Ohara & Furukawa

Sometimes having an exclusive patent right isn’t enough to discourage others from producing infringing copies. In these circumstances, sometimes a forcefully worded letter drafted by a lawyer can help resolve the issue. However, sometimes the patent right holder will need to enforce his or her patent right in court.

Patent litigation in America usually involves many months of discovery with lawyers pouring over emails, faxes, technical documents and notes looking for the “smoking gun” piece of evidence. This process is designed to ensure that all evidence is available at trial and the correct verdict is reached. However, it also greatly increasing attorney’s fees as teams of lawyers bill hours churning through documents.

When another party is infringing on your intellectual property it is important to stop the infringing action as quickly as possible. Every day that passes without action results in more infringing sales and possible damage to your IP or brand. Sending a warning letter from a lawyer’s office sometimes can bring an end to the infringing behavior quickly and painlessly. Sending warning letters to infringing parties as a first measure is common practice in Japanese intellectual property disputes.