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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Value Of U.S. Patents By Owner And Patent Characteristics, James Bessen
The Value Of U.S. Patents By Owner And Patent Characteristics, James Bessen
Faculty Scholarship
This paper uses renewal data to estimate the value of U.S. patents, controlling for patent and owner characteristics. Estimates of U.S. patent value are substantially larger than estimates for European patents, however, the ratio of U.S. patent value to R&D for firms is only about 3%. Patents issued to small patentees are much less valuable than those issued to large corporations, perhaps reflecting imperfect markets for technology. Litigated patents are more valuable, as are highly cited patents. However, patent citations explain little variance in value, suggesting limits to their use as a measure of patent quality.
A Comment On 'Do Patents Facilitate Financing In The Software Industry?', James Bessen
A Comment On 'Do Patents Facilitate Financing In The Software Industry?', James Bessen
Faculty Scholarship
'Do Patents Facilitate Financing in the Software Industry?' by Ronald J. Mann contributes empirical evidence to our understanding of how software startups use patents. However, a close examination of the actual empirical findings in this paper points to rather different conclusions than those that Mann draws, namely: few software startups benefit from software patents and patents are not widely used by software firms to obtain venture financing. Indeed, among other things, the paper reports that 80% of venture-financed software startups had no acquired any patents within four years of receiving financing.
Perspectives On Patents: Post-Grant Review Procedures And Other Litigation Reforms: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On Intellectual Property Of The S. Comm. On The Judiciary, 109th Cong., May 23, 2006 (Statement Of Professor John R. Thomas, Geo. U. L. Center), John R. Thomas
Testimony Before Congress
No abstract provided.
Intellectual Property Management Strategies To Accelerate The Development And Access Of Vaccines And Diagnostics: Case Studies On Pandemic Influenza, Malaria And Sars, Anatole Krattiger, Stanley P. Kowalski, Robert Eiss, Anthony Taubman
Intellectual Property Management Strategies To Accelerate The Development And Access Of Vaccines And Diagnostics: Case Studies On Pandemic Influenza, Malaria And Sars, Anatole Krattiger, Stanley P. Kowalski, Robert Eiss, Anthony Taubman
Law Faculty Scholarship
Achieving global access to vaccines, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals remains a challenge. Throughout the developing world, intellectual property (IP) constraints complicate access to critically essential medical technologies and products. Vaccines for malaria and pandemic strains of influenza, as well as diagnostic and vaccine technologies for SARS, are not only relevant to global public health but are particularly critical to the needs of developing countries. A global access solution is urgently needed. This article offers a timely case‐by‐case analysis of preliminary patent landscape surveys and formulates options via patent pools and other forms of creative IP management to accelerate development and access. …
The Antitrust Legality Of Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation Settlements, James F. Ponsoldt, W. Hennen Ehrenclou
The Antitrust Legality Of Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation Settlements, James F. Ponsoldt, W. Hennen Ehrenclou
Scholarly Works
Several federal courts of appeal have recently ruled on the issue of whether a pharmaceutical patent infringement settlement, pursuant to which a generic drug manufacturer agrees to forgo marketing a particular drug in return for monetary payments from a patent-holding “pioneer” drug manufacturer, is a violation of antitrust law. These payments are termed “reverse payments” because, contrary to normal settlements, the plaintiff makes a lump sum payment to the defendant. Reverse payments have sparked considerable academic comment and controversy. Even more recently, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”) and the Solicitor General have expressed views on the issue, in the context …
Intellectual Property: The Practical And Legal Fundamentals, Thomas G. Field Jr
Intellectual Property: The Practical And Legal Fundamentals, Thomas G. Field Jr
Law Faculty Scholarship
Patents, copyrights, trademarks and related interests are known as intellectual property (IP). It has not been long since patents especially were regarded in U.S. courts, and the Supreme Court in particular, as tools of monopolists, and their owners often fared poorly. However, people have come increasingly to view privately funded innovation as critical to national economic well-being and to agree that such innovation cannot occur unless companies that succeed in the marketplace can recoup their research, development and marketing costs. That is a major function of IP, and, particularly within the past dozen years, IP has been seen, both here …
The Patent Cooperation Treaty: At The Center Of The International Patent System, Jay Erstling
The Patent Cooperation Treaty: At The Center Of The International Patent System, Jay Erstling
Faculty Scholarship
In view of the fact that the PCT is composed of almost 130 countries and that more than 100 national and regional patent offices, as well as WIPO itself, perform PCT functions, it is remarkable that the system operates so smoothly and continues to gain momentum. Perhaps the system’s greatest strength comes from the immense diversity of legal, linguistic, and national cultures that constitute the PCT. While the system has served to harmonize divergent practices, it has also been obliged to accommodate to the sometimes inflexible peculiarities of national law and procedure. The PCT’s ability to strike a balance between …
The Impact Of Open Source On Preinvention Assignment Contracts, Michael Mattioli
The Impact Of Open Source On Preinvention Assignment Contracts, Michael Mattioli
Articles by Maurer Faculty
This comment studies the implications of open source on pre-invention assignment agreements. Part I analyzes the basis for past enforcement of these contracts, with an eye toward distinctions between open source projects and more traditional commercial endeavors. Part II briefly reviews the history of patents and explores constitutional and contract-based arguments against the pre-invention assignment. Part III begins with a discussion of open source and then explores how this new phenomenon perfectly fulfills the goals behind the Patent Act. With these addressed, the central inquiry of pre-invention assignment agreements, as they could conflict with open source inventions, will be addressed. …
Patent Law Viewed Through An Evidentiary Lens: The "Suggestion Test" As A Rule Of Evidence, Christopher A. Cotropia
Patent Law Viewed Through An Evidentiary Lens: The "Suggestion Test" As A Rule Of Evidence, Christopher A. Cotropia
Law Faculty Publications
The Federal Circuit's recent nonobviousness jurisprudence has been the subject of much criticism. Reports from the Federal Trade Commission and the National Research Council and a pending petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court all conclude that the Federal Circuit has improperly relaxed the nonobviousness standard. Most of this criticism focuses on the Federal Circuit's implementation of part of the nonobviousness inquiry - the suggestion test. The suggestion test queries whether a suggestion to make the invention existed before the invention's creation. The Federal Circuit allegedly requires a suggestion to come solely from prior art references. The court ignores other …
Constitutionalizing Patents: From Venice To Philadelphia, Craig Allen Nard, Andrew P. Morriss
Constitutionalizing Patents: From Venice To Philadelphia, Craig Allen Nard, Andrew P. Morriss
Faculty Publications
Patent law today is a complex institution in most developed economies and the appropriate structure for patent law is hotly debated around the world. Despite their differences, one crucial feature is shared by the diverse patent systems of the industrialized world even before the recent trend toward harmonization: modern patent regimes include self-imposed restrictions of executive and legislative discretion, which we refer to as "constitutionalized" systems. Given the lucrative nature of patent monopolies, the long history of granting patents as a form of patronage, and the aggressive pursuit of patronage in most societies, the choice to confine patents within a …
Commercializing Open Source Software: Do Property Rights Still Matter?, Ronald J. Mann
Commercializing Open Source Software: Do Property Rights Still Matter?, Ronald J. Mann
Faculty Scholarship
For several years now, open source software products have been gaining prominence and market share. Yet the products themselves are not as provocative as the way in which they are developed and distributed. Two related features of the open source model are distinctive: the use of collaborative development structures that extend beyond the boundaries of a single firm, and the lack of reliance on intellectual property ("IP") rights as a means of appropriating the value of the underlying technologies. Firm-level control of intellectual property is replaced by a complex set of relations, both informal and sometimes contractual, among strategic partners …
Estimates Of Patent Rents From Firm Market Value, James Bessen
Estimates Of Patent Rents From Firm Market Value, James Bessen
Faculty Scholarship
The value of patent rents is an important quantity for policy analysis. However, estimates in the literature based on patent renewals might be understated. Market value regressions could provide validation, but they have not had clear theoretical foundations for estimating patent rents. I develop a simple model to make upper bound estimates of patent rents using regressions on Tobin's Q. I test this on a sample of US firms and find it robust to a variety of considerations. My estimates correspond well with estimates based on patentee behavior outside the pharmaceutical industry, but renewal estimates might be understated for pharmaceuticals.