Patent litigation includes patent infringement cases as well as administrative hearings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Patent litigation is often costly and in many cases the best way to reduce the cost and extent of such litigation is a very tightly drafted patent application created by a skilled attorney. Hearings before the Patent and Trademark Office often deal with interpretations of the patent or patent application. Many times, patent litigation arises over conflicts relating to who owns a patent or the right to create products based on the patent. This often can arise in the context of employment by the inventor or innovator and the question in patent litigation is often about whether the inventor or employer owns the rights to the patent.
