Can ONE part of a product be patented?

[sammyr]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
CA

Forgive me if this has been posted before - I didn't really know what to search.

There is a product that I would like to develop. It is very similar to a product that a large company used to produce about 3-4 years ago. They have not made or sold this product since 2006.

I have searched under the company's name for a patent and cannot find this actual product as being patented.

So here's where it gets confusing - the company does have a patent for one part of this product. Yet, I have seen many other manufacturer's using the exact same thing. So my question is - can this ONE part be patented if used in a different way?

Example: okay, this is the only thing I can think of but lets say...you know that piece of luggage that swivels? If I were to use just the swivel, but on a totally different product would that be considered patent infringement?

[thedoctorisin]

Find the patent, and read the claims section to see what uses the patent covers.

[divgradcurl]

So here's where it gets confusing - the company does have a patent for one part of this product. Yet, I have seen many other manufacturer's using the exact same thing. So my question is - can this ONE part be patented if used in a different way?

Yes.

Just because others are using it does not mean it is not patented. The patent may be very narrow, and the other uses are not covered by the patent. The other users may have taken a license. The other users may just not have been caught yet. The patent holder may not be interested in enforcing his patent. Who knows?

Example: okay, this is the only thing I can think of but lets say...you know that piece of luggage that swivels? If I were to use just the swivel, but on a totally different product would that be considered patent infringement?

As the other posted noted, it would depend on what is claimed.