Jurisdiction–Foreign Patents–Jurisdiction Over Foreign Patent Claims

The territorial limitations of sovereignty have been held to preclude a country from giving extraterritorial effect to its patent laws, and, therefore, a patent confers rights which are protected only within the boundaries of the issuing country. Thus, United States and foreign patents, even when granted for the same invention, create separate and distinct rights which may differ in scope and effect in the respective countries. Concomitantly, courts have also held that a foreign patent confers upon its owner no rights or protection with respect to acts done in the United States.