Fortunately, Haberman won the legal argument before her money ran out. It is for this reason, says John Keen, Director of UK-based Intellectual Property Insurance Services Limited, that most cases of infringement never get to court. The sad fact is that SMEs cannot usually afford to litigate, so they have either to turn a blind eye to infringement, or to agree to a licensing solution that does not benefit them. The solution, he says, lies in intellectual property insurance, which can provide even the smallest of players with the financial muscle to protect their intellectual property. Generally covering patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyright, intellectual property insurance comes in two flavours.
Some policies also offer a limited amount of coverage for damages as well.
This type of insurance is, however, relatively new, and anyone planning to take out a policy, or advise their clients to do so, should read the small print carefully. Generally it is very hard to define what exactly it is you have got covered. Some policies, for instance, may include recovery provisions that allow the insurer to seek the full cost of litigation from patent holders if they obtain economic benefit from legal action. The policy may also be limited to the home country, or exclude jurisdictions that are important to the insured. Additionally, there will be a claims limit.