The word “infringement” means an encroachment upon the domain of a patentee that is described by the claims of her/his patent. If a patent is compared to a real property, the claims are similar to the boundary recited in the deed. If one commits invasion to the boundary of a landowner’s real estate, he is said to trespass. An invasion of a patentee’s claims, on the other hand, is called infringement. Both are civil wrongs or “torts.” Unlike a trespass, patent infringement is a statutory wrong and is governed by federal law. US Law defines patent infringement as “whoever without authority makes, uses, or sells any patented invention, within the United States during the term of the patent therefore, infringes the patent.”

The word “patent infringement” means an encroachment upon the domain of a patentee that is described by the claims of her/his patent. US Law defines patent infringement as “whoever without authority makes, uses, or sells any patented invention, within the United States during the term of the patent therefore, infringes the patent.”