Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Intellectual Property Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Supreme Court of the United States

PDF

Robin C Feldman

Selected Works

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Intellectual Property Law

Ending Patent Exceptionalism & Structuring The Rule Of Reason: The Supreme Court Opens The Door For Both, Robin C. Feldman Dec 2013

Ending Patent Exceptionalism & Structuring The Rule Of Reason: The Supreme Court Opens The Door For Both, Robin C. Feldman

Robin C Feldman

A patent gives one an opportunity to exploit an idea. It is not intended as a universal pass for exploiting the legal system. Nevertheless, a notion I would call patent exceptionalism has been allowing patent holders to exercise free rein. It is a dangerous approach that fails to distinguish between deploying the right and deploying the system. This article describes patent exceptionalism and explains how the Supreme Court decision in FTC v. Actavis moves away from it.

The article also explains how the appeal of patent exceptionalism intertwines with antitrust. To put it bluntly, patent exceptionalism is alluring because it …