Also known as: break a patent · breaks a patent · broke a patent · broken a patent · patent infringement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
The act of demonstrating that a patent is invalid or unenforceable because it was improperly issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office because of fraud, the existence of prior art, or any other barrier to proper issuance.
The act of demonstrating that a patent is invalid or unenforceable because it was improperly issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office because of fraud, the existence of prior art, or any other barrier to proper issuance.
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The act of demonstrating that a patent is unenforceable because it was used unlawfully by the patentee.
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The act of demonstrating that a patent is unenforceable because it was used unlawfully by the patentee.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Blake Butler sued Beacon Bank for patent infringement over a data compression method. The district court entered judgment finding infringement but deferred the accounting of damages. Beacon Bank appealed immediately by breaking the patent with evidence of prior art that the patentee had concealed.
Brenda Booth sued Bay Area Systems alleging infringement of a medical device patent. During Markman proceedings the court construed the key term broadly. Bay Area Systems broke the patent by proving the construction rendered the claims invalid over prior art.
Bobby Brady sued Bristol Steel for selling machines that allegedly contributed to patent infringement. Bristol Steel broke the patent by showing the machines had substantial noninfringing uses that defeated the contributory claim.
Benjamin Brooks sued Blackwood Technologies over a patent claiming isolated DNA sequences. Blackwood Technologies broke the patent by demonstrating the claims covered a product of nature ineligible for patent protection.
Brian Bailey obtained a patent and sued Bay Area Systems for infringement. After Bay Area Systems broke the patent with prior art evidence the court denied an injunction because no valid patent remained to enforce.
Bethany Boyd sued Beacon Bank over a patent on a hedging method. Beacon Bank broke the patent by proving the claims were directed to an abstract idea ineligible for patent protection under the machine-or-transformation test.
A defendant must prove the patent is invalid because it was improperly issued due to fraud, prior art, or another barrier, or that the patentee misused the patent in violation of antitrust laws. Either showing renders the patent unenforceable against that defendant.
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A noninfringement defense accepts the patent's validity but shows the accused product or process falls outside the claims. Breaking a patent attacks the patent itself by establishing invalidity or unenforceability, which defeats the claim regardless of whether the accused conduct would otherwise infringe.
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Yes. Evidence of prior art that anticipates or renders obvious the claimed invention can be used to break the patent even if the art was not before the examiner during prosecution.
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…collateral estoppel. In Blonder-Tongue , this Court approved the defensive use of collateral estoppel by a patent licensee in a patent infringement suit. We held that a defendant could preclude a patentee from relitigating the validity of a patent that had been held invalid in a prior suit against another defendant. The present case…