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Rethinking Patent Fraud Enforcement In A Reform Era, Kali Murray, Dmitriy Vinarov
Rethinking Patent Fraud Enforcement In A Reform Era, Kali Murray, Dmitriy Vinarov
Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review
This Article contends that, while the defense of inequitable conduct offers an avenue to combat fraudulent patent applications, the doctrine suffers from shortcomings that spring from two compromises. First, the amorphous nature of the equitable defense prompts institutional conflict between the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Federal Circuit. Second, by relegating enforcement solely to a patentee's market competitors, the defense fails to protect the public interest adequately. In light of these compromises, the authors propose two goals to guide current reform efforts in Congress. Initially, Congress's attempt to reform patent fraud enforcement should relieve the aforementioned institutional …
Fixing Continuing Application Practice At The Uspto, Kevin Rizzuto
Fixing Continuing Application Practice At The Uspto, Kevin Rizzuto
Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review
Controversy surrounds continuing application practice at the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Legal scholars highlight problems with continuing application practice and ways that applicants abuse the system. Patent practitioners admit that continuing application abuses exist, yet believe that establishing limits on continuing application practice would lead to an increase in appeals to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The USPTO attributes much of its continually growing backlog to the volume of continuing applications and requests for continued examinations, and published Proposed Rules to limit continuing applications. Legal scholars and the USPTO propose solutions that are too restrictive on …