Handy Wheels is a small wheelchair manufacturer who designs and manufactures custom manual wheelchairs for active people with disabilities. One of its new designs uses a suspension system to create a smoother ride over rough terrain. Another wheelchair organization creates a chair with a virtually identical suspension system though the chair itself is not identical.
Assume Handy Wheels owns the patent on the suspension and answer the following questions:
- What course of action would it have against the competitor?
- What remedies are available?
- What defenses might the competitor assert?
- What if Handy Wheels was in the process of applying for the patent but had not done it yet? Does that change the outcome?
Discuss your answer with appropriate reasoning.