Design-Around Patent Strategies for Patentees and Competitors

Patentees and Competitors must take proactive steps to handle design-around issues related to intellectual property matters. Using a design-around strategy, a competitor can produce an equivalent product that is legally non-infringing on a patentee's issued patent. Successful design-around strategies can present time and cost savings in terms of research and development costs, legal fees and potential litigation costs and also can minimize the delay in commercializing an equivalent product. For example, by designing around, a competitor has the incentive to potentially capture a significant market share by producing an equivalent product while undercutting the patentee's profits. Design-around improvements based on a patent are part and parcel of the patent bargain made by the patentee. The patentee obtains a monopoly to prevent others from making, using, selling or importing an infringing product while public knowledge is broadened in that technology.