Since 2009, companies have increasingly faced claims for
inaccurate labeling regarding patents covering their products.
Exposure for these claims can reach into the hundreds of millions
of dollars. While a series of recent developments have restricted
the scope of such claims, companies still need to be vigilant to
ensure that their products are properly marked, and that there is
communication between the IP group and marketing with regard to
covered products and patent life cycles.
It is well known that companies routinely label (or
"mark") their products as being covered by certain
patents. Indeed, patent law strongly encourages companies to mark
products because of the public notice function it serves and the
interplay with patent infringement damages. Since inaccurate patent
markings serve no public notice function, patent law also
discourages inaccurate marking of products. For intentionally
falsely marking a product, the patent statute provides for a fine
of
