To file a patent infringement lawsuit as a small inventor, you must own the patent or hold exclusionary rights. You then file a complaint in federal district court and serve the defendant. A patent infringement lawsuit is a civil action for unauthorized making, using, selling, or importing a patented invention during the patent term. For small inventors, the decision turns on standing, forum, cost, and provable damages.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Uscourts — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Apply through Uspto’s official page — Use this page to review requirements and apply directly.
Table of Contents
- Do You Have the Right to Sue?
- Where Must You File?
- How Do You Start the Case?
- What Will It Cost and What Can You Recover?
Do You Have the Right to Sue?
Only the patentee has a remedy by civil action for infringement, according to Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute's text of Section 281. That means you must own the patent or hold rights that exclude others from using it.
Infringement covers making, using, offering to sell, selling, or importing the invention without permission. Before filing, counsel must map each claim to the accused product and find a reasonable basis, or risk sanctions.
Where Must You File?
Only federal district courts can hear patent-infringement claims, according to Cornell Law School's text of Section 1338. You cannot file in small-claims court or state court to save money.
Venue is limited to the district where the defendant resides or where it both infringed and has a regular business. After TC Heartland, a domestic company resides only where incorporated. This rule often forces small inventors to sue far from home.
How Do You Start the Case?
A suit starts with a complaint, summons, and civil cover sheet. The complaint must identify the patent, the owner, and the infringing product.
Serve the defendant promptly after filing and follow the court's scheduling order. Strong pre-suit homework reduces dismissal and sanction risk.
- Compare each asserted claim to the accused product.
- Save purchase records, photos, manuals, and sales listings.
- Meet federal pleading rules and local patent rules, then serve the defendant.
What Will It Cost and What Can You Recover?
A civil filing requires a $405 fee or an approved waiver, according to the District of Minnesota court's questions and answers. That fee is only the entry price; discovery, experts, and claim charts cost far more. Damages reach back only six years before the complaint, according to Cornell Law School's text of Section 286.
Successful owners receive at least a reasonable royalty plus interest and costs, with trebling for egregious infringement. The USPTO Patent Pro Bono Program covers application filing and prosecution for income-eligible inventors, not infringement litigation. Secure contingency, pro bono litigation counsel, or self-funding before filing because prosecution-only help will not carry the case.