As distinct from direct infringement. A person indirectly infringes a patent if she either contributes to or induces someone else to directly infringe the patent. Contributory infringement means that the indirect infringer knew about the patent and essentially provided some key piece of the infringing product that doesn’t have any other purpose. Induced infringement means that the indirect infringer induced someone to infringe the patent and knew that the actions she induced would be direct infringement.
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