Pete, Pete, you raise an interesting point. I've always regarded United States law valid only within the confines of the United States. As long as the infringer on your U.S. patent didn't sell within the legal bounds of the United States, there's little one can do. On the surface it appears that simple. But, it's not that simple.
This can get complicated depending upon how much money your company wants to use and depending upon the following: Case 1: The foreign country recognizes certain United States laws through trade agreements. Case 2: The infringer has a branch or division within the U.S. Case 3: Your company has a branch or division within the foriegn country. I used to work in a company in the U.S. that was copied by someone in France selling only in France. The result was our division in France made enough legal "trouble" to stop the company from infringing on our rights. We never found out the specifics. We all assumed something else was going on behind the scenes. Companies don't like to talk about this type of thing. Doug Pete Van Raalte wrote: > > TREG'ers, > > An associate tells me that by shipping a product internationally I > waive the rights to a US patent. Can anyone tell me if this is > true? > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Peter Van Raalte | Email: [email protected] > Compliance Engineer | > V-Band Corporation | Phone: 914-789-5117 > 565 Taxter Road | > Elmsford NY 10523 | FAX: 914-347-3432 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
