Insurance exists to protect against dangers, but given the potentially high stakes, manufacturers should have some understanding of what is covered, what is not, and what are the basics to making an insurance claim.
Dale R. Kurth, Counsel at Partridge IP Law
Insurance protects against dangers
Insurance exists to protect against such dangers, but given the potentially high stakes, manufacturers should have some understanding of what is covered, what is not, and what are the basics to making an insurance claim.
Personal and Advertising Injury Coverage
In each case listed above, the sued company sought coverage under Commercial General Liability insurance policies that included what is called Personal and Advertising Injury (PAI) coverage.
PAI coverage often applies to claims that arise in the course of one’s business including defamation, product disparagement, privacy violations, unfair business practices, false advertising, and various forms of intellectual property (IP) infringement such as copyright, trademark, patent and trade secrets.
In general, the following seven elements are required for PAI coverage to exist for a particular claim:
- The claim must fall within one of the offenses enumerated in the policy.
- Certain offenses must take place in the named insured’s “advertisement.”
- The offense must be committed during the policy period.
- It must occur in the “coverage territory.”
- It must occur in the course of the named insured’s business.
- The claim or suit must seek “damages.”
- The claim must fall outside the policy’s exclusions to coverage.
