Law Commons^™

The Irrelevance Of Nanotechnology Patents, Emily Michiko Morris

Emily Michiko Morris

Once the stuff of science fiction, nanotechnology is now expected to be the next technological revolution, but despite millions of dollars of investment, we still have yet to see the brave new world of cheap energy, cell-specific drug delivery systems, and self-replicating nanobots that nanotechnology promises. Instead, nanotechnology seems to be in a holding pattern, perpetually stuck in the status of “emerging science,” “immature field,” and “new technology” for over three decades now. Why? Professor Mark Lemley and a number of others have suggested that the answer to this puzzling question is simple: nanotechnology differs from the all of the …

Res Or Rules? Patents And The (Uncertain) Rules Of The Game, Emily Michiko Morris

Emily Michiko Morris

RES OR RULES? PATENTS AND THE (UNCERTAIN) RULES OF THE GAME

Emily Michiko Morris

ABSTRACT

The stakes at play in modern-day patent infringement suits can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Just take a look at the $612.5 million that Research In Motion, Ltd., paid to settle NTP, Inc.’s patent infringement suit against it. How could RIM have made such an expensive mistake? After all, patents are public records, so ideally patent infringers should simply do their homework and avoid such massive liability. In reality there are a multitude of reasons why some technology companies find themselves infringing others’ …