How to Prevent Intellectual Property Infringement

If you or your business own intellectual property rights, these are legal and enforceable rights that enable you to take action against people who infringe those rights. There are many avenues that you can pursue in taking action against infringers, ranging from a warning to initiating court action. This article will look at the various methods in place for preventing intellectual property infringement.
Make sure you can prove you own the rights
Sometimes people may question your rights to intellectual property; you will need to be able to show that you have ownership of the intellectual property and defend yourself against these claims.
Make sure you can prove an infringement has taken place
Before you go issuing letters of demands and warnings to potential infringers, it is advisable to determine whether there is actually infringement occurring. You don’t want to start making enemies unnecessarily!
But it is more than just getting on the wrong side of others; it is actually prohibited by the Copyright Act, Patents Act, Trade Marks Act, and Designs Act, to make “groundless threats” to people. A threat is considered “groundless” when the infringement cannot be proven and you may be liable for damages to a person who is affected by your groundless threat.
Applications in urgent situations
Sometimes, if you send a letter of demand to an infringer, notifying them of your intellectual property rights and their infringement may be enough for them to stop infringing. However, sometimes, sending a notice of a claim to an infringer gives them time to destroy evidence of their infringement and anything that might be used against them.
If you are concerned about the infringer trying to destroy evidence that would support your case for infringement, there are a number of applications that you could make: Anton Piller order, application for preliminary discovery, interim injunction.
Anton Piller orders
An Anton Piller order is similar to a search warrant but in civil matters. If you obtain Anton Piller orders from a court (which is not easy to do), you can search an infringer’s premises and seize items that have been specifically identified. The court must be convinced that there is a high possibility that the infringer will destroy the evidence if not seized.
Interim injunctions
In these situations, you can approach the court to seek an interim injunction, which is an order on the alleged infringer to stop their infringing action until the trial has finished, and a final decision has been made.
An interim injunction may be granted where the court believes the infringement is a serious threat and being awarded damages may not be enough to remedy the situation.
A condition of granting an interim injunction is that if it is later found that it should not have been granted, you may have to pay compensation to anyone who was adversely affected by the interim injunction.
Application for preliminary discovery
This application is used in situations where you may not know the identity of the infringer, and you need more information. A preliminary discovery may require someone to provide you with documents or evidence that assist in identifying the infringer.
Conclusion
As the owner of intellectual property, you can enforce your rights where they are being infringed. However, you must take care to identify the infringement. It is useful to get advice from an IP lawyer who can advise you on whether you should be concerned about intellectual property infringement and what would be the appropriate course of action in the situation.
How Franchisors Can Avoid Misleading and Deceptive Conduct
Wednesday 18 May | 11:00 - 11:45am
Online
New Kid on the Blockchain: Understanding the Proposed Laws for Crypto, NFT and Blockchain Projects
Wednesday 25 May | 10:00 - 10:45am
Online
How to Expand Your Business Into a Franchise
Thursday 26 May | 11:00 - 11:45am
Online
Day in Court: What Happens When Your Business Goes to Court
Thursday 2 June | 11:00 - 11:45am
Online
How to Manage a Construction Dispute
Thursday 9 June | 11:00 - 11:45am
Online
Startup Financing: Venture Debt 101
Thursday 23 June | 11:00 - 11:45am
Online
Was this article helpful?
We appreciate your feedback – your submission has been successfully received.
About LegalVision: LegalVision is a commercial law firm that provides businesses with affordable and ongoing legal assistance through our industry-first membership.
By becoming a member, you'll have an experienced legal team ready to answer your questions, draft and review your contracts, and resolve your disputes. All the legal assistance your business needs, for a low monthly fee.
If you would like to get in touch with our team and learn more about how our membership can help your business, fill out the form below.