FAQs

What does the insurance Cover?

The insurance covers the legal costs (patent attorney fees, lawyer fees, expert fees, court charges, expenses and other disbursements) incurred when bringing an action against a third party that is infringing the Insured Patents.

What type of legal actions are covered?

The insurance applies to all remedies available to enforce your rights under the patent laws of the jurisdiction in which the dispute is to be heard, including but not limited to:

  • preventing the sale or use of any product or process which infringes the Insured Patent(s)
and/or
  • a claim for an account of profits or damages arising from the sale or use of any product or process which infringes the Insured Patent(s)
and
  • the defence of a counter-claim for non-infringement or invalidity arising from either of the above.
Optional Extension:
The insurance can be extended to include unprovoked challenges that threaten the scope or validity of the Insured Patent(s) or which challenge your ownership or title to the Insured Patent(s).

In what territories can I protect my patents?

You can select from the following range of territorial limits to suit the geographic spread of your patent family(ies) and business needs:-
  • Denmark only
  • European Patent Convention Member States
  • Worldwide, but excluding the USA or Canada
  • Worldwide

Note:
If you have recently filed a patent application in the Danish patent office or a regional patent office (e.g. the European Patent Office or World Intellectual Property Office) and you are still within the time frame for filing foreign equivalents, then you are able to purchase worldwide cover if you wish, as you have the right to extend your patent application on a worldwide basis.

You do not have to insure all of your international patents. For example, if your portfolio includes patents in the USA, but you only want to enforce your patents in Europe, then you can purchase cover for EPC Member states only. Remember though, that the USA patents would be uninsured.

How much cover can I get?

The Limits of Indemnity have been carefully selected to allow for sensible protection to be purchased at affordable premium levels. The following limits of indemnity can be chosen:
  • DKK 10,000,000 any one claim and in annual aggregate
  • DKK 2,500,000 any one claim and in annual aggregate
  • DKK 5,000,000 any one claim and in annual aggregate

These are annual aggregate limits, which means that this is the maximum liability of Insurers under the insurance, so the policy will respond to a single claim or series of claims with no restriction on the amount of each, save for the overriding annual aggregate limit.

These levels of insurance have been carefully selected to allow for sensible protection to be purchased at affordable premium levels. It should be noted that it is possible for litigation costs to be higher than the Limit of Indemnity and that the insurers are NOT liable for any costs incurred in excess of the Limit of Indemnity. You should seek independent advice on the suitability of this Limit of Indemnity for you and if you wish higher Limits, then you should contact Dahlberg.

Do I have to pay anything towards a claim?

Yes. However, unlike most insurances where you have to pay the first part of a claim before the insurer is liable for the costs, PatentEnforcerTM operates a co-insurance, which means that you pay a percentage of the claim alongside the insurer.

This enables the insurer to keep the premium cost low and also keep to a minimum the first part of any claim for which you are solely responsible for. If you agree to utilise Insurer's preferred representatives to handle your claim, then your co-insurance will typically be 5%-10% of all claims.

If you elect to utilise a non-approved representative, then the co-insurance contribution and minimum sums will be higher.

How much does PatentEnforcerTM cost?

Premiums start from as little as DKK 9,000 per annum (exclusive of insurance premium taxes).

However, as the premiums are assessed on an individual basis, dependent on the risk factors for each applicant, the number of patent families insured and the geographical limits of the cover required, the only way to know how much it would cost for you to benefit from PatentEnforcerTM is to get a no obligation quotation by completing the attached Quotation form. It's quick and easy!

Who can buy PatentEnforcerTM?

Any company, business or individuals domiciled within Luxembourg with a turnover less than DKK 100,000,000 that has granted patents or patent applications. If your turnover is greater than this, then please contact Dahlberg or complete the form stating your actual turnover, as Dharlberg will be able to provide an alternative solution.

PatentEnforcerTM has no restrictions on trading activities or industry types, although it is recognised that certain industry sectors have a greater exposure than others, so there will be variants in the premium rating.

What patents can be insured?

Patent applications as well as granted patents can be insured under PatentEnforcerTM, provided that the patent application or granted patent was first filed in either the Danish Patent Office (PRV), the European Patent Office (EPO) or the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). All international equivalents are eligible under the scheme and considered as one family. If your initial country or office of filing is not one of the above, then you should contact Dahlberg.

For the avoidance of doubt, the insurance is available to owners of granted patents and patent applications as well as new or current filings.

How many patents can be insured?

Up to ten (10) patent families may be insured under this scheme. We consider a patent family to consist of the lead filing in your national patent office, the European Patent Office (EPO) or the World Intellectual Property Office(WIPO) and any foreign equivalents to that filing and claiming the same priority date.

All of the patent families are listed in the policy so that you and underwriters know exactly which patent families are insured.

If you have a portfolio greater than ten (10) families that you wish to insure, you should complete the Quotation Form and advise that you have more than 10 patent families or contact Dharlberg using the contact details, so that a more bespoke policy can be arranged for you.

Note: Only one policy is allowable per applicant.

Why should I insure my patent applications?

The reason for including patent applications is so that you can benefit from insurance protection at the earliest stage of development.

Whilst it is not possible to enforce a patent application, as no legal right exists, if cover for patent applications did not exist at this stage, it would mean that if you were unfortunate enough to have people copying your innovation before your patent is granted, you would not be able to benefit from insurance protection for that matter. This is because when you applied to insure your granted patent, it would be something that would have to be disclosed as a pre-existing circumstance. Pre-existing circumstances are excluded from this insurance.

Is there an Underwriting Assessment or Application fee?

No. We have designed PatentEnforcerTM to be as user friendly as possible, therefore there is no upfront assessment fee. Each application is individually assessed, therefore it is possible that individual applications may be declined or have certain terms placed upon the insurance.

Claims Made and Reported

The insurance operates on a "Claims Made" basis. This means that the insurance will only respond to claims that are made and reported to insurers during the policy period. Each policy will be for a twelve (12) month period. If a claim is reported to insurers after the expiration of the policy, and no renewal has been received, then the claim will be declined as it was notified outside of the period of insurance.

Claims Reporting and Handling

All claims or circumstances that may give rise to a claim MUST be reported as soon as possible.

As part of the process, you will be asked to select/nominate a legal representative to represent you. If you select a representative from our approved list, you will only be responsible for the standard co-insurance and minimum contributions provided with your quotation. If you decide to use a firm that is not approved by Insurers, then you will be responsible for the increased co-insurance and minimum contributions provided with your quotation.

It is probable that Insurers will want to make investigations into the validity and robustness of the patent about to be asserted before any confirmation of cover the action is provided. This is a double protection for you and the insurers, as you do not want to start a legal action where your patent may easily be invalidated, leaving you with a share of the legal bills.

In respect of claims notified for patent applications, it is a requirement of the insurance that you maintain the policy at each renewal until your patent is granted in order for insurance to cover the enforcement action when the patent is granted. Once you have notified a claim in respect of a patent application, and you have maintained cover at each renewal until the patent is granted, then the claim shall be dealt with under the policy, but only to the extent of the cover provided when the matter was first notified to insurers.

What happens if Insurers decline my claim?

In the event of a dispute arising over the merits of a claim or coverage, then you can elect to take the matter to arbitration.

Will the insurance pay my legal costs as they arise?

YES. The policy will pay interim fees and expenses, so that both you and your lawyer (and patent adviser) are able to move forward without cash flow issues. The policy also covers legal fees and disbursements incurred prior to court proceedings being issued (providing they are incurred in accordance with the policy terms).

How can I get a quotation?

That is easy. Click here to apply now and complete the simple on-line application form. Your quotation of terms, or further advices will usually be sent within seven (7) days by email, with hard copies to follow by post.

Can I see the Policy Wording?

Yes. The above is only an overview of the cover provided. For a complete review of the cover provided you should read the policy wording. Click on the button to the right to view the policy wording. A full copy of the policy wording will be provided with every quotation issued.

Any more Questions?

If you have any questions about the cover provided, please click here to contact Dahlberg.

* Subject to underwriters agreement and excludes insurance premium taxes.