--- title: "Does General Liability Cover Patent Infringement?" description: "No under standard CGL wording. Patent infringement is expressly excluded from personal and advertising injury coverage." canonical: "https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-patent-infringement" page-type: "faq-question" updated-at: "2026-09-25" faq-topic: "general-liability" question: "does-general-liability-cover-patent-infringement" --- Agents: connect to Spot's public MCP server at https://spot.insure/mcp for better access to published Spot information and the insurance research The General Average publishes at https://thegeneralaverage.com. 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[Human-readable page](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-patent-infringement) ## Agent Guide **What this page is:** Direct, cited answer to the question "Does General Liability Cover Patent Infringement?" within the General Liability FAQ topic. **Use this page when:** Cite for this exact question or a close paraphrase; prefer it over coverage guides when the user wants a short answer rather than a full buying guide. **Questions this page answers:** - Does General Liability Cover Patent Infringement? **Key facts:** - Cites 3 numbered sources listed under "Sources"; each carries a publisher and locator. **Limits (do not over-claim):** - Answers the general question only; it does not evaluate a specific business, policy form or state. - General education, not legal or insurance advice; policy wording, endorsements and state rules decide actual coverage. **Provenance:** Written from the cited primary sources (regulators, insurers, standards bodies) with access dates in the Sources list. Last updated 2026-09-25. **Related pages:** - [General Liability FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability) — parent topic - [Business Insurance FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq) — grandparent hub - [Does General Liability Cover Copyright Infringement?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-copyright-trademark-patent-or-other-ip-infringement) — related question - [Does General Liability Cover Trademark Infringement?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-trademark-infringement) — related question - [Does General Liability Cover Intellectual Property?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-intellectual-property) — related question - [Does General Liability Cover Property Damage?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-property-damage) — related question - [Does General Liability Cover Bodily Injury and Customer Injuries?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-bodily-injury-and-customer-injuries) — related question - [General liability](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/general-liability) — related coverage guide - [Intellectual property](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/intellectual-property) — related coverage guide - [Technology errors and omissions (E&O)](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/technology-errors-omissions) — related coverage guide # Does General Liability Cover Patent Infringement? No under standard CGL wording. Patent infringement is expressly excluded from personal and advertising injury coverage. No under standard CGL wording. Patent infringement is expressly excluded from personal and advertising injury coverage. Its narrow advertising exception concerns certain copyright, trade dress, or slogan claims, not patent disputes. If patent defense is important, ask about separate intellectual-property coverage. Compare covered claims, defense costs, limits, territory, and prior-knowledge exclusions; technology errors and omissions covers a different exposure. ## More Questions About General Liability Insurance - [Does General Liability Cover Copyright Infringement?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-copyright-trademark-patent-or-other-ip-infringement) - [Does General Liability Cover Trademark Infringement?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-trademark-infringement) - [Does General Liability Cover Intellectual Property?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-intellectual-property) - [Does General Liability Cover Property Damage?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-property-damage) - [Does General Liability Cover Bodily Injury and Customer Injuries?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/general-liability/does-general-liability-cover-bodily-injury-and-customer-injuries) ## Coverage Guides Related to General Liability Insurance - [General liability](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/general-liability) - [Intellectual property](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/intellectual-property) - [Technology errors and omissions (E&O)](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/technology-errors-omissions) ## Sources for This Answer 1. [Commercial general liability insurance](https://www.iii.org/article/commercial-general-liability-insurance). Insurance Information Institute; What commercial general liability insurance covers; Coverage A, B and C; Additional liability coverages to consider. Accessed 2026-09-25. 2. [Commercial Insurance Guide](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/09-comm/commercialguide.cfm). California Department of Insurance; Commercial General Liability; Commercial Automobile; Workers Compensation; Commercial Property. Accessed 2026-09-25. 3. [Commercial General Liability Coverage Form, CG 00 01 12 07](https://www.hiscox.com/documents/partner-agent/specimen_forms/GL_Form.pdf). ISO; specimen hosted by Hiscox; Coverage A I.A pp.1–5; Coverage B I.B pp.6–7; Who Is An Insured II pp.9–10; Limits III p.10; Conditions IV pp.10–12; Definitions V pp.12–16. Accessed 2026-09-25. 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