Developing technology that can be patented, obtaining patents, and maintaining patents can be very expensive propositions. For technology companies, however, patents can be an their most valuable assets, and patent licensing companies may rely entirely on revenue from patent licensing and lawsuits. Prior to enactment of the Declaratory Judgment Act, patentees were free to threaten accused infringers with patent infringement suits and allow potential damages to accrue before instituting suit while the accused infringer had no judicial remedy. With the enactment of the Declaratory Judgment Act in 1934, accused infringers were given a remedy and were successful in bringing declaratory judgment actions seeking declarations of noninfringement and invalidity, even in circumstances in which patentees had not made explicit charges of infringement.
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