Legal Definitions - blocking patent

A blocking patent is a type of patent that prevents another patent from being effectively practiced without infringing on the blocking patent. This means that if two patents are blocking patents, neither can be used without infringing on the other. Owners of blocking patents often cross-license each other.

For example, if A patents an improvement of B's patented invention, A cannot practice the improvement without infringing B's patent. Nor can B use the improvement without infringing A's patent.

Blocking patents are important in the field of intellectual property because they can limit the ability of inventors to profit from their inventions. They can also lead to legal disputes between patent holders.