Title 35, PatentsRelease 119-110
§287 Limitation on Damages and Other Remedies; Marking and Notice
Title 35 › PART III — PATENTS AND PROTECTION OF PATENT RIGHTS › CHAPTER 29 — REMEDIES FOR INFRINGEMENT OF PATENT, AND OTHER ACTIONS › § 287
Summary
Patent owners and people who make, sell, or import patented items must mark those items with “patent” or “pat.” plus the patent number, or put “patent”/“pat.” and a free public web address that links the item to the patent number. If marking is not done, the patent owner can’t get money for infringement unless the infringer was told about the infringement and kept infringing after that notice. Damages only cover infringement that happens after the notice. Filing a lawsuit counts as giving notice. If a product was made abroad by a patented process and then brought into the U.S., the importer can face the normal patent remedies, but there are special rules. People who actually used the process, who owned or controlled those who used it, or who knew before they acted that a patented process was used, do not get the special rules. No remedies apply to products someone had or that were in transit before that person got notice of infringement, and that person must prove possession or transit. Courts will look at whether parties acted in good faith about written “requests for disclosure” — a specific kind of written request sent to a manufacturer to identify process patents that could apply, made before first import or sale, by someone who sells or plans to sell the same type of product in the U.S., and that promises to forward any identified patents to the manufacturer and ask for a written denial that the process was used. A written notice of infringement must name the process and explain the reasons for the belief. If a person who gets such a notice does not promptly give it to the manufacturer (or supplier) and get a written, fact-based denial, that person will be treated as having notice. Large, unusually big purchases create a presumption of actual knowledge. A person who answers a request for disclosure may charge a reasonable fee to cover actual costs, but not more than $500. Doctors and other licensed medical practitioners are generally protected from money judgments and injunctions for performing medical or surgical procedures, except when they use a patented machine, product, patented use of a product, or a biotechnology process; the protection does not cover commercial makers or regulated pharmacy or most lab services, and it does not apply to patents with an effective filing date before September 30, 1996.
Full Legal Text
Title 35, §287
Patents, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Patentees, and persons making, offering for sale, or selling within the United States any patented article for or under them, or importing any patented article into the United States, may give notice to the public that the same is patented, either by fixing thereon the word “patent” or the abbreviation “pat.”, together with the number of the patent, or by fixing thereon the word “patent” or the abbreviation “pat.” together with an address of a posting on the Internet, accessible to the public without charge for accessing the address, that associates the patented article with the number of the patent, or when, from the character of the article, this can not be done, by fixing to it, or to the package wherein one or more of them is contained, a label containing a like notice. In the event of failure so to mark, no damages shall be recovered by the patentee in any action for infringement, except on proof that the infringer was notified of the infringement and continued to infringe thereafter, in which event damages may be recovered only for infringement occurring after such notice. Filing of an action for infringement shall constitute such notice.
(b)(1)An infringer under section 271(g) shall be subject to all the provisions of this title relating to damages and injunctions except to the extent those remedies are modified by this subsection or section 9006 of the Process Patent Amendments Act of 1988. The modifications of remedies provided in this subsection shall not be available to any person who—
(A)practiced the patented process;
(B)owns or controls, or is owned or controlled by, the person who practiced the patented process; or
(C)had knowledge before the infringement that a patented process was used to make the product the importation, use, offer for sale, or sale of which constitutes the infringement.
(2)No remedies for infringement under section 271(g) shall be available with respect to any product in the possession of, or in transit to, the person subject to liability under such section before that person had notice of infringement with respect to that product. The person subject to liability shall bear the burden of proving any such possession or transit.
(3)(A)In making a determination with respect to the remedy in an action brought for infringement under section 271(g), the court shall consider—
(i)the good faith demonstrated by the defendant with respect to a request for disclosure,
(ii)the good faith demonstrated by the plaintiff with respect to a request for disclosure, and
(iii)the need to restore the exclusive rights secured by the patent.
(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), the following are evidence of good faith:
(i)a request for disclosure made by the defendant;
(ii)a response within a reasonable time by the person receiving the request for disclosure; and
(iii)the submission of the response by the defendant to the manufacturer, or if the manufacturer is not known, to the supplier, of the product to be purchased by the defendant, together with a request for a written statement that the process claimed in any patent disclosed in the response is not used to produce such product.
The failure to perform any acts described in the preceding sentence is evidence of absence of good faith unless there are mitigating circumstances. Mitigating circumstances include the case in which, due to the nature of the product, the number of sources for the product, or like commercial circumstances, a request for disclosure is not necessary or practicable to avoid infringement.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subsection, a “request for disclosure” means a written request made to a person then engaged in the manufacture of a product to identify all process patents owned by or licensed to that person, as of the time of the request, that the person then reasonably believes could be asserted to be infringed under section 271(g) if that product were imported into, or sold, offered for sale, or used in, the United States by an unauthorized person. A request for disclosure is further limited to a request—
(i)which is made by a person regularly engaged in the United States in the sale of the same type of products as those manufactured by the person to whom the request is directed, or which includes facts showing that the person making the request plans to engage in the sale of such products in the United States;
(ii)which is made by such person before the person’s first importation, use, offer for sale, or sale of units of the product produced by an infringing process and before the person had notice of infringement with respect to the product; and
(iii)which includes a representation by the person making the request that such person will promptly submit the patents identified pursuant to the request to the manufacturer, or if the manufacturer is not known, to the supplier, of the product to be purchased by the person making the request, and will request from that manufacturer or supplier a written statement that none of the processes claimed in those patents is used in the manufacture of the product.
(B)In the case of a request for disclosure received by a person to whom a patent is licensed, that person shall either identify the patent or promptly notify the licensor of the request for disclosure.
(C)A person who has marked, in the manner prescribed by subsection (a), the number of the process patent on all products made by the patented process which have been offered for sale or sold by that person in the United States, or imported by the person into the United States, before a request for disclosure is received is not required to respond to the request for disclosure. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term “all products” does not include products made before the effective date of the Process Patent Amendments Act of 1988.
(5)(A)For purposes of this subsection, notice of infringement means actual knowledge, or receipt by a person of a written notification, or a combination thereof, of information sufficient to persuade a reasonable person that it is likely that a product was made by a process patented in the United States.
(B)A written notification from the patent holder charging a person with infringement shall specify the patented process alleged to have been used and the reasons for a good faith belief that such process was used. The patent holder shall include in the notification such information as is reasonably necessary to explain fairly the patent holder’s belief, except that the patent holder is not required to disclose any trade secret information.
(C)A person who receives a written notification described in subparagraph (B) or a written response to a request for disclosure described in paragraph (4) shall be deemed to have notice of infringement with respect to any patent referred to in such written notification or response unless that person, absent mitigating circumstances—
(i)promptly transmits the written notification or response to the manufacturer or, if the manufacturer is not known, to the supplier, of the product purchased or to be purchased by that person; and
(ii)receives a written statement from the manufacturer or supplier which on its face sets forth a well grounded factual basis for a belief that the identified patents are not infringed.
(D)For purposes of this subsection, a person who obtains a product made by a process patented in the United States in a quantity which is abnormally large in relation to the volume of business of such person or an efficient inventory level shall be rebuttably presumed to have actual knowledge that the product was made by such patented process.
(6)A person who receives a response to a request for disclosure under this subsection shall pay to the person to whom the request was made a reasonable fee to cover actual costs incurred in complying with the request, which may not exceed the cost of a commercially available automated patent search of the matter involved, but in no case more than $500.
(c)(1)With respect to a medical practitioner’s performance of a medical activity that constitutes an infringement under section 271(a) or (b), the provisions of section 281, 283, 284, and 285 shall not apply against the medical practitioner or against a related health care entity with respect to such medical activity.
(2)For the purposes of this subsection:
(A)the term “medical activity” means the performance of a medical or surgical procedure on a body, but shall not include (i) the use of a patented machine, manufacture, or composition of matter in violation of such patent, (ii) the practice of a patented use of a composition of matter in violation of such patent, or (iii) the practice of a process in violation of a biotechnology patent.
(B)the term “medical practitioner” means any natural person who is licensed by a State to provide the medical activity described in subsection (c)(1) or who is acting under the direction of such person in the performance of the medical activity.
(C)the term “related health care entity” shall mean an entity with which a medical practitioner has a professional affiliation under which the medical practitioner performs the medical activity, including but not limited to a nursing home, hospital, university, medical school, health maintenance organization, group medical practice, or a medical clinic.
(D)the term “professional affiliation” shall mean staff privileges, medical staff membership, employment or contractual relationship, partnership or ownership interest, academic appointment, or other affiliation under which a medical practitioner provides the medical activity on behalf of, or in association with, the health care entity.
(E)the term “body” shall mean a human body, organ or cadaver, or a nonhuman animal used in medical research or instruction directly relating to the treatment of humans.
(F)the term “patented use of a composition of matter” does not include a claim for a method of performing a medical or surgical procedure on a body that recites the use of a composition of matter where the use of that composition of matter does not directly contribute to achievement of the objective of the claimed method.
(G)the term “State” shall mean any State or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(3)This subsection does not apply to the activities of any person, or employee or agent of such person (regardless of whether such person is a tax exempt organization under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code), who is engaged in the commercial development, manufacture, sale, importation, or distribution of a machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or the provision of pharmacy or clinical laboratory services (other than clinical laboratory services provided in a physician’s office), where such activities are:
(A)directly related to the commercial development, manufacture, sale, importation, or distribution of a machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or the provision of pharmacy or clinical laboratory services (other than clinical laboratory services provided in a physician’s office), and
(B)regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, or the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act.
(4)This subsection shall not apply to any patent issued based on an application which has an effective filing date before September 30, 1996.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on Title 35, U.S.C., 1946 ed., § 49 (R.S. 4900, amended Feb. 7, 1927, ch. 67, 44 Stat. 1058). Language is changed. The proviso in the corresponding section of existing statute is omitted as being temporary in character and now obsolete.
Editorial Notes
References in Text
section 9006 of the Process Patent
Amendments
Act of 1988, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), is section 9006 of title IX of Pub. L. 100–418, which is set out as a note under section 271 of this title. The
Effective Date
of the Process Patent
Amendments
Act of 1988, referred to in subsec. (b)(4)(C), is the
Effective Date
of title IX of Pub. L. 100–418. See section 9006 of Pub. L. 100–418, set out as a note under section 271 of this title. section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, referred to in subsec. (c)(3), is classified to section 501(c) of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(B), is act
June 25, 1938, ch. 675, 52 Stat. 1040, which is classified generally to chapter 9 (§ 301 et seq.) of Title 21, Food and Drugs. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 301 of Title 21 and Tables. The Public Health Service Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(B), is act
July 1, 1944, ch. 373, 58 Stat. 682, which is classified generally to chapter 6A (§ 201 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 201 of Title 42 and Tables. The Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(B), probably means the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act of 1967, section 5 of Pub. L. 90–174, Dec. 5, 1967, 81 Stat. 536, which enacted section 263a of Title 42 and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 263a of Title 42. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 263a of Title 42 and Tables.
Amendments
2011—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–29, § 16(a)(1), substituted “or by fixing thereon the word ‘patent’ or the abbreviation ‘pat.’ together with an address of a posting on the Internet, accessible to the public without charge for accessing the address, that associates the patented article with the number of the patent, or when,” for “or when,”. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 112–29, § 20(j), struck out “of this title” after “271(g)”. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 112–29, § 20(j), struck out “of this title” after “271(a) or (b)” and after “285”. Subsec. (c)(2)(G). Pub. L. 112–29, § 20(i)(4), substituted “any State” for “any state”. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 112–29, § 3(g)(2), substituted “which has an effective filing date before” for “the earliest effective filing date of which is prior to”. 1999—Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 106–113 substituted “based on an application the earliest effective filing date of which is prior to September 30, 1996” for “before the date of enactment of this subsection”. 1996—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–208 added subsec. (c). 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–465, § 533(b)(5)(A), substituted “making, offering for sale, or selling within the United States” for “making or selling” and inserted “or importing any patented article into the United States,” after “under them,”. Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 103–465, § 533(b)(5)(B)(i), substituted “use, offer for sale, or sale” for “use, or sale”. Subsec. (b)(4)(A). Pub. L. 103–465, § 533(b)(5)(B)(ii), substituted “sold, offered for sale, or” for “sold or” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(4)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 103–465, § 533(b)(5)(B)(iii), substituted “use, offer for sale, or sale” for “use, or sale”. Subsec. (b)(4)(C). Pub. L. 103–465, § 533(b)(5)(B)(iv), (v), substituted “have been offered for sale or sold” for “have been sold” and “United States, or imported by the person into the United States, before” for “United States before”. 1988—Pub. L. 100–418 inserted “and other remedies” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), and added subsec. (b).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2011 AmendmentAmendment by section 3(g)(2) of Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to certain applications for patent and any patents issuing thereon, see section 3(n) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as an
Effective Date
of 2011 Amendment;
Savings Provision
s note under section 100 of this title. Pub. L. 112–29, § 16(a)(2), Sept. 16, 2011, 125 Stat. 328, provided that: “The amendment made by this subsection [amending this section] shall apply to any case that is pending on, or commenced on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 16, 2011].” Amendment by section 20(i)(4), (j) of Pub. L. 112–29 effective upon the expiration of the 1-year period beginning on Sept. 16, 2011, and applicable to proceedings commenced on or after that
Effective Date
, see section 20(l) of Pub. L. 112–29, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–465 effective on date that is one year after date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, see section 534(a), (b)(3) of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 154 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–418 effective 6 months after Aug. 23, 1988, and, subject to enumerated exceptions, applicable only with respect to products made or imported after such
Effective Date
, see section 9006 of Pub. L. 100–418, set out as a note under section 271 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
35 U.S.C. § 287
Title 35, Patents
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110