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Intellectual Property Law

William & Mary Law Review

Journal

Administrative Law

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Rules For Patents, Michael J. Burstein May 2011

Rules For Patents, Michael J. Burstein

William & Mary Law Review

There is widespread agreement that the patent system in the United States is in need of reform. Most of the proposals for patent reform that have proliferated in recent years share two common assumptions: first, that patent policy is best made through case-bycase adjudication of the validity of individual patents; and, second, that the existing allocation of authority over patent policy, in which the courts are primarily responsible for interpreting and applying the broad language of the Patent Act, ought not to be disturbed. This
Article challenges both assumptions. I approach the problem of patent reform primarily as a problem …


Rethinking Patent Law In The Administrative State, Orin S. Kerr Oct 2000

Rethinking Patent Law In The Administrative State, Orin S. Kerr

William & Mary Law Review

This Article challenges the Supreme Court's recent holding that administrative law doctrines should apply to the patent system. The Article contends that the dynamics ofpatent law derive not from public law regulation, but rather from the private law doctrines of contract, property, and tort. Based on this insight, the Article argues that administrative law doctrines such as Chevron and the Administrative Procedure Act should not apply within patent law, and that such doctrines in fact pose a serious threat to the proper functioning of the patent system.