Reading the claims against the product
Infringement is measured against the patent's claims, not its title, abstract, or drawings. Each element of a claim generally has to be present in the accused product, either literally or through an equivalent, and the meaning of disputed words is decided by the court in a claim construction ruling. Statements the patent owner made to the examiner to obtain the patent can narrow how far the claims reach. A careful element-by-element review often shows that the real dispute comes down to one or two terms. Your engineers' explanation of how the feature works, in plain terms, is one of the most useful things we receive.
Challenging whether the patent should stand
Invalidity is the other main defense. In district court, a defendant must prove invalidity by clear and convincing evidence, which is a demanding standard. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board offers inter partes review, where prior art patents and printed publications are evaluated under a lower standard, though institution is discretionary, recent USPTO policy has narrowed it, and the petition has a filing deadline after a complaint is served. Other defenses, such as a license, patent exhaustion from an authorized sale, or problems with the patent owner's standing, depend on the facts and are worth checking early. General liability policies usually exclude patent claims, but other coverage or a supplier's indemnity may apply, and both tend to come with notice conditions, so they should be checked promptly.
Shaping the defense
Gather product documentation, source code access information if software is involved, design history, sales figures for the accused products, and any contracts with suppliers or customers. We also ask when you first learned of the patent, because knowledge can bear on willfulness and enhanced damages, and an opinion of counsel obtained at the right time can be relevant to that question. The first meeting typically produces a preliminary view of the strongest non-infringement arguments, the likely prior art, and a sense of whether early resolution, a Board petition, or full litigation is the more sensible path.
