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Active Inducement of Patent Infringement

35 U.S.C. 271(b) provides:

Whoever actively induces infringement of a patent shall be liable as an infringer.

Specific Intent

Liability for active inducement of infringement requires specific intent – that the inducer’s actions induced direct infringement and that he knew or should have known his actions would induce actual infringements.  DSU Medical Corp. v. JMS Co., Ltd., 471 F.3d 1293, 1304 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (en banc), citing, Manville Sales Corp. v. Paramount Systems, Inc., 917 F.2d 544, 554 (Fed. Cir. 1990); see also Cross Medical Products, Inc. v. Medtronic Sonfamor Danek, Inc., 424 F.3d 1293, 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (“that the alleged infringer knowingly induced infringement and possessed specific intent to encourage another’s infringement”)

Contributory Infringement of Patent Rights

35 U.S.C. § 271(c) provides:

Whoever offers to sell or sells within the United States or imports into the United States a component of a patented machine, manufacture, combination or composition, or a material or apparatus for use in practicing a patented process, constituting a material part of the invention, knowing the same to be especially made or especially adapted for use in an infringement of such patent, and not a staple article or commodity of commerce suitable for substantial noninfringing use, shall be liable as a contributory infringer.