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Can The Patent Office Be Fixed, Mark Lemley
Can The Patent Office Be Fixed, Mark Lemley
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) faces primarily two problems in promoting innovation policy. On the one hand, the USPTO must contend with a backlog of around 700,000 patent applications that have not yet been examined. This may result in three- and five-year waits before the USPTO renders a decision on an application, which may prove detrimental for certain sectors in which technology develops at a more rapid pace, such as the software industry. On the other hand, the USPTO has granted a not insignificant number of patents of questionable validity and quality.
Innovation And Recovery, John F. Duffy
Innovation And Recovery, John F. Duffy
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
Crisis inevitably brings hope for recovery. The recent past has seen a great economic crisis and a crisis in the patent system. Precisely because crisis reveals the flaws in the old, recovery demands the new; it demands innovation. Economic crisis thus makes recovery in the patent system especially urgent because it reveals the degree to which continuing prosperity depends on society's ability to reorganize itself, to change, to innovate. Towards that end, society should reconsider how our patent system makes judgments about invention.
The Copyright Revision Act Of 2026, Jessica Litman
The Copyright Revision Act Of 2026, Jessica Litman
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
Congress may be persuaded to embark on a new round of copyright revision. If history is any guide, a revised copyright law is likely to be longer, broader, more complicated and less flexible than the one we have now. Before committing ourselves to that enterprise, Prof. Litman suggests we take the opportunity to imagine what the copyright system might look like if we were free to write on a blank slate. We should enact a statute that is much shorter and simpler, that gives creators a larger share of copyright goodies and distributors a smaller one, and that builds in …
Rethinking The Role Of Clinical Trial Data In International Intellectual Property Law: The Case For A Public Goods Approach. Law: From Private To Public Good?, Jerome Reichman
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
Prof. Reichman describes the growth and consequences of new intellectual property rights given to pharmaceutical developers, and it advocates treating clinical trials as a public good. Although the soaring cost of clinical trials is well known and discussed, too little attention is given to the underlying rationale for allowing drug developers to recoup their costs through the new intellectual property rights provided in multilateral, regional, and bilateral agreements. Known in the US as 'market exclusivity' and in Europe as 'data exclusivity,' these rights prohibit would-be generic producers from obtaining regulatory approval based on the original producers’ undisclosed test data.
All Rights Reserved? Cultural Monopoly And The Troubles With Copyright, Michael Geist
All Rights Reserved? Cultural Monopoly And The Troubles With Copyright, Michael Geist
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
With an increasing ease for one to download, trade and share information, there is also an increasing desire by companies, corporations and private interests to protect their works. In a time where everything can be commoditized and ideas can be bought and sold at a price, a question we must answer is - Who owns our creativity? Must all rights be reserved? The growth of the citizen journalist and the blossoming of independent creativity online is also explored.
Do We Have Too Many Intellectual Property Rights?, Richard A. Posner
Do We Have Too Many Intellectual Property Rights?, Richard A. Posner
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
The Honorable Richard A. Posner discusses the dangers presented by the propertization of intellectual property rights, particularly in the areas of copyright and patent. Unlike physical property, intellectual property rights are limited by duration, scope, and allowance of fair use. These limitations underlie the existence of a rich public domain that encourages the most valuable uses of intellectual property by reducing transaction costs and encouraging the creation of additional creative works.
The Trademark Jurisprudence Of The Rehnquist Court, Graeme B. Dinwoodie
The Trademark Jurisprudence Of The Rehnquist Court, Graeme B. Dinwoodie
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
Prof. Dinwoodie discusses the Rehnquist Supreme Court and its current approach to addressing trademark jurisprudence. He concludes that although the Court has not employed a consistent methodological approach to resolving trademark problems, the opinions do suggest that there are certain values that dictate the outcomes in trademark cases before the Rehnquist Court.
Tailoring Patent Policy To Specific Industries, Dan L. Burk
Tailoring Patent Policy To Specific Industries, Dan L. Burk
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
Prof. Burk illustrates that federal courts have diverged along industry-specific paths when deciding patent cases. He highlights courts' disparate treatment of the biotechnology and computer software industries within the uniform patent statute. Due to industries' differing requirements for innovation and development, Professor Burk argues that the currently general patent statute and its incentive to innovate may be improved by tailoring it to specific industries.
Quo Vadis?, Arthur J. Gajarsa
Quo Vadis?, Arthur J. Gajarsa
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
The Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa articulates the strides made in intellectual property law over the past 20 years and proposes and explains three technical areas where the court may see the most action over the next 20 years: (1) software and business methods; (2) biotechnology; and (3) nanotechnology.
The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit: The Promise And Perils Of A Court Of Limited Jurisdiction, Randall R. Rader
The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit: The Promise And Perils Of A Court Of Limited Jurisdiction, Randall R. Rader
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
The Honorable Randall Rader discusses current criticisms of the Federal Circuit and the speed of which the Circuit sets precedent. Before addressing these issues, he posits a belief that the standard by which the Circuit is being judged is incorrect. Judge Rader's speech gives a foundation by which a correct standard should be exacted, examples of the current atmosphere leading to the precedents being set, and generally addresses why the Federal Circuit is fundamentally unique from other jurisdictions.
Copyright Law In The Digital Age: Malum In Se And Malum Prohititum, Sheldon W. Halpern
Copyright Law In The Digital Age: Malum In Se And Malum Prohititum, Sheldon W. Halpern
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
The scale of copyright piracy has changed, allowing creative works to be distributed globally with a click of a mouse. People's attitudes towards infringing on someone else's protected work have changed as well due to the simplicity and speed of the digital infringing process. Prof Halpern discusses how one can tailor copyright law to accommodate technological changes. He discusses how an act of infringement needs to be defined as malum in se rather than malum prohibitum in order for infringement to be taken seriously and suggests that a radically different approach to some of the fundamental principles governing copyright law …
The Supreme Court And Patent Law: Does Shallow Reasoning Lead To Thin Law, Donald S. Chisum
The Supreme Court And Patent Law: Does Shallow Reasoning Lead To Thin Law, Donald S. Chisum
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
Prof. Chisum explains that the role of the Federal Circuit Court as the "Supreme Court" of patent law may be changing and notes the significance of recent United States Supreme Court cases addressing patent law issues. He evaluates the quality of recent landmark decisions in which the Court has examined patent issues. Prof. Chisum notes that the general attitude of the Court reflects skepticism and hostility toward the patent system. He also considers the quality of reasoning undertaken by the Supreme Court and argues that, as opposed to the Federal Circuit, it is often weak, illogical, ambiguous, and inconsistent.
The New World Of International Trademark Law, Marshall A. Leaffer
The New World Of International Trademark Law, Marshall A. Leaffer
The Honorable Helen Wilson Nies Memorial Lecture
Prof. Leaffer discusses how the globalization process has forced evolution of international norms and favorably changed the face of trademark law. He reviews the new developments in major treaties, the Madrid Protocol and the Trademark Law Treaty. Prof. Leaffer also explains regional treaties, such as the new Community Trademark, and how they continue to build upon the progress of the Paris Convention toward harmonization in the world of international trademark law.