Risks of False Marking: Reducing Your Exposure
July 2010
By: Michael T. Siekman
Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal
A recent US court decision has led to numerous false marking suits and may increase a company’s financial risks if it holds a patent and produces a product marked with one or more patent numbers or with "patent pending." The ruling also may increase the risk if a company licenses its patents to others for production and the resulting products are marked. In Forest Group, Inc. v. Bon Tool Company, the Federal Circuit held that a fine of not more than $500 is to be imposed on a per-article basis for each offense of false marking, rather than treating continuous markings over a given time as a single offense with a single fine.
