Law Commons^™

The Reciprocity Of Search, Tun-Jen Chiang

Vanderbilt Law Review

The discussion of search in patent law always focuses on one particular model of search: producers of commercial products are supposed to identify the patents that their products might infringe and then negotiate a license from the owners of those patents. This one-sided view of search responsibility is most evident in doctrine. As a doctrinal matter, patent law imposes an absolute duty on the producer of a commercial product to find all relevant patents and obtain licenses from each of the owners before commencing manufacture. Failure to meet this duty is punished by liability for infringement, where ignorance of the …