Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Law
Ostrich With Its Head In The Sand: The Law, Inventorship, & Artificial Intelligence, Ben Kovach
Ostrich With Its Head In The Sand: The Law, Inventorship, & Artificial Intelligence, Ben Kovach
Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property
As artificial intelligence (AI) system’s capabilities advance, the law has struggled to keep pace. Nowhere is this more evident than patent law’s refusal to recognize AI as an inventor. This is precisely what happened when, in 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled that it will not accept an AI system as a named inventor on a patent.
This note explores untenable legal fiction that the USPTO’s ruling has created. First, it explores the current state of AI systems, focusing on those capable of invention. Next, it examines patent law’s inventorship doctrine and the USPTO’s application of that …
Inventing Around Copyright, Dan L. Burk
Inventing Around Copyright, Dan L. Burk
Northwestern University Law Review
Patent law has long harbored the concept of “inventing around,” under which competitors to a patent holder may be expected, and even encouraged, to design their technologies so as to skirt the boundaries defined by patent claims. It has become increasingly clear that, for better or for worse, copyright also fosters inventing around. Copyright is not based on written claims, but because copyright links exclusive rights to technological actions such as reproduction, distribution, or transmission, the language of the copyright statute, and judicial readings of the statute, create boundaries around which potential infringers may technologically navigate. For example, the Aereo …
How Not To Apply Actavis, Michael A. Carrier
Patent Imperialism, Bernard Chao