Technical Patent Circumvention: How Start-ups can get Around Infringed Patents

Abstract

When a company has a great idea to solve a technical problem, it usually gets disillusioned upon finding that this idea has already been patented by somebody else. Usually in this case one starts to activate lawyers in order to find out if one can legally get around the patent. A nullity complaint at court or negotiations on how to be able to use the patent through license fees or cross-licensing are options. There is a technical way to circumvent patents as well. We describe a systematic approach and a procedure on how R & D departments can work with existing patents and circumvent them with technology. This procedure is not only valid for circumventing competitors’ patents but also for fostering one’s own patent applications and thus developing one’s own solid patenting strategy.