3 ms·

So when is an Europe based company actually considered as entering the us market and fall under us patent laws? (edit)The question is about web companies, loca

So when is an Europe based company actually considered as entering the us market and fall under us patent laws? (edit)The question is about web companies, located outside US but selling to us customers(software,web apps, ebooks ... - digital products).

danmaz74 14y ago
This is a very interesting question, especially for web companies...
derda 14y ago
Well I think this question keeps many companies (not only startups) from moving into the US-market. Everyone is afraid, that one lawsuit can financially destroy the whole company. In Germany for example there are insurances, that will cover your costs of lawsuits etc. when you accidentally infringe IP / patents. They will also cover if a client sues you for lost business because your product somehow failed in a bad way. Some of them will offer worldwide coverage, but every policy will exclude US lawsuits.
porsupah 14y ago
If you're selling physical goods, then the answer is as soon as your devices are imported into the US. I once worked for a very small UK company which ran into a patent tussle with a rather larger US competitor, as the former didn't want to exclude such a large market for potential sales. Evidence of prior art was collected, with the outcome being the overturning of their patent - at which point, a nominally amicable resolution was found. Software patents certainly pose challenges - even if the idea seems straightforward, if it's something fundamental to the design, you'll need to check for possible US patent conflicts if you want to enter the US market, or may in the future.
atirip 14y ago
Define, what do you think in "entering the us market". Europe based companies can not (even accidentally) fall under US laws. US laws apply only on US soil.
- cfn 14y ago
  I think that as soon as you sell your software to US customers then you have "entered the market".
- rahoulb 14y ago
  Isn't that the point of the TVShack extradition? A UK citizen running a site hosted in Sweden (I think) is extradited for breaking US copyright laws?

danmaz74 14y ago

This is a very interesting question, especially for web companies...

derda 14y ago

Well I think this question keeps many companies (not only startups) from moving into the US-market. Everyone is afraid, that one lawsuit can financially destroy the whole company. In Germany for example there are insurances, that will cover your costs of lawsuits etc. when you accidentally infringe IP / patents. They will also cover if a client sues you for lost business because your product somehow failed in a bad way. Some of them will offer worldwide coverage, but every policy will exclude US lawsuits.

porsupah 14y ago

If you're selling physical goods, then the answer is as soon as your devices are imported into the US. I once worked for a very small UK company which ran into a patent tussle with a rather larger US competitor, as the former didn't want to exclude such a large market for potential sales. Evidence of prior art was collected, with the outcome being the overturning of their patent - at which point, a nominally amicable resolution was found. Software patents certainly pose challenges - even if the idea seems straightforward, if it's something fundamental to the design, you'll need to check for possible US patent conflicts if you want to enter the US market, or may in the future.

atirip 14y ago

Define, what do you think in "entering the us market". Europe based companies can not (even accidentally) fall under US laws. US laws apply only on US soil.

cfn 14y ago
I think that as soon as you sell your software to US customers then you have "entered the market".
rahoulb 14y ago
Isn't that the point of the TVShack extradition? A UK citizen running a site hosted in Sweden (I think) is extradited for breaking US copyright laws?