be working to help prove the
patentees' case.
Floyd J, a judge of the English Patents Court, noted in
Nokia v IPCom [2011] EWHC 3460 (Pat) that the amendments
made to Section 63(2) of the Patents Act 1977 meant that a lack of
GFRSK was no longer an absolute bar to relief, and that the court
only had to take it into account when awarding relief. In addition,
the judge held that it was for the alleged infringers, Nokia,
