Patent infringement lawsuits involve a complex mix of law and technology. If you or your company have been the victims of patent infringement, or you’re defending against allegations of it, proving your case will require the input of expert witnesses. SederLaw has a network of trusted expert witnesses upon which we rely to advocate for our clients in patent infringement lawsuits. Whether you’re the plaintiff or defendant in one of these matters, we’re ready to serve you.
There are different types of witnesses in litigation. Perhaps the most common are lay witnesses, everyday individuals who describe to the court their observations of relevant events in a lawsuit. Expert witnesses, meanwhile, are individuals who have special knowledge or proficiency in a certain field that is relevant to the subject matter of the lawsuit. In patent infringement cases, expert witnesses explain to the court such matters as the technology relevant to the patent and its interplay with intellectual property law. Generally speaking, these are not subjects that jury members or judges will have much knowledge of.
How to Select the Right Expert Witness
Selecting the right expert witness will therefore require someone who has extensive experience with the technology in question. For instance, your company may have developed and patented a piece of exercise equipment that a rival has replicated without your permission. An expert witness would need to have specific knowledge of the exact technology that you allege was stolen by your competitor. It is possible that more than one witness may be necessary to fully explain the nature of the technology to a jury.
It’s one thing to know the technology at issue; it’s quite another to convey highly complex details about it to a jury of laypersons. In other words, your expert witness needs sufficient communication skills and the ability to break down technical topics so the jury can understand them. Along with this is the need for your expert witness to be persuasive. You want the jury to agree that either the competitor expropriated your technology (if you’re the plaintiff) or that your technology is sufficiently distinct from the one in question (if you’re the defendant).
Expert witnesses tend to testify in numerous lawsuits, and may even make a career of doing so. That means there’s a good chance your preferred witness will have a paper trail of professional articles and past testimony. It’s important to review this material to ensure there is nothing that could contradict the witness’s testimony in your case. While this can take time, you can be sure the opposing party will search for anything to undermine your arguments.
The sooner you retain an expert witness, the better positioned you will be. However, it will take time for your witness to research the relevant facts so he or she can be ready to testify. During this time, the parties will exchange information through the discovery process. That will allow your witness to learn more about your position, and that of the opposing party, and thereby build compelling testimony.
These steps are taken in partnership with a skilled intellectual property litigation attorney. Your lawyer will understand the relevant legal aspects of the case and their connection with the technology at stake. Your attorney can also explain to the jury how precisely the patent was violated (or why it wasn’t).
Contact Our Worcester Intellectual Property Attorney Today
Whether you’re the plaintiff or defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit, you deserve a trusted partner who knows the value of solid expert witness testimony.
Learn more about connecting with our Intellectual Property attorneys, connect with us using our contact form, or read more about our IP Practice Group here.