Legal Definitions - inducing infringement

Definition: Inducing infringement is the act of actively and knowingly aiding and abetting direct infringement by another person. It is a type of contributory infringement that interferes with one of the exclusive rights of a patent, copyright, or trademark owner.

Examples:

• A company knowingly sells a nonstaple item that has no substantial noninfringing use and is especially adapted for use in a patented combination or process, thereby aiding and abetting another person's patent infringement.
• A person actively induces, causes, or materially contributes to the infringing conduct of another person, or provides the goods or means necessary to help another person infringe, in the copyright context.
• A manufacturer's or distributor's conduct in knowingly supplying, for resale, goods bearing an infringing mark in the trademark context.

These examples illustrate how inducing infringement involves knowingly and intentionally assisting someone else in infringing on someone's intellectual property rights. It is a form of secondary liability that holds individuals or companies responsible for their role in facilitating infringement.