The Personal Liability of Corporate Officers for Patent Infringement

32 Pages Posted: 2 May 2004

See all articles by Lynda J. Oswald

Lynda J. Oswald

University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Abstract

In this manuscript, I criticize the Federal Circuit's current standard for evaluating the individual liability of corporate officers for the patent infringement of their corporations as being based incorrectly upon a piercing of the corporate veil (a doctrine applicable only to corporate shareholders, not to officers). In adopting this piercing standard, the Federal Circuit has inadvertently and radically expanded the scope of individual officer liability and has exposed corporate officers to a form of strict liability for their corporation's infringing activities. I propose instead a standard that parallels the "personal participation" standard of traditional corporate doctrine, which would ensure that culpable corporate actors are held liable in appropriate circumstances, but would avoid wholesale imposition of personal liability upon officers for the patent infringement of their corporations.

Keywords: corporate officer, liability, patent, infringement

JEL Classification: K19, K29, K22

Suggested Citation

Oswald, Lynda J., The Personal Liability of Corporate Officers for Patent Infringement. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=442400

Lynda J. Oswald (Contact Author)

University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business ( email )

701 Tappan Street
School of Business Administration
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1234
United States
734-763-9827 (Phone)
734-936-8715 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.bus.umich.edu

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