Inducing Congress to Create Separate Patent Infringement Categories: A Solution to Multiple Actor Liability Evasion

Abstract

The definition of infringement is fairly ambiguous in patent law, which presents courts with the unique and difficult problem of determining infringement liability when multiple actors work together to infringe a method patent. Under current statutory guidelines, method patent infringement requires all steps of a patented process to be completed by a single entity, however when multiple parties work together without a contractual relationship, but complete all the patented steps, they may escape liability which results in the violation of the patent holders’ rights. Congress was granted the Constitutional right to promote the arts and sciences, therefore it is their job to ensure that the patent system works efficiently and provides clear guidance to the courts. When drafting the statutes that govern patent law, it was Congress’ intention to protect the rights of inventors, not potential infringers. By allowing evasion of infringement liability to occur, patentees lose their coveted rights which stifles innovation and places a strain on the market system. This article provides the missing solution to multiple actor infringement liability evasion in the scholarly literature by proposing that Congress should create separate infringement subcategories to hold multiple actor infringers liable when all steps of the patented method are completed, regardless of whether the parties are considered a single entity. The statutory amendments would first clearly define infringement, and subsequently create distinct categories under both direct and indirect infringement statutes. Determination of infringement liability would then be based on the relationships between the parties who are involved in the infringement. By Congress revising the statute, courts will have more guidance which would limit the uncertainty of their current decisions, thus providing more reliable outcomes.