What is the scope of the patent misuse doctrine?

The patent misuse doctrine is a doctrine of Unfair Competition Law in Maryland that seeks to counteract attempts to apply patents in a manner that harms competition and undermines the public interest. The scope of the patent misuse doctrine governs the ways in which a patent holder can use the patent to exploit a monopoly or to distort the regular market process. Specifically, a patent holder must not use the patent as a means to extend the monopoly to a domain outside the patent itself or to totally control other aspects of the market which are not directly related to the patent. An example of this would be if a patent holder tries to prevent potential competitors from entering the market by controlling the market’s sources of supply or by dictating the terms of sale for products that use the patented technology. The purpose of the patent misuse doctrine is to prevent patent holders from engaging in behavior that stifles competition and affects the public’s access to the patented technology. The doctrine can be enforced through court orders requiring the patent holder to change their behavior, as well as monetary damages awarded to those affected by the patent holder’s attempt at misusing their patent.

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What is the scope of the patent misuse doctrine?

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