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Standards × Patents ÷ Antitrust = ∞: The Inadequacy Of Antitrust To Address Patent Ambush, Jonathan Hillel
Standards × Patents ÷ Antitrust = ∞: The Inadequacy Of Antitrust To Address Patent Ambush, Jonathan Hillel
Duke Law & Technology Review
"Patent ambush" describes certain rent-seeking behavior by the owner of patent rights to a technology that is essential to an industry standard. Two cases, Qualcomm and Rambus, represent attempts of the Third and D.C. Circuits, respectively, to address patent ambushes using federal antitrust statutes. In both cases, antitrust law proves inadequate to the task. Under Qualcomm, licensees gain too much power to extort undervalued royalty rates from patent holders who have disclosed their rights during standard-setting. Under Rambus, coupled with the dearth of other options to combat patent ambushes, non-disclosing patent holders are given free reign over standardized markets, to …
Limitation Of Sales Warranties As An Alternative To Intellectual Property Rights: An Empirical Analysis Of Iphone Warranties’ Deterrent Impact On Consumers, Marc L. Roark
Duke Law & Technology Review
Apple's success with the Apple iPhone has brought with it certain problems. Its success has engendered a community that has attempted to circumvent Apple's exclusive service agreement with AT&T. Unfortunately for Apple (and similarly situated manufacturers), intellectual property law allows consumers to alter their products so as to circumvent relationships that manufacturers may have with others. The patent and copyright law first sale doctrine allows consumers to manipulate a product after it is purchased. As a result, manufacturers are increasingly turning to alternatives to intellectual property to secure control over the device after the sale. One such alternative is the …
Keeping The Leds On And The Electric Motors Running: Clean Tech In Court After Ebay, Eric Lane
Keeping The Leds On And The Electric Motors Running: Clean Tech In Court After Ebay, Eric Lane
Duke Law & Technology Review
The recent rise of non-practicing patentees (NPPs) in the clean technology space comes at a time when the international community is debating the role of intellectual property rights in the deployment and implementation of technologies to combat climate change. While the impact of intellectual property rights on the deployment of clean technology has been studied, less attention has been given to the role intellectual property regimes play in maintaining the operation of those technologies already deployed in the fight against global warming. This iBrief focuses on clean technologies that have already achieved substantial market penetration and observes that recent trends …
In Re Bilski And The “Machine-Or-Transformation” Test: Receding Boundaries For Patent Eligible Subject Matter, Matthew Moore
In Re Bilski And The “Machine-Or-Transformation” Test: Receding Boundaries For Patent Eligible Subject Matter, Matthew Moore
Duke Law & Technology Review
In order for a hopeful applicant to be granted a patent over his invention, his application must satisfy several procedural and substantive requirements. Among the substantive hurdles that an applicant must clear is the mandate that patents only be issued to applications claiming statutory subject matter within the meaning of §101 of the Patent Act. However, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) has not construed that Section consistently over the years. Since that court’s formation in 1982, it has espoused two tests for statutory subject matter, and each time has substantially abrogated, if not overruled, the …
Antitrust, Innovation, And Uncertain Property Rights: Some Practical Considerations, Dean V. Williamson
Antitrust, Innovation, And Uncertain Property Rights: Some Practical Considerations, Dean V. Williamson
Duke Law & Technology Review
The intersection of antitrust and intellectual property circumscribes two century-long debates. The first pertains to questions about how antitrust law and intellectual property law interact, and the second pertains to questions about how parties can exploit property rights, including intellectual property rights, to exclude competitors. This iBrief finesses these questions and turns to practical considerations about how innovation and intellectual property can impinge antitrust enforcement. This iBrief develops two propositions. First, although collaborative research and development has often been and remains unwittingly misunderstood, what is understood about it is consistent with the long- standing observation that antitrust has rarely interfered …