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Full-Text Articles in Law
Technological Self-Sufficiency And The Role Of Novelty Traps, Rochelle C. Dreyfuss, Daniel Benoliel
Technological Self-Sufficiency And The Role Of Novelty Traps, Rochelle C. Dreyfuss, Daniel Benoliel
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
The COVID pandemic has demonstrated the tragic consequences of technological dependency. Unable to manufacture vaccines for themselves, developing countries must rely on obtaining supplies from other nations. While strong arguments have been made to waive international obligations under the TRIPS Agreement to permit these countries to freely use COVID-related patented inventions, it is not clear that this move would produce sufficient vaccines to meet global demand. Considerable scholarship has been devoted to the question of how to help these countries reach the technological frontier and become technologically independent. In this Article, we identify a novel source of their problem: a …
Promoting Patent Practitioner Diversity: Expanding Non-Jd Pathways And Removing Barriers, Christopher M. Turoski
Promoting Patent Practitioner Diversity: Expanding Non-Jd Pathways And Removing Barriers, Christopher M. Turoski
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
The patent field suffers from a reciprocal problem: the cost of becoming a Registered Patent Attorney is high, and the diversity of the patent bar is low. The high cost of law school tuition (over $50,000 per year at some schools) prices out individuals from less privileged backgrounds, thereby decreasing the number of diverse candidates who could become Registered Patent Attorneys. The relatively low number of students with science, technology, or engineering (STE) degrees also restricts the number of diverse candidates who could become Registered Patent Attorneys. These factors contribute to a lack of diversity in the patent bar, reflecting …
Patents 101: Patentable Subject Matter And Separation Of Powers, Max S. Oppenheimer
Patents 101: Patentable Subject Matter And Separation Of Powers, Max S. Oppenheimer
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
The definition of statutory subject matter lies at the heart of the patent system. It is the reflection of Congress's policy decision as to what types of inventions one may patent. While the congressional definition of statutory subject matter (in what is now 35 U.S.C. § 101) has remained fundamentally constant since 1790, the Supreme Court has reinterpreted and redefined statutory subject matter several times, leaving lower courts with the frustrating task of trying to develop a coherent jurisprudence against a changing landscape. This inconstancy has introduced uncertainty for inventors who are trying to make the fundamental decision of whether …
Patenting Games: Baker V. Selden Revisited, Shubha Ghosh
Patenting Games: Baker V. Selden Revisited, Shubha Ghosh
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
Patents are meant to protect the functional aspects of an invention. But patents, particularly patents on processes or methods, can cover non-functional, or expressive, activity. This Article explores this possibility in the context of patents covering games of various types. Patents on games can cover the actual play or use of a game with consequent implications for user-generated content produced by playing games. The Article documents this possibility in the area of fantasy sports and video games and proposes two solutions. The first solution relies on the Federal Circuit's recent decision in In "re Bilski," which restricts the patenting of …