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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Problem With Ptab's Power Over Section 101, Kristen Osenga Jan 2018

The Problem With Ptab's Power Over Section 101, Kristen Osenga

Law Faculty Publications

The doctrine of patent eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 is a “real mess.” Other apt terms to describe this doctrine, and the jurisprudence surrounding it, include “chaos” and “crisis.” Few question whether patent eligible subject matter is a problem; however, many do not realize how high the stakes are and how dire the consequences. The erosion of patent protection, in part due to the “chaos,” impacts the willingness of companies to invest in innovation. This is especially true in today’s most important technologies where innovations occur in the spaces most likely to be flagged as ineligible subject …


Ignorance Over Innovation: Why Misunderstanding Standard Setting Organizations Will Hinder Technological Progress, Kristen Osenga Jan 2018

Ignorance Over Innovation: Why Misunderstanding Standard Setting Organizations Will Hinder Technological Progress, Kristen Osenga

Law Faculty Publications

On January 17, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Qualcomm Inc. in federal district court, alleging antitrust violations in the company's licensing of semiconductor chips used in cell phones and more. The suit alleges, in part, that Qualcomm refuses to license its patents that cover innovations incorporated in technology standards (standard-essential patents, or SEPs), in contradiction of the company's promise to license this intellectual property on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms. According to the FTC, Qualcomm's behavior reduces competitors' ability to participate in the market, raises prices paid by consumers for products incorporating the standardized technology, and at …


Heterogeneity Among Patent Plaintiffs: An Empirical Analysis Of Patent Case Progression, Settlement, And Adjudication, Christopher A. Cotropia Jan 2018

Heterogeneity Among Patent Plaintiffs: An Empirical Analysis Of Patent Case Progression, Settlement, And Adjudication, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

This article empirically studies current claims that patent trolls, also known as patent assertion entities (PAEs) or non-practicing entities (NPEs), behave badly in litigation by bringing frivolous patent infringement suits and seeking nuisance fee settlements. The study explores these claims by examining the relationship between the type of patenteeplaintiffs and litigation outcomes (e.g., settlement, grant of summary judgment, trial, and procedural dispositions), while taking into account, among other factors, the technology of the patents being asserted and the identity of the lawyers and judges. The study finds significant heterogeneity among different patent holder entity types. Individual inventors, failed operating companies, …


Higher Education And The Dmca, James Gibson, Christopher A. Cotropia Jan 2018

Higher Education And The Dmca, James Gibson, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

The nearly twenty-year history of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbor provisions has been marked by criticism from content owners, online service providers, and end users. Content owners complain about the cost of monitoring online content and sending takedown notices. Online service providers complain about the cost of receiving and processing the notices. And end users complain about their legitimate use of copyrighted works being subject to DMCA takedown. Colleges and universities have been at the forefront of this controversy; as providers of online services to their students, they have been a focus of both Congress and copyright owners. …


What Happened To The Public’S Interest In Patent Law?, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga Jan 2018

What Happened To The Public’S Interest In Patent Law?, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga

Law Faculty Publications

Protecting intellectual property is the government’s most important tool to encourage innovation, as our country has understood since its founding. The Constitution provides for the grant of exclusive patent rights to “promote the progress of science and the useful arts.” Thomas Jefferson, who was initially skeptical of the value of patents, later remarked, “An Act of Congress authorising [sic] the issuing patents for new discoveries has given a spring to invention beyond my conception.” From the very first patent, issued in 1790, to the 10 millionth patent, issued in June 2018,4 the United States has seen remarkable amounts of invention …