Patent Case Watch

Patent opinions from the Eastern District of Texas and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Weekly Digest

Induced Infringement

Induced infringement makes a party liable for actively encouraging another to infringe. It requires an underlying act of direct infringement by someone else, knowledge of the patent, and specific intent that the induced acts constitute infringement - a state of mind that may be shown by willful blindness but not by mere knowledge that the acts are occurring. Because it reaches suppliers and instruction-givers rather than the party performing the claimed steps, inducement is often the theory asserted against manufacturers whose customers complete the infringing use. The opinions collected here address the pleading standard for inducement, the evidence of intent required, and its relationship to direct infringement.

116 opinions and orders.