Law Commons^™

Toward A Patent Exhaustion Regime For Sustainable Development, 32 Berkeley J. Int'l Law. 330 (2014), Benjamin Liu

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the current exhaustion doctrine, when applied to the refurbishing industry, fails to balance its mandate of promoting technological progress with the broader program of sustainable development and is therefore unsuitable for countries on the modernization path. First, what constitutes an infringing “making” remains underdetermined. Second, the evidentiary hurdle for proving legal refurbishment is too onerous for the low margin and under-resourced refurbishing industry. Finally, the all-or-nothing approach to judging infringement fails to account for the nuanced cost-benefit nexus that exists between patentees, refurbishers, and society at large and discourages private ordering. To recalibrate the balance between …

Remade In China: What Does Recycling Tell Us About The Chinese Patent System?, 82 Umkc L. Rev. 887 (2014), Benjamin Liu

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

What can we expect of China's patent law during the tenure of President Xi Jinping? This article proffers a partial answer to this broad question through the close reading of patent allegations against Chinese refurbishers and recyclers. Although the doctrinal issues presented are specific, these disputes occupy a policy space where competing goals of development tear a slit in the glossy exterior of the “Chinese Dream” meme that comes to represent Xi's administration, a slit through which we may gain some insight into the direction of IP development in China.

In the process of domesticating a legal regime originated from …

Navigating Cybersquatting Enforcement In The Expanding Internet, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 321 (2014), Jordan A. Arnot

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

It has always been a considerable task to police something as vast at the Internet for trademark violations and abuse. As the Internet develops with the ongoing launch of hundreds of new generic Top-Level Domains, so does the host of enforcement options available to those seeking to protect the value of trademarks and other intellectual property. This article outlines seven criteria to consider when selecting a remedy, or combination of remedies. The traditional cease and desist letter is still a viable and effective option, and so, of course, is litigation. These tools were greatly enhanced in 1999 when the Internet …

Functional Elements In Patent Claims, As Construed By The Patent Trial And Appeal Board (Ptab), 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 251 (2014), Tom Brody

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Claims in patents include both structural elements and functional elements. Functional elements occur in various categories: (1) Functional elements that mandate a particular range of structures that are able to perform the required function; (2) Functional elements that mandate a particular cooperation between structures; (3) Compound noun/function functional elements, (4) Active-type functional elements; (5) “Capable of”-type functional elements, (6) Single-word structural elements that are typical nouns, but that are also functional elements, e.g., “plasticizer,” and (7) Quasi-functional elements that lack any patentable weight. This article discloses which of these types of functional elements confers the broadest claim scope, and which …

Hatch-Waxman’S Safe-Harbor Provision For Pharmaceutical Development: A Free Ride For Patent Infringers?, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 445 (2014), Kate Y. Jung

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The Safe-Harbor provision of the Hatch-Waxman Act allows generic drug manufacturers to use a patented invention during pre-market testing of generic drugs. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s recent interpretation of the Safe-Harbor provision in Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. created controversy when it extended the Safe-Harbor exemption to post-FDA approval. This extension was done in an unprecedented manner and would “allow almost all activity by pharmaceutical companies to constitute ‘submission’ and therefore justify a free license to trespass.” The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to settle this matter, and courts are now faced …

An Evolving Ncaa Leading To An Expanding Client List, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 463 (2014), Frank Battaglia

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

On the heels of the popular March Madness National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) Basketball tournament, and following Northwestern University student-athletes’ success in unionizing, the extent of student-athlete publicity rights is now more contentious than ever. The divide between an ever-profiting NCAA and exploited NCAA student-athletes has sparked an evolving class-action lawsuit by former student-athletes, who challenge the licensing of their images and likenesses. This lawsuit has become a landmark test of the NCAA’s governance and notions about amateurism in college athletics. The outcome of this case will be a possible sign that compensation for both current and former student-athletes may …

Review And Reflection: Copyright Hearings And Related Discourse In The Nation’S Capital, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 487 (2014), Maria A. Pallante

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

On February 28, 2014, the Register of Copyrights of the United States and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office Maria A. Pallante delivered a keynote speech on the copyright hearings and related discourse in the nation’s capital. The speech was given at The John Marshall Law School’s 58th Annual Intellectual Property Conference. This article is based on her speech at the Conference.

What Reversals And Close Cases Reveal About Claim Construction: The Sequel, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 525 (2014), Thomas Krause, Heather Auyang

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

This article updates and elaborates on last year’s What Close Cases and Reversals Reveal About Claim Construction at the Federal Circuit. Like the previous article, this article provides empirical insight into claim construction at the Federal Circuit, by approaching the question with two unique and distinct subsets of data: (1) “reversals” of all district court claim construction decisions since Phillips v. AWH, and (2) “close cases,” or post-Markman claim construction cases that had dissents in which a currently-active judge participated. The past year’s reversals data once again confirms that district courts persistently favor narrow claim interpretations in cases in which …

Rediscovering Cumulative Creativity From The Oral Formulaic Tradition To Digital Remix: Can I Get A Witness?, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 341 (2014), Giancarlo F. Frosio

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

For most of human history, the essential nature of creativity was understood to be cumulative and collective. This notion has been largely forgotten by modern policies that regulate creativity and speech. As hard as it may be to believe, the most valuable components of our immortal culture were created under a fully open regime with regard to access to pre-existing expressions and re-use. From the Platonic mimesis to Shakespeare’s “borrowed feathers,” the largest part of our culture has been produced under a paradigm in which imitation—even plagiarism—and social authorship formed constitutive elements of the creative moment. Pre-modern creativity spread from …

The Impact Of The America Invents Act On Trade Secrets, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 497 (2014), Edward Manzo

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) is the largest revision to the patent statute in over sixty years. One might ask whether the AIA changed the balance between trade secret law and patent law and what the new relationship will be between these different approaches to protecting technology. This article answers four particular questions that arise in addressing this topic. First, what, if anything, the AIA says specifically about trade secrets; second, whether someone who commercially uses a trade secret for over one year can patent it under the AIA; third, whether a new inventor may patent an invention that …

Aerevolution: Why We Should, Briefly, Embrace Unlicensed Online Streaming Of Retransmitted Broadcast Television Content, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 577 (2014), Bradley Ryba

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The United States has long recognized broadcast television programming’s importance to the public’s information and entertainment needs. Accordingly, Congress has historically offered strong copyright protections for broadcast television networks. Those strong protections allowed broadcast networks to withstand business threats from innovations like cable television and VCRs. However, Congress’ recent silence on DVRs and cloud computing technology has allowed an entrepreneur to create the networks’ next biggest threat, Aereo. The creators of Aereo and similar businesses designed their services specifically around ambiguities within copyright law that could allow them to transmit networks’ content without paying the otherwise necessary consent fees. These …

Will Nanotechnology Products Be Impacted By The Federal Courts’ “Product Of Nature’ Exception To Subject-Matter Eligibility Under 35 U.S.C. 101?, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 397 (2014), Laura W. Smalley

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

In 2013, the Supreme Court in Myriad held that DNA is a “product of nature” that is not patentable merely because it is isolated from the human body. The year before, the Supreme Court in Prometheus held that diagnostic tests that incorporate little more than a “law of nature” is not patent eligible. These two decisions altered the landscape of patent eligible subject matter under Section 101 of the patent statute. They not only impact the patent eligibility of isolated DNA or diagnostic tests, but they may also have far wider-ranging impact on other technological fields, including biotechnology and nanotechnology. …

They’Re Playing Our Song! The Promise And The Perils Of Music Copyright Litigation, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 555 (2014), William R. Coulson

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Music copyright cases are unique, costly, difficult, and complex. It was no different in the case where Ray Repp, a music composer for a Catholic publishing house, filed suit against Andrew Lloyd Webber, the famed British composer most famous for such Broadway hits as Cats and Phantom of the Opera. Repp alleged that Webber’s “Phantom Song,” the theme music for the Phantom of the Opera musical, infringed Repp’s song “Till You,” which he wrote and copyrighted almost a decade earlier. Webber in turn claimed that Repp’s “Till You” was in fact a copy of an even earlier Webber song, “Close …

Cls Bank V. Alice Corp.: What Does It Mean For Software Patent Eligibility?, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 601 (2014), Charles F. Green

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

For more than forty years, patent attorneys, software engineers, examiners, and judges have debated the patent eligibility of software. For most of the 1980s and 90s, the USPTO has viewed software as generally patent-eligible subject matter. Starting with the State Street v. Signature Financial case in 1998, courts have examined subject matter patent eligibility with greater scrutiny. This comment reviews six recent software patent eligibility cases, of which the court upheld software’s eligibility twice and rejected its eligibility four other times. In particular, the CLS Bank v. Alice Corp. case serves as a basis for examining several approaches to the …

Streaming Into The Future: Why Legislation And Technology Have Opened Pandora’S Box For The Recording Industry And The Webcasting Services, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 649 (2014), Rachael Stack

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Today, music is everywhere, but this was not always the case. Listeners are surrounded by endless access to libraries and playlists from the advancement in technology. With the rapid technological advancements, Copyright law has been left behind at a stand still. Since the enactment of the Copyright Act, sound recordings have received less favorable treatment compared to their music counterpart. Sound recording copyrights are afforded digital performance royalties when broadcasted on popular Internet streaming services, like Pandora. In the last few years, music streaming has become more popular among listeners and thus, more sound recording royalties have been distributed; but, …

A Solution-Based Approach To Rejecting Trademark Licenses In Bankruptcy, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 621 (2014), Chandra J. Critchelow

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The Seventh Circuit created a circuit split in bankruptcy law regarding the rejection of trademark licenses in its 2011 decision in Sunbeam Prods., Inc. v. Chi. Am. Mfg. LLC. All other courts have held that when a trademark license is rejected under 11 U.S.C. § 365 in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, the licensee may no longer use the licensed trademark. All other forms of intellectual property are subject to § 365(n), which prevents automatic termination of the licensee’s rights. In Sunbeam, the court held that the rejection of a trademark license under § 365 does not automatically terminate the …

Implementing And Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights In West Africa, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 782 (2014), Ganiyou Gassikia

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The World Trade Organization (WTO) created the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement to monitor and enforce intellectual property rights around the world, to uneven success. There are problems with enforcement in many developing countries, specifically countries in West Africa. By some estimates, for example, the majority of drugs used in those countries are counterfeit, which can lead to serious injury or even death for those using the counterfeit drugs. Stronger IP enforcement not only encourages innovation but can serve to reduce the risk of death of those in developing countries. There are major challenges facing implementation of IP rights …

Pinwheel Of Fortune, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 761 (2014), James Ming Chen

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

This paper examines public health law in the context of prospect theory, the leading behavioral account of risk aversion and risk-seeking. The paper first demonstrates how international environmental law can be mapped along prospect theory’s risk-seeking axis. It then completes this picture of prospect theory by examining National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, which upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). Although Sebelius upheld the PPACA as an exercise of the federal government’s taxing authority, it reasoned that a directive aimed at uninsured individuals to buy health insurance lay beyond the power of Congress …

Adopting Pharmacogenomics And Parenting Repurposed Molecules Under The Orphan Drug Act: A Cost Dilemma?, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 667 (2014), David C. Babaian

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The business model under which the pharmaceutical industry has operated in the recent past has become untenable. The era that has seen a consistent pipeline of blockbuster medicines for common chronic diseases is waning. New paradigms for more efficient and more economical drug development are being sought and implemented. Recent growth both in the repurposing of existing drugs and in the orphan product market has signaled the new hope for success and profit. New technology and the promise of personalized medicine augment the sense of optimism in this time of complementary transition in the wider healthcare industry. Yet, are the …

Gender Diversity In The Patent Bar, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 67 (2014), Saurabh Vishnubhakat

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

This article describes the state of gender diversity across technology and geography within the U.S. patent bar. The findings rely on a new gender-matched dataset, the first public dataset of its kind, not only of all attorneys and agents registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but also of attorneys and agents on patents granted by the USPTO. To enable follow-on research, the article describes all data and methodology and offers suggestions for refinement. This study is timely in view of renewed interest about the participation of women in the U.S. innovation ecosystem, notably the provision …

Protecting Traditional Knowledge In International Intellectual Property Law: Imperatives For Protection And Choice Of Modalities, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 25 (2014), Tesh Dagne

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The need for protecting traditional knowledge (TK) has been acknowledged in discussion and negotiations under the umbrella of a number of inter-governmental organizations that deal with biodiversity, the environment, indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, food and agriculture, among others. It has, however, proved difficult to arrive at a consensus on the proper modality that can serve the needs and desires of Indigenous and Local Communities (ILCs) in their economic and cultural participation. The article examines the imperatives for the protection of TK and explores the modalities of TK protection at the international level for regulating the control of, access to …

A Scientific Approach To Intellectual Property And Health: Innovation, Access, And A Forgotten Corner Of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 794 (2014), Adam Houston

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

For years, there has been vigorous debate over the relationship between intellectual property and health, especially in the context of pharmaceutical patents. Despite numerous attempts to strike a balance between innovation and access, however, few have looked to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for guidance. Article 27, and its further elaboration and codification under Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, explicitly address this balance by pairing the right of everyone “to share in scientific advancement and its benefits” with a similarly universal right of authors to “material interests resulting” from …

Does Reckless Indifference Suffice For A Cancellation Proceeding Predicated On Fraud?, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 50 (2014), Tal Benschar, Milton Springut

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The Lanham Act provides for cancellation of a trademark “registration [that] was obtained fraudulently.” 15 U.S.C. § 1064(3) (2012). The Federal Circuit has held that such requires a showing of a subjective intent to deceive the Trademark Office. In re Bose Corp., 580 F.3d 1240, 1243, 91 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1938 (Fed. Cir. 2009). However, the Bose court left open whether reckless disregard for the truth suffices to make out a case of fraud. This article answers that question in the affirmative. We show that at common law, reckless disregard for the truth has long been recognized as sufficient to make …

3(D) View Of India’S Patent Law: Social Justice Aspiration Meets Property Rights In Novartis V. Union Of India & Others, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 719 (2014), Saby Ghoshray

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Not many constitutional decisions from developing countries find themselves at the center of global debate like the Indian Supreme Court’s Novartis decision invalidating the Gleevec patent. The patent was invalidated under amended Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act, which was amended to address some of the concerns of imbalance between the maximalist and minimalist cultures in the pharmaceutical context. Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act introduced a new threshold of patent eligibility for pharmaceutical innovation that requires applicants to demonstrate enhanced efficacy of their products. The objective of this Article is to get beyond the reactionary reviews of …

Food Art: Protecting "Food Presentation" Under U.S. Intellectual Property Law, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 1 (2014), Cathay Smith

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

In 2006, a scandal broke in the culinary world. It was alleged that Robin Wickens, chef at (now closed) Interlude restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, had copied dishes by renowned American chefs Wylie Dufresne, Jose Andres, and Grant Achatz. It is not uncommon for chefs to borrow recipes from other chefs, and there has been a long culture of sharing in the cuisine industry. However, what made Wickens’ actions scandalous was that he had purportedly copied the artistic presentation and plating of other chefs’ dishes, not just their recipes.

This Article examines whether chefs can protect the artistic presentation or plating …

The Consistently Inconsistent "Instance And Expense" Test: An Injustice To Comic Books, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 91 (2014), Thomas Deahl Ii

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Joe Simon once said that “we always felt, we wuz robbed.” He is not alone. This article will discuss Jack Kirby’s estate’s case against Marvel and how the current state of the law robs creators of the rights to their own works. The evaluation of case law will show that the application of the ‘instance and expense’ test creates an injustice of inconsistent results in litigation, where creators attempt to regain control of their works. If the court continues to inconsistently apply the law to these work-for-hire cases, then the Supreme Court or Congress needs to address the intended purpose …

Standard Essential Patents, Trolls, And The Smartphone Wars: Triangulating The End Game, 119 Penn St. L. Rev. 1 (2014), Daryl Lim

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

Few legal issues in recent years have captured the public's attention more powerfully than litigation over standard essential patents (“SEPs”). This Article explains how SEP litigation overlaps with two other major centers of patent litigation--litigation involving smartphones and patent assertion entities (“PAEs”). It observes that attempting to pre-empt patent hold-ups by imposing blanket ex ante disclosure obligations and royalty caps on standard setting organizations (“SSOs”) is misdirected and counterproductive. Instead, the solution lies in clear and balanced rules to determine “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” (FRAND) royalties and injunctive relief. This solution will help parties make more realistic assessments of their …

Shutting Down The Ex Parte Party: How To Keep Bittorrent Copyright Trolls From Abusing The Federal Court’S Discovery System, 31 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 105 (2014), Jennifer L. Hunter

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Right To Be Forgotten: Forced Amnesia In A Technological Age, 31 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 133 (2014), Robert Bolton

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

In the modern era, the connection between technology and one’s personal life has increased the number of moments recorded for posterity. While in many circumstances this is an ideal opportunity for fond recollection, it has the downside of displaying for others our less flattering moments. Because the Internet has such a wide scope, once something has entered its domain, it is virtually impossible to permanently remove. With a public increasingly perceiving this winnowing of privacy as a negative tendency, legislators both at home and abroad have made proposals that attempt to place restrictions on what content social media is allowed …

Rethinking Resistance: Reflections On The Cultural Lives Of Property, Collective Identity, And Intellectual Property, 47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1349 (2014), Caroline Joan Picart

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.