Kyle Lambrecht

Abstract

This article examines whether Comprehensive General Liability (CGL) insurance policy forms provide coverage for third-party patent infringement claims under the forms’ “advertising injury” provision. It traces the evolution of these forms—from the 1973 CGL standard forms through the 1986 revisions and up to the 1998 and 2001 broad-form versions. The article then discusses three leading cases, all of which hold that insurers have a duty to defend policyholders against third-party patent infringement claims when the alleged infringement involves an advertising technique that is itself patented. In the aftermath of these decisions, however, changes were made to the CGL policy forms that are likely to benefit insurers seeking to avoid coverage and that further the trend toward increasingly limited policyholder protection for third-party patent infringement claims.

---