Maxim Ali has expalained to the DP how to minimise the risk of patent disputes 

According to experts polled by Delovoy Peterburg , in Russia patent disputes are most common in the pharmaceutical, instrument making and metallurgy industries. As a rule the disputes are associated with unfair competition or disputing authorship or rights to inventions. At the same time, the media drew attention to the possibility of an increase in the number of patent disputes due to the application by the Russian government of a legal provision allowing the use of inventions, utility models and industrial designs in the interests of national security without the consent of the right holder and without payment of compensation to him.

It should be noted that among the peculiarities of the patent litigation are also the duration of the processes, relatively high cost of the case and significant associated risks – from reputational damage to a complete ban on the sale of certain products.

“Virtually any company can become a potential infringer of someone else’s patent – the task of verifying the use of patented technology can be extremely difficult even for a professional examiner or a court. Even if you are not infringing someone else’s patents, the lack of a clear strategy for dealing with competitor claims can lead a business to costly and lengthy court disputes, during which partners will shun cooperation with you. Therefore, only the verification of the patent purity of your own company technology will help in the prevention of infringement of others’ rights. And allow you to avoid not only fines, but also criminal prosecution”, explained Maxim Ali, Partner, Head of IP/IT practice at Maxima Legal, specially for Delovoy Peterburg newspaper. 

To read the full article (in Russian) please visit Delovoy Peterburg website >>>