Chapter 4

Patents

How They Can Be Infringed and Should Be Defended

The Concept of the Master Patent

The right to a properly patented invention or discovery is absolute during the term of the patent. No one other than the patent holder can exercise rights of use, sale, license, or other commercialization of the patented concept during that period. If the patent is sold or otherwise permanently transferred to a new owner, he or she becomes the patent holder. The previous chapter referred to the importance of a “master” patent in the case of John M. Browning’s patents. In effect, a “master” patent is one that is so comprehensive of the scientific or engineering principle or an array of principles claimed in the patent that it is impossible to achieve ...

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