Product Liability & What It Means To Me

While we’ve been diving into the creases of intellectual property and how to protect it, there are plenty of other aspects that we cover here at ADLI Law that still play a very important part in your invention and how it is executed. One of the cases that we cover deals with product liability and your responsibility as a creator to protect the individuals that are using your product or your concept. If you weren’t aware of what these responsibilities were, then it’s definitely time to take a deeper look before applying for your patent and distributing this product or concept across multiple locations.

Let’s Start With A Definition

Understanding what you’re responsible for starts with understanding the meaning of product liability. This is defined, and widely accepted, as the legal liability that a manufacturer or trader incurs for producing or selling a faulty product. Defined by Webster dictionary, this term is what is used in the PTO in regards to patents, and what is determined in cases that deal with unsafe circumstances with products or concepts that are faulty in their functionality.

Where Responsibilities Lay

There are thousands of injuries and deaths that happen because of faulty products or concepts that have been patented. This particular set of legal rules is built around where the responsibility lies in the instance that a product is defective and causes an injury. When a case of product liability is conducted, the law requires that the bare minimum expectations of the product are able to be conducted to the consumer. In the case that they don’t, the product is defective or has caused harm to a consumer that used the product.

There is plenty more that comes with product liability and business law as a whole, and we will continue to dive into that as we build this series out further.

If you are concerned about whether or not you are responsible for something that has happened with your personal product or concept, you can count on the team at ADLI Law to provide you with information, guidance and the support that you need to be prepared for any cases that come your way. Call us for more information regarding this legal practice and we would be more than happy to set up an appointment with a member of our team.

As always, make sure to check back at the ADLI blog to continue to learn about business law, intellectual property and the responsibilities and legal protections that you’re subject to.