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Duke Law

2007

Patents & Technology

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Law

Operation Restoration: How Can Patent Holders Protect Themselves From Medimmune?, Stephanie Chu Nov 2007

Operation Restoration: How Can Patent Holders Protect Themselves From Medimmune?, Stephanie Chu

Duke Law & Technology Review

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in MedImmune v. Genentech shifts the balance of power in license agreements from patent holders to their licensees. This iBrief outlines the potential implications of the new rules on all stages of patent prosecution and protection. Further, it evaluates remedial contract provisions patent holders may include in future license agreements and how these provisions may mitigate the decision’s effects on preexisting commercial relationships.


Encouraging Corporate Innovation For Our Homeland During The Best Of Times For The Worst Of Times: Extending Safety Act Protections To Natural Disasters’, Ava A. Harter Nov 2007

Encouraging Corporate Innovation For Our Homeland During The Best Of Times For The Worst Of Times: Extending Safety Act Protections To Natural Disasters’, Ava A. Harter

Duke Law & Technology Review

This article first analyzes the innovative tort reform of the SAFETY Act and then argues for expansion of SAFETY Act type risk protection to natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires. The SAFETY Act was drafted to stimulate the development and deployment of technologies that combat terrorism by providing liability protection. Applying the same type of legislation to natural disasters will provide a commensurate benefit of encouraging preparedness and development of technologies that could mitigate harms resulting from natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security voiced a desire to increase the use of the SAFETY Act by private industry. …


A Budding Theory Of Willful Patent Infringement: Orange Books, Colored Pills, And Greener Verdicts, Christopher A. Harkins Oct 2007

A Budding Theory Of Willful Patent Infringement: Orange Books, Colored Pills, And Greener Verdicts, Christopher A. Harkins

Duke Law & Technology Review

The rules of engagement in the brand-name versus generic-drug war are rapidly changing. Brand-name manufacturers face increasing competition from Canadian manufacturers of generic drugs, online drug companies, and Wal-Mart® Super Centers deciding to cash in by turning a piece of the generic prescription drug business into a huge marketing campaign with offerings of generic drugs for four dollar prescriptions. Other discount drug providers are likely to follow suit in hopes of boosting customer traffic and sales of their generic drugs. Now, more than ever before, attorneys representing owners of pharmaceutical patents need to be creative with their damages theories to …


This Town Ain’T Big Enough For The Both Of Us—Or Is It? Reflections On Copyright, The First Amendment And Google’S Use Of Others’ Content, David Kohler Jun 2007

This Town Ain’T Big Enough For The Both Of Us—Or Is It? Reflections On Copyright, The First Amendment And Google’S Use Of Others’ Content, David Kohler

Duke Law & Technology Review

Using a variety of technological innovations, Google became a multi-billion dollar content-delivery business without owning or licensing much of the content that it uses. Google’s principal justification for why this strategy does not contravene the intellectual property rights of the copyright owners is the doctrine of fair use. However, over the last several years, some copyright owners began to push back and challenge Google’s strategy. Much of this litigation presents the courts with something of a conundrum. On the one hand, it is beyond dispute that Google’s services have great social utility. By organizing and making accessible an enormous volume …


Walking The Line: Why The Presumption Against Extraterritorial Application Of U.S. Patent Law Should Limit The Reach Of 35 U.S.C. § 271(F), Jennifer Giordano-Coltart Apr 2007

Walking The Line: Why The Presumption Against Extraterritorial Application Of U.S. Patent Law Should Limit The Reach Of 35 U.S.C. § 271(F), Jennifer Giordano-Coltart

Duke Law & Technology Review

The advent of the digital era and the global market pose unique challenges to intellectual property law. To adapt, U.S. patent laws require constant interpretation in the face of rapidly changing technological advances. In AT&T Corp. v. Microsoft Corp., the Federal Circuit interpreted 35 U.S.C. § 271(f) in a technology-dependent manner in order to effectuate the purpose of the law with respect to global software distribution. However, the Federal Circuit failed to consider the presumption against extraterritorial application of U.S. law, and its decision now risks international discord and harm not only to the American software industry, but other U.S. …


Where Will Consumers Find Privacy Protection From Rfids?: A Case For Federal Legislation, Serena G. Stein Mar 2007

Where Will Consumers Find Privacy Protection From Rfids?: A Case For Federal Legislation, Serena G. Stein

Duke Law & Technology Review

With the birth of RFID technology, businesses gained the ability to tag products with practically invisible computer chips that relay information about consumer behavior to remote databases. Such tagging permits retailers and manufacturers to track the purchases, identities, and movements of their customers. In the absence of enforceable regulations, society risks being subjected to an unprecedented level of Orwellian surveillance. This iBrief addresses consumer privacy concerns stemming from the proliferation of RFID technology. It discusses why tort law, state legislation, FTC guidelines, and proposed regulations are insufficient methods to alleviate consumer privacy concerns and suggests amending various federal privacy laws, …


Is Kelly Shifting Under Google’S Feet? New Ninth Circuit Impact On The Google Library Project Litigation, Cameron W. Westin Mar 2007

Is Kelly Shifting Under Google’S Feet? New Ninth Circuit Impact On The Google Library Project Litigation, Cameron W. Westin

Duke Law & Technology Review

The Google Library Project presents what many consider to be the perfect fair-use problem. The legal debate surrounding the Library Project has centered on the Ninth Circuit’s Kelly v. Arriba Soft. Yet recent case law presents new arguments for both sides of the Library Project litigation. This iBrief analyzes two Ninth Circuit district court decisions on fair use, Field v. Google, Inc. and Perfect 10 v. Google, Inc., and their impact on the Library Project litigation.


Does Information Beget Information?, Dennis S. Karjala Feb 2007

Does Information Beget Information?, Dennis S. Karjala

Duke Law & Technology Review

Using the language of mathematics, Professor Polk Wagner has recently argued that the impossibility of fully appropriating the value of information in a rightsholder leads to the surprising conclusion that expanding the degree of control of intellectual property rights will, in the long run, increase the sum total of information not subject to ownership claims and therefore available as part of the cultural and technological base on which new growth and development can occur. Indeed, he claims that open information will grow according to the formula for compound interest, where the interest rate is 100% plus or minus a factor …