Intellectual Property for Oil & Gas Companies

Leaders of oil and gas companies should be aware of certain patent law provisions to effectively protect their inventions and to defend against competitors’ patent infringement claims.

First, the United States is now a "first inventor to file" system like most other countries. Promptly filing patent applications is critical to protecting inventions.

Second, important consequences are triggered by the disclosure or sale of an invention.

Third, mechanisms are now available for challenging a competitor’s U.S. patent, including inter partes review (IPR) and post grant review (PGR) proceedings in a division of the U.S. Patent Office.

A company faced with threatened or actual patent infringement litigation should consider its options for invalidating the patent through IPR or PGR, which are more cost-effective procedures than litigation in Federal Court.