united-states intellectual-property patents
US Patent Law: Can a consumer of patented technology be held liable?
<p>Under US patent law, if a company releases a product or technology based on a patent which they do not have the rights to, can the end-user / consumer of this product or technology be held liable by the patent owner? </p>

<p><strong>Yes.</strong> A patent gives its owner the right to try to stop anyone from making, selling, offering for sale, importing or <strong>using</strong> the patented invention. In fact a method-of-use claim is not infringed by the maker or seller but only by the end-user when it is put into use. In practice there is <em>usually</em> no money in going after end user consumers. However, there was a very noted <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/patent-trolls-want-1000-for-using-scanners/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">case</a> where a patent owner was abusively getting money from small companies who had bought a fax machine that could scan and turn the scan into an email. (Patent 7,986,426 and others) Also, if the patent only has claims on a method of use, the patent owner can sue the manufacturer for contributory infringement but only if it also establishes that at least one end-user committed actual direct infringement.</p>
