Protect your patent with patent insurance

Before introducing patent insurance, let us first understand what a patent is- it is an exclusive right granted by the government to make, use or sell the patented products. In other words, no one other than the patent-holder can manufacture or market the patented products. Going by the definition, one might think a patent itself provides some sort of insurance but what then, is a patent insurance? Patent insurance is a protection against infringement of patents and the costs associated with it.

In these days of internet business and e-commerce, companies come up with new ideas, processes and applications. It is important to patent them and ensure that the copyright of these ideas are not infringed and at the same time make sure that one has not copied the ideas of others. If such situations arise then patent insurance can come to the rescue.

Patent insurance is of two types:

·         Patent liability insurance

·         Patent pursuance insurance

Patent Liability Insurance is a defensive instrument, which helps the insured fight an infringement lawsuit filed by a rival company.  Another term for it is ‘patent infringement defense insurance’ where the insurance company bears a part of the legal expenses incurred and/or the damages to be paid.

Patent Pursuance Insurance, is an offensive instrument which helps the insured fight against a patent infringing company. The other terms for this are ‘patent enforcement insurance’ or ‘offensive patent insurance’, in this case the insurer pays a part of the legal expenses incurred by the insured company. In simpler terms defensive policies covers a company if it is sued for violating a patent and offensive policies help a company to pay for legal expenses and other costs if it sues another party for violating a patent.

Another advantage of patent insurance products are a company can prevent a larger and financially strong company from infringing on its patents or will be in a position to sue a smaller, emerging company by being armed with a stronger litigation position.

Defensive patent insurance policies also help companies reduce the pressure to settle litigations owing to rising legal expenses in relation to lengthy patent litigations. On the other hand offensive patent litigations may attract investors to the company owing to the insured patents it has.

Getting a patent insurance can be a strategic move to avoid losses from patent infringement.

To know more about getting the right insurance policy based on your needs  and an unbiased opinion on the best options please visit www.zeninsure.com or call us on +91 9848884363

Image courtesy-Shutterstock