An Intentional Tort Theory of Patents

61 Pages Posted: 7 Sep 2014 Last revised: 30 Sep 2016

See all articles by Saurabh Vishnubhakat

Saurabh Vishnubhakat

Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Duke University School of Law

Date Written: September 5, 2014

Abstract

This Article challenges the dogma of U.S. patent law that direct infringement is a strict liability tort. Impermissibly practicing a patented invention does create liability even if the infringer did not intend to infringe or know about the patent. The consensus is that this is a form of strict liability. The flaw in the consensus is that it proves too little, for the same is true of intentional torts: intent to commit the tort is unnecessary, and ignorance of the legal right is no excuse. What is relevant is intent to perform the action that the law deems tortious. So for the tort of patent infringement, the question is whether liability should require that the infringer intended to perform the actions that constitute infringement. The patent statute and the few cases that have broached the question suggest the answer is yes — tortious intent should be necessary. However, patent law currently takes no position on tortious intent. The strict liability view is merely a default. This Article fills that gap by applying ordinary tort principles to patent infringement. The proposed framework offers a powerful policy lever for important issues implicating the notice function of patents, including divided infringement, claim construction, and inherency. This framework also mitigates the effects of patent assertion on risk allocation in the patent system by differentiating among makers, sellers, and users of patented innovation — a distinction that is economically important but has no principled basis in patent doctrine.

Keywords: intellectual property, patent, infringement, intentional, tort, strict, liability, theory, trespass, notice, relevant, intent

JEL Classification: D23, K11, K13, K41, D82, D83

Suggested Citation

Vishnubhakat, Saurabh, An Intentional Tort Theory of Patents (September 5, 2014). Florida Law Review, Vol. 68, 2016, Texas A&M University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 16-10, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2492200 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2492200

Saurabh Vishnubhakat (Contact Author)

Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law ( email )

55 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10003
United States

HOME PAGE: http://cardozo.yu.edu/directory/saurabh-vishnubhakat

Duke University School of Law

Durham, NC

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
310
Abstract Views
5,016
Rank
177,719
PlumX Metrics