Before you even start manufacturing, you find out your invention would be infringing on another patent. Your freedom-to-operate search revealed a competitor holds a patent on a core component. Now what? Don’t Panic. Redesign!
The Choice: You face two options, and only one protects your long-term profit:
- The Licensing Trap: Buy the patent rights, which can be expensive. Alternatively, pay a royalty to the patent holder for every unit you sell. This creates an ongoing cost and allows a competitor to profit from your success. There’s also no guarantee the patent owner will grant you a license or sell the patent rights to you.
- A Legal Workaround: Work with your engineers and patent attorney to “design around” the blocking patent. By changing the component’s structure, material, or function, you can often achieve the same result without infringing the patent’s claims.
The Lesson: The upfront cost of a redesign may be cheaper than the perpetual cost of a royalty. Designing your way out of starting an infringement battle is a worthwhile subject to look into.
Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it. You don’t have to face the darkness alone, though.
I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I’m an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.
If you’d like to consult with me, please book a consultation online at kingpatentlaw.com or by calling my office at 312-596-2222 or 217-714-8558.
Please check out the other posts and pages on my website for more information on intellectual property and business law issues. I’m also on most major podcast platforms as “Know Your Rights: Your Intellectual Property and Business Law Playbook” (video on YouTube, Spotify, and Substack only) and on most social media as @kingpatentlaw.
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