What Insurance Covers Patent Infringement?

Patent disputes often concern a product, process, or technology and can involve substantial legal work. The NAIC identifies intellectual-property insurance as a category that can address patent infringement claims. CFC’s US-facing description lists patent and IP infringement liability among product features and describes defense and pursuit of infringers separately. These sources show possible product structures; they do not establish coverage under a particular quote.

Defending a claim that your product infringes someone else’s patent is different from paying to pursue a competitor who allegedly copied your invention. Coverage may apply only to scheduled products, technologies, patents, or territories. A general liability policy’s personal-and-advertising-injury section is not a substitute for a dedicated patent grant; standard form analysis identifies patent infringement as an exclusion in that context.

Check whether defense, settlements, damages, enforcement costs, or counterclaims are included, and whether the policy covers the products and markets you actually serve. Ask about known disputes, patent schedules, territorial limits, waiting periods, retention or co-insurance, consent to counsel, and whether defense expenses reduce the limit.