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Full-Text Articles in Law

Do Patents Drive Investment In Software?, James Hicks Mar 2024

Do Patents Drive Investment In Software?, James Hicks

Northwestern University Law Review

In the wake of a quartet of Supreme Court decisions which disrupted decades of settled law, the doctrine of patentable subject matter is in turmoil. Scholars, commentators, and jurists continue to disagree sharply over which kinds of invention should be patentable. In this debate, no technology has been more controversial than software. Advocates of software patents contend that denying protection would stymie innovation in a vital industry; skeptics argue that patents are a poor fit for software, and that the social costs of patents outweigh any plausible benefits. At the core of this disagreement is a basic problem: the debate …


Curiosities Of Standing In Trade Secret Law, Charles T. Graves Apr 2023

Curiosities Of Standing In Trade Secret Law, Charles T. Graves

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Standing under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act – the right to pursue a misappropriation claim – is a vexing question when compared to patent, copyright, and trademark law. Instead of requiring ownership or license rights as a condition to sue, courts often find that mere possession of an asserted trade secret suffices for standing, even when the provenance of the information is murky. In some cases, courts even allow trade secret plaintiffs to claim intellectual property rights in the preferences and desires expressed to them by their customers in lawsuits designed to stop former employees from doing business with those …


The Power Of Local: Nearby Innovators Dominate Patented Technology Development, Richard Gruner Apr 2023

The Power Of Local: Nearby Innovators Dominate Patented Technology Development, Richard Gruner

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Advances by nearby innovators – close enough to interact in person – play key roles in patented technology development. Patents frequently cite nearby innovations, identifying these local innovations as the background for further patented inventions. Such citations reveal narrow geographic areas with intensely active innovation communities advancing similar projects and technologies. Local innovators – working within a commutable distance of 40 miles or less of each other – accounted for 25 percent of all patent citations between 2010 and 2019 and about 21 percent of citations by disinterested patent examiners reviewing patent applications. These percentages of citations to local advances …


A Loaded God Complex: The Unconstitutionality Of The Executive Branch’S Unilaterally Withholding Zero-Days, Brendan Gilligan Apr 2023

A Loaded God Complex: The Unconstitutionality Of The Executive Branch’S Unilaterally Withholding Zero-Days, Brendan Gilligan

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Video Games And The First Amendment, Eli Pales Apr 2023

Video Games And The First Amendment, Eli Pales

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

The video game industry is massive, with an annual revenue of $180 billion worldwide; $60 billion of that in America alone. For context, the industry’s size is greater than that of the movie, book, and music industries combined. Yet, despite this market dominance, the video game industry is relatively new. Only in the 2011 decision of Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association did the Supreme Court extend First Amendment protection to games. Still, the Court failed to define the scope of the game medium. As understood by an average person, a video game could be something as simple as Pac-Man or …


Possessing Intangibles, João Marinotti Mar 2022

Possessing Intangibles, João Marinotti

Northwestern University Law Review

The concept of possession is currently considered inapplicable to intangible assets, whether data, cryptocurrency, or NFTs. Under this view, intangible assets categorically fall outside the purview of property law’s foundational doctrines. Such sweeping conclusions stem from a misunderstanding of the role of possession in property law. This Article refutes the idea that possession constitutes—or even requires—physical control by distinguishing possession from another foundational concept, that of thinghood. It highlights possession’s unique purpose within the property process: conveying the status of in rem claims. In property law, the concept of possession conveys to third parties the allocation of property rights and …


Governing The Unknown: How The Development Of Intellectual Property Law In Space Will Shape The Next Great Era Of Exploration, Exploitation, And Invention, Lauren Peterson May 2021

Governing The Unknown: How The Development Of Intellectual Property Law In Space Will Shape The Next Great Era Of Exploration, Exploitation, And Invention, Lauren Peterson

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


British Invasion: Importing The United Kingdom's Orphan Works Solution To United States Copyright Law, Abigail Bunce Jan 2015

British Invasion: Importing The United Kingdom's Orphan Works Solution To United States Copyright Law, Abigail Bunce

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Top Tens In 2010: Patent And Trademark Cases, Stephen Mcjohn Jan 2011

Top Tens In 2010: Patent And Trademark Cases, Stephen Mcjohn

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Top Tens In 2010: Copyright And Trade Secret Cases, Stephen Mcjohn Jan 2011

Top Tens In 2010: Copyright And Trade Secret Cases, Stephen Mcjohn

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Who Defines The Law? Uspto Rulemaking Authority, Jonathan Masur, James B. Speta, Nicholas M. Zovko, Donald L. Zuhn, Jr Jan 2010

Who Defines The Law? Uspto Rulemaking Authority, Jonathan Masur, James B. Speta, Nicholas M. Zovko, Donald L. Zuhn, Jr

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Sequential Musical Creation And Sample Licensing, Peter Dicola Jan 2010

Sequential Musical Creation And Sample Licensing, Peter Dicola

Faculty Working Papers

All musical creation builds on previous works. But using fragments of existing musical works in a new work can often constitute copyright infringement. Copyright law, in cases like Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films (6th Cir. 2005), has recently increased its restrictions on musicians who wish to engage in sampling, defined as the practice of using other creators' sound recordings to create new music. The paper describes a model of copyright holders' and samplers' incentives to create in light of the need to negotiate licenses for sample-based works to avoid violating copyright law. Even in the absence of traditional transaction costs …


Federal Circuit Patent Precedent: An Empirical Study Of Institutional Authority And Ip Ideology, David Pekarek-Krohn, Emerson H. Tiller Jan 2010

Federal Circuit Patent Precedent: An Empirical Study Of Institutional Authority And Ip Ideology, David Pekarek-Krohn, Emerson H. Tiller

Faculty Working Papers

In this paper, we aim to better understand the institutional authority of the Federal Circuit as a source of law as well as the influence of pro-patent and anti-patent ideological forces at play between the Supreme Court, Federal Circuit, and the district courts. Our specific focus is on the district courts and how they cite Federal Circuit precedent relative to Supreme Court precedent to support their decisions, whether they be pro-patent or anti-patent. Using a variety of citation approaches and statistical tests, we find that federal district courts treat the Federal Circuit as more authoritative (compared to the Supreme Court) …


Network Transparency: Seeing The Neutral Network, Adam Candeub Jan 2010

Network Transparency: Seeing The Neutral Network, Adam Candeub

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Machines And Transformations: The Past, Present, And Future Patentability Of Software, Andrei Iancu, Peter Gratzinger Jan 2010

Machines And Transformations: The Past, Present, And Future Patentability Of Software, Andrei Iancu, Peter Gratzinger

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


The Microsoft Case 10 Years Later: Antitrust And New Leading "New Economy" Firms, Chris Butts Jan 2010

The Microsoft Case 10 Years Later: Antitrust And New Leading "New Economy" Firms, Chris Butts

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


The Patenting Of Social Interactions:, Jonathan Masur, Matthew Sag, Joshua Sarnoff, Daniel Williams Jan 2010

The Patenting Of Social Interactions:, Jonathan Masur, Matthew Sag, Joshua Sarnoff, Daniel Williams

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Strategies For The Uspto: Ensuring America’S Innovation Future, Sharon Barner Jan 2010

Strategies For The Uspto: Ensuring America’S Innovation Future, Sharon Barner

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


O’Keefe And The Wheel That Begs For Reinvention: An Exceptionalist Approach To Electronic Discovery In Criminal Actions, Jared S. Beckerman Jan 2010

O’Keefe And The Wheel That Begs For Reinvention: An Exceptionalist Approach To Electronic Discovery In Criminal Actions, Jared S. Beckerman

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Three Years Post-Ksr: A Practitioner’S Guide To “Winning” Arguments On Obviousness And A Look At What May Lay Ahead, Katherine M. L. Hayes Jan 2010

Three Years Post-Ksr: A Practitioner’S Guide To “Winning” Arguments On Obviousness And A Look At What May Lay Ahead, Katherine M. L. Hayes

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Empirical Analysis Of Drug Approval-Drug Patenting Linkage For High Value Pharmaceuticals, Ron A. Bouchard, Richard W. Hawkins, Robert Clark, Reider Hagtvedt, Jamil Sawani Jan 2010

Empirical Analysis Of Drug Approval-Drug Patenting Linkage For High Value Pharmaceuticals, Ron A. Bouchard, Richard W. Hawkins, Robert Clark, Reider Hagtvedt, Jamil Sawani

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


The Genomic Research And Accessibility Act: More Science Fiction Than Fact, James Degiulio Jan 2010

The Genomic Research And Accessibility Act: More Science Fiction Than Fact, James Degiulio

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Is Patent Hold-Up Anticompetitive?, Vishesh Narayen Jan 2010

Is Patent Hold-Up Anticompetitive?, Vishesh Narayen

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Evaluation Of The Design Piracy Prohibition Act: Is The Cure Worse Than The Disease? An Analogy With Counterfeiting And A Comparison With The Protection Available In The European Community., Silvia Beltrametti Jan 2010

Evaluation Of The Design Piracy Prohibition Act: Is The Cure Worse Than The Disease? An Analogy With Counterfeiting And A Comparison With The Protection Available In The European Community., Silvia Beltrametti

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


To Be Fixed Or Not To Be: The Seemingly Never-Ending Question Of Copyrighted Material, Karl O. Riley Jan 2010

To Be Fixed Or Not To Be: The Seemingly Never-Ending Question Of Copyrighted Material, Karl O. Riley

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Redefining "Free": A Look At Open Source Software Management, Jon Christiansen, Alfred E. Hanna, Joseph A. Herndon, John L. Hines, Jr Jan 2010

Redefining "Free": A Look At Open Source Software Management, Jon Christiansen, Alfred E. Hanna, Joseph A. Herndon, John L. Hines, Jr

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Acquiring A Flavor For Trademarks: There's No Common Taste In The World, Amanda E. Compton Jan 2010

Acquiring A Flavor For Trademarks: There's No Common Taste In The World, Amanda E. Compton

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Trademark And Copyright In The Days Of Internet: The Google Influence, Michael H. Baniak, Matthew Sag Jan 2010

Trademark And Copyright In The Days Of Internet: The Google Influence, Michael H. Baniak, Matthew Sag

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


The Federal Circuit's Inequitable Conduct Standard After, Benjamin Johnson Jan 2010

The Federal Circuit's Inequitable Conduct Standard After, Benjamin Johnson

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.


Legally Correct But Technologically Off The Mark, Daniel B. Garrie, Bill Spernow Jan 2010

Legally Correct But Technologically Off The Mark, Daniel B. Garrie, Bill Spernow

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.