Have you identified a product that is potentially infringing your patent, either online, on a booth at a trade show you are attending or at one of your distributors? Did one of your clients inform you that a competitor is offering a product very similar to yours that you have protected by a patent?
Here is the best way to react.
Step 1: Gather as much information as possible about the product or offer
Make screenshots of the product pages on the website and check if the product is sold on other platforms or websites. Do not hesitate to ask your distributor about the characteristics of this product and its origin. When this identification takes place on the booth at a trade show, take pictures and ask the exhibitor to get to know him better and identify the name of the manufacturer or supplier of the offer and the origin of the product. Ask him if this product or offer is available in France, and what territories are targeted by the exhibitor.
The goal here is to obtain as much information as possible to estimate the likelihood of an infringement of your patent and, if applicable, to assess the scope of this infringement.
Step 2: Checking the infringing nature of the product or offer by one of our intellectual property attorneys
From the information you have gathered, one of our patent attorneys specializing in the relevant technical field will be able to determine whether your patent is being infringed or not and to what extent. If you wish, he can also advise you on the actions to be taken and the chances of success for:
Requesting the counterfeiter to cease all infringement of your patent: We can prepare and send a cease-and-desist letter requesting the infringer to cease all infringement and possibly to compensate for any damage already incurred. Such letter can help preventing a costly dispute and to making the counterfeiter aware of the situation. The latter is important since in some cases such formal notice may be necessary to take legal action against the counterfeiter.
Secure evidence of the infringement of your patent: In order to ensure that the evidence can be used in the event that the infringement is proven, particularly in the event of legal proceedings, it is necessary to make them admissible in court. Depending on the type of evidence gathered, our patent attorneys may recommend that you proceed to a bailiff’s report of the website or trade show where you identified the product, a report on the purchase of the product or even request a counterfeiting seizure directly at the infringer’s premises.
Take legal action to put an end to the counterfeiting: If the infringer is recalcitrant and does not want to settle the matter amicably, it may be necessary to enforce your rights before the competent court. Our intellectual property attorney, in collaboration with our lawyers, will be able to advise you on the chances of success of such an action and assist you in the proceedings before the court. In addition to the termination of the counterfeiting, such an action will allow you to claim damages for the infringing acts that have disrupted the monopoly granted by your patent.
In summary, in case of suspicion of counterfeiting, we recommend that you first gather as much information as possible about the product or offer and contact us soon enough to decide what actions to take to put an end to these infringement acts.
For more information, do not hesitate to contact us by email or telephone.
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