Law Commons^™

The Technological Edge, Elizabeth I. Winston

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

Protecting the bargain inherent in the patent system is central to the determination of patentable subject matter. If an applicant invents something novel, non-obvious, and useful and provides a written description that enables others to practice the invention, then the applicant is rewarded with the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or offering to sell for a limited time the invention. The Patent Act provides an incentive to invest in innovation leading to new inventions and "reflects a balance between the need to encourage innovation and the avoidance of monopolies which stifle competition without any concomitant advance in …