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A Historical Note On The Assignment Of Pesticide Common Names, Jorge L. Contreras
A Historical Note On The Assignment Of Pesticide Common Names, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
Thousands of pesticides, herbicides, and related chemical products are used today to control disease-bearing insect populations and enable large-scale agricultural production that feeds much of the world. This short note traces the history of one small but important aspect of this industry—the assignment of common names to pesticides and related products. The little-known history of pesticide common names is illustrative of a few important points. First, it demonstrates the trend exhibited in many fields for the development of standards to migrate from a governmental agency to a US-based standards organization to an international standards organization. Second, it evidences the concern …
No License, No Problem – Is Qualcomm’S Ninth Circuit Antitrust Victory A Patent Exhaustion Defeat?, Jorge L. Contreras, Jorge L. Contreras
No License, No Problem – Is Qualcomm’S Ninth Circuit Antitrust Victory A Patent Exhaustion Defeat?, Jorge L. Contreras, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in FTC v. Qualcomm (9th Cir., Aug. 11, 2020) is generally viewed as a resounding victory for Qualcomm. But in praising Qualcomm’s egalitarian approach toward rival chip makers, the Ninth Circuit points out that instead of granting licenses to these rivals, Qualcomm merely “declines to enforce its patents” against them “even though they practice Qualcomm’s patents”. As such, the Ninth Circuit states that Qualcomm’s “policy toward rival chipmakers could be characterized as ‘no license, no problem’”. Yet, from the standpoint of patent exhaustion, this approach could actually be a very big problem, not only for …
Sometimes Frand Does Mean License-To-All, Jorge L. Contreras
Sometimes Frand Does Mean License-To-All, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
FRAND commitments are creations of written policy documents and contract law. Accordingly, the existence of a “License to All” obligation under a FRAND commitment must arise from the relevant policy language. Numerous SDO policies expressly impose “License to All” requirements. Some SDO policies are ambiguous with respect to this requirement and such ambiguities should be resolved based on an examination of extrinsic evidence including the intentions of policy drafters, the shared understandings of SDO participants, and the historical precedents for such policies. In many cases, an examination of these factors should lead to the conclusion that “License to All” is, …
Intellectual Property Pools And Aggregation, Jorge L. Contreras
Intellectual Property Pools And Aggregation, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
This chapter in the forthcoming case book "Intellectual Property Licensing and Transactions: Theory and Practice" covers IP pooling, with an emphasis on patents. It begins with a discussion of the theoretical benefit of pooling, including efficiency gains and the avoidance of blocking positions, thickets and anti-commons. It then addresses antitrust analysis of pooling transactions from Standard Oil (Indiana) v. United States (U.S. 1931) through the 2017 DOJ-FTC Antitrust Guidelines. The chapter then turns to pools created to facilitate standard-setting, including the MPEG-2 and 3GPP Pools, and discusses the concept of complementarity and essentiality of pooled assets. It concludes with brief …
It’S Anti-Suit Injunctions All The Way Down – The Strange New Realities Of International Litigation Over Standards-Essential Patents, Jorge L. Contreras
It’S Anti-Suit Injunctions All The Way Down – The Strange New Realities Of International Litigation Over Standards-Essential Patents, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
Today’s markets for technology products — from smartphones to home appliances to automobiles — are inherently global. This is especially true of products that embody technical standards — protocols like 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB that are covered by hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of patents (so-called “standards-essential patents” or “SEPs”). Given the global scope and size of these markets, it is not surprising that patent litigation over standardized products is often conducted on a global scale. This article looks at an increasingly important aspect of these global standards wars: the ability of a court in one jurisdiction to …
Chapter 20 – Technical Standards: Fair, Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory (Frand) Licensing, Jorge L. Contreras
Chapter 20 – Technical Standards: Fair, Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory (Frand) Licensing, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
This chapter in the forthcoming case book "Intellectual Property Licensing and Transactions" covers licensing transactions involving standards-essential patents (SEPs), including recent legal developments regarding the disclosure (and concealment) of SEPs, fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) royalty rates, non-discriminatory licensing, the availability of injunctive relief for FRAND-encumbered patents, and transfers of FRAND commitments, as well as specific SDO policy clauses and license text addressing each of these issues.
Is Biopharma Ready For The Standards Wars?, Jorge L. Contreras
Is Biopharma Ready For The Standards Wars?, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
This symposium contribution sheds new light on Momenta v. Amphastar, a recent federal case in which issues relating to standardization and patent disclosure that have previously been observed in the semiconductor, computing and telecommunications sectors found their way into a dispute between two biosimilar manufacturers. One such manufacturer, Momenta, participated in the development of a standard for testing the purity of generic enoxaparin under the auspices of the United States Pharmacopeial Convention, but failed to disclose that it had applied for a patent on the testing method. When Momenta later sued Amphastar for infringement based on its use of that …
Brief Of Amicus Curiae Professor Jorge L. Contreras In Support Of Appellee And Affirmance In Ftc V. Qualcomm, Jorge L. Contreras
Brief Of Amicus Curiae Professor Jorge L. Contreras In Support Of Appellee And Affirmance In Ftc V. Qualcomm, Jorge L. Contreras
Utah Law Faculty Scholarship
Qualcomm participated in the development of 3G and 4G wireless telecommunication standards under the auspices of two SDOs, the Telecommunications Industry Association (“TIA”) and the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (“ATIS”). Each of these SDOs had adopted intellectual property rights policies (IPR Policies) that required their participants to grant licenses of SEPs to implementers of their standards on FRAND terms. Yet, over the course of several years, Qualcomm refused to license its SEPs to numerous actual and potential modem chip rivals including MediaTek, Project Dragonfly (a joint venture of NTT DoCoMo, Samsung and several Japanese manufacturers), Samsung, VIA Telecom, Intel, …