What is Intellectual Property? > Patents > Safeguards available to non-patent owners

Safeguards against abuse of the rights granted by patents have been built in under the Patents Ordinance and they apply to short-term patents as well as standard patents.

Remedies for groundless threats

Where a person by circulars, advertisements or otherwise threatens another person (“aggrieved party”) with proceedings for infringement of a patent (other than an infringement alleged to consist of making a product for putting on the market or of using a process), the aggrieved party may initiate proceedings against the party making the threats if he can prove that the threats were made and that he is a person aggrieved by such threats. However, a notification of the existence of a patent does not of itself constitute a threat of proceedings.

The patent owner may, by way of defence, prove that the acts in respect of which proceedings were threatened would constitute an infringement of a patent; whereupon the aggrieved party shall not be entitled to the relief claimed unless he can show that the patent concerned is invalid in a relevant respect.

The relief available is (a) a declaration to the effect that the threats are unjustifiable, (b) an injunction against the continuance of the threats, and (c) damages.

Revocation of patent

Any person may initiate proceedings in court to revoke a granted patent on the grounds that the invention was not patentable, i.e. that the invention was not new, did not involve an active step and was not susceptible for industrial application. The validity of a patent can also be challenged by a defendant in an infringement action.