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Patent Law Challenges For The Internet Of Things, W. Keith Robinson
Patent Law Challenges For The Internet Of Things, W. Keith Robinson
Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters
In the near future, emerging technologies will allow billions of everyday devices to be connected via the Internet. This increasingly popular phenomenon is referred to as the Internet of Things (“IoT”). The IoT is broadly defined as technology that allows everyday devices to (1) become “smart” and (2) communicate with other smart devices. Estimates indicate that the market for smart devices, such as wearables, will grow to $70 billion dollars in the next ten years. Like many other emerging technologies, the entrepreneurs and companies developing these applications will seek patent protection for their inventions. In turn, the current U.S. patent …
No 'Direction' Home: An Alternative Approach To Joint Infringement, W. Keith Robinson
No 'Direction' Home: An Alternative Approach To Joint Infringement, W. Keith Robinson
Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters
U.S. start-ups continue to create new technologies that provide a high degree of connectivity between consumer devices such as mobile phones. In order to protect their innovations, many companies acquire patents that contain method claims covering interactive technology. To successfully enforce a patent when more than one party performs all of the steps of a claimed method, the Federal Circuit has held under its joint infringement doctrine that the patentee must show that one of the alleged infringers “directed or controlled” the actions of the other party. Perceptive parties that form a relationship that does not rise to the level …
Ramifications Of Joint Infringement Theory On Emerging Technology Patents, W. Keith Robinson
Ramifications Of Joint Infringement Theory On Emerging Technology Patents, W. Keith Robinson
Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters
Two cases decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit articulate the standards for joint infringement. In BMC Resources, Inc. v. Paymentech, L.P., the court ruled that to find liability in situations where steps of a method claim are performed by multiple parties, the entire method must be performed at the control or direction of the alleged direct infringer — the mastermind. Approximately one year later, in Muniauction, Inc. v. Thomson Corp., the Federal Circuit clarified that “the control or direction standard is satisfied in situations where the law would traditionally hold the accused direct infringer vicariously …