Also known as: brevets d'invention · patent · letters patent
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A government grant conferring upon an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, and sell an invention for a limited time. The grant creates a property interest enforceable through infringement actions and licensing arrangements.
Blackwood Technologies obtained a judgment against Bright Path Foods for infringing its brevet d'invention on a food-processing method. The district court awarded damages but left the exact accounting of profits unresolved. Blackwood appealed immediately to the Federal Circuit under the statute allowing review when only an accounting remains.
In-house counsel prepared memos analyzing whether a new process infringed a competitor's brevet d'invention. When regulators subpoenaed the memos, the company asserted privilege. The court upheld the privilege because the communications were made to obtain legal advice about the patent rights.
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A researcher learned that a process might infringe an existing brevet d'invention. She warned her employer of potential liability. When the company ignored the warning and was later sued, the court held that the duty to disclose known risks attached once the patent issue became foreseeable.
An inventor applied for a brevet d'invention covering a novel design. The patent office denied the application. The inventor sought mandamus relief in the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that it lacked original jurisdiction to compel issuance of the patent.
A company sold devices that consumers used to copy programs protected by a brevet d'invention. The owner sued for contributory infringement. The Court held that the sale did not constitute contributory infringement because the devices had substantial noninfringing uses.
An inventor sued a firm for infringing his brevet d'invention on an algorithm. A prior suit had already determined that the same patent was valid and infringed by identical technology. The court applied offensive collateral estoppel and precluded relitigation of validity.
It refers to a patent for an invention. The grant gives the inventor exclusive rights to the invention for a limited period.
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A judgment finding infringement of the brevet d'invention is final for appeal purposes even if an accounting of damages remains. The statute expressly authorizes immediate review by the Federal Circuit in that circumstance.
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Yes when the discovery arises from partnership-funded research. The partner must account for the resulting patent and any royalties because the opportunity belongs to the partnership.
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…of an officer by the Executive. A commission is only evidence of an appointment. Delivery is not necessary to the validity of letters patent. The President cannot authorize a Secretary of State to omit the performance of those duties which are enjoined by law. When a commission for an officer not holding his office at the will…