What To Do When Enforcing A Patent

Taft recently outlined what to do when you are hit with a patent infringement lawsuit, but what about when you are the one on the offense? Do you have a strong handle on the steps you should take when your sales team has just returned from the annual sales show and informs you that XYZ Corp, an up-and-coming competitor, was displaying a product that infringes your patent? XYZ Corp has already been a thorn in your side because it has been driving down prices in the market. Now, what do you do? Here's the road map.

1) Which patent(s)?

The sales team thinks that XYZ Corp is infringing, but is it? Salespeople are often the first ones to sound the infringement alarm, but it is not their role to evaluate infringement. Infringement must be carefully evaluated by an experienced attorney.