If you receive an infringement notice

Run this in the first week, before replying to anything.

CriticalAfter grantFounderEnterprise

A notice is an assertion, not a finding. What you do in the first two weeks shapes everything after.

Tick anything that is true. Each tick opens a short note on why it matters. Nothing you tick is sent anywhere - it stays in this browser tab.

Have you identified the specific claims being asserted?Infringement is decided claim by claim, element by element - not by overall similarity.
If yes: If the notice does not identify claims, that is itself informative. Ask for a claim chart.
Have you mapped your product against each element?If any element of an independent claim is absent, that claim is not infringed.
If yes: Do this yourself, in writing, before taking a position.
Is the patent in force?Renewals lapse more often than people expect.
If yes: Check the register. It takes minutes and occasionally ends the matter.
Have you read the prosecution history?What the patentee argued to obtain grant limits what they can now assert.
If yes: The file is public. It frequently contains the best non-infringement argument available.
Is there prior art the examiner did not see?Validity is the most common response, by counterclaim or by petition.
If yes: Commission a search early - it changes the negotiating position immediately.
Did the notice go to your customers or distributors?Groundless threats of infringement proceedings are actionable under section 106.
If yes: Note who received it and when. That may be a claim of your own.
Have you preserved documents?Design records, dates and independent development evidence matter, and are easily lost.
If yes: Issue a hold before anyone tidies anything up.
Have you decided what outcome you want?A design change, a licence, a validity challenge and a fight are different strategies with different costs.
If yes: Decide before replying. The first reply usually sets the tone for the whole dispute.

Do not ignore it, and do not answer it the same day. The middle path is a week of careful work.

Sources & further reading

The Patents Act, 1970 (consolidated to 1 August 2024) — Official IP India text

HighIn simple words

Infringement

Doing, without the patentee's permission and in the country where the patent is in force, something the patentee has the exclusive right to do - making, using, offer…

Intermediate

HighCriticality

A granted patent can still be taken away

Grant is a decision by an examining office on the material in front of it. Section 13(4) says expressly that it carries no warranty of validity - and there are four …

After grantBeginner

Guided answer

Someone copied my technology. What are my options?

Working out what you actually have, before writing to anyone.

Not sure whether this applies to your invention?

The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.

Talk to Ragulika IP See our services

Educational guidance, not legal advice. This material is published by Ragulika IP for general education and information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a professional-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Patentability, infringement, prosecution strategy and every other IP outcome turn on the specific facts and on the law and Patent Office practice as they stand at the time you act. Please take professional advice before making a decision, and read the underlying provision or judgment before relying on any point stated here.

Last reviewed by Ragulika IP on 2026-08-23. Indian patent law and Patent Office practice change; check the position before you rely on it.