Well maybe it is not necessarily a fight, but it could end up being a huge legal matter if someone claims you have infringed on their patent, or the opposite someone has done the same to you. Just because you file a patent does not mean that everyone will respect it and not try and duplicate it. You have to realize that once you end up with a patent that you may deal with issues such as this. They certainly can be quite distressing and may end up being a huge issue when trying to deal with them. Should this stop you from ever getting a patent again? No, but it is something that you should keep in mind anytime you venture into any kind of business deal.

Ideas are tough to leave alone for the avid inventor. Unrealized ideas can be very frustrating so the would be inventor files for a patent and gets approved on their idea. Now what? Well just as we discuss before, you have to take into consideration that once you have obtained what so many want, you have entered an entirely new world of business. So take heed and remember to really think everything through before you rush into anything.

Getting a patent can be a great thing. After working so long and hard to get that invention through the stage of having the patent on it can bring great joy. Remember with that patent will come great responsibilities though.

First you will need to protect it. Just because you have that patent does not mean that someone may not try and steal it. You will need to watch the market you’re in carefully. In the event that you do find someone violating the patent, you will more than likely need to hire a lawyer to handle the case for you. You will need to find just the right lawyer to handle this type of case. Just like if you get a drunk driving charge you would call an attorney, for a patent infringement case for example call a New York Patent infringement attorney.

Lastly you will want to see your patent through to the marketplace. A patent that never sees the day of light as a real product ends up a huge waste of money.

So remember, getting a patent on an idea or product sounds great to most people, but it does come at a cost and can be a huge liability.

In just the last few days, a judge in Texas issued a ruling that prevents Microsoft from selling its popular Word product because of a patent infringement issue with another company, i4i.

The dispute revolves around patents relating to XML technology that Microsoft uses in its Word offering.  The judge ordered MSFT to pay a significant fine and to stop selling Word within 60 days.

One odd point in the whole process is that the ruling came from a court in Texas, while Microsoft is headquartered in Washington and i4i is from Canada.  Seems quite strange.

It will be quite interesting to see how this all plays out given the huge company that Microsoft is and the big blow this injunction would be to their profits.

Hat tip to BBC News…