Law Commons^™

Patents--Prior Publication-Application Of Section 102(B) To Plant Patents, Ira J. Jaffe S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Appellant applied for a plant patent on two roses which he had developed. The Patent Office Board of Appeals affirmed the final rejection of the application on the basis of section 102(b) of the patent statute. Pictures and classifications of the varieties of roses sought to be patented had appeared in printed publications more than one year before appellant's application. On appeal, held, reversed. In order to bar issuance of a plant patent, a description in a printed publication must convey such knowledge as to place the invention within the public domain. In re LeGrice, 301 F.2d 929 …

Space Communications And The Law: Adequate International Control After 1963?, Samuel D. Estep, Amalya L. Kearse

Michigan Law Review

During the current year, a space event of legal and technological significance will occur. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (A.T. & T.), using the launching facilities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will launch its first satellite for research in the area of commercial communications.† The A.T. & T. sphere will be the first tested by a private, commercial organization specifically for business purposes- to implement a plan eventually to provide increased and improved telecommunications on a grand scale at a lower cost. The satellite will relay television signals from the United States to England, Germany, and …

The Law-Making Treaties Of The International Telecommunication Union Through Time And In Space, J. Henry Glazer

Michigan Law Review

On the twenty-fifth of June, the Government of the United States of America received an invitation to attend in Russia a conference of plenipotentiaries to consider the revision of an important multilateral convention. Since the conference involved matters which, by American municipal practice, were solely within the competence of private enterprise and not subject to the control of government, the United States at first refused to attend. Russia, however, assured the United States that representatives of private enterprises would be welcome. Relations between these two countries were on such a friendly basis that the United States accepted the invitation extended …

State Control Of Radiation Hazards: An Intergovernmental Relations Problem, Samuel D. Estep, Martin Adelman

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this article is to set forth the nature of the intergovernmental problem. This involves an analysis of the extent and limitations of federal power, a determination of congressional intent on the issue of federal pre-emption, and an appraisal of the steps now being taken by the Atomic Energy Commission to turn over part of the radiation safety regulatory program to the states.

Stason, Estep And Pierce: Atoms And The Law, Harry Kalven, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Atoms and the Law. By E. Blythe Stason, Samuel D. Estep and William J. Pierce. [Parts I and II* Pp. 1-846]

Atomic Energy Law-Atomic Energy Act Of 1954- Substantial Legal Restrictions On The Private Development Of Nuclear Reactors, Martin Adelman

Michigan Law Review

In 1956 the Power Reactor Development Company received a construction permit from the Atomic Energy Commission to build a fast breeder nuclear reactor at Lagoona Beach, thirty miles southwest of Detroit, Michigan. Intervening pursuant to section 189 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, several unions claimed that the health, safety, and property of their members would be jeopardized by the operation of the reactor. Formal hearings were held before the AEC and a final decision affirming the issuance of a construction permit to PRDC was made by the Commission in 1959. On appeal to the Court of Appeals for …

Radiation Injuries And Statistics: The Need For A New Approach To Injury Litigation, Samuel D. Estep

Michigan Law Review

The emphasis given by the mass media of communication to some of the dramatic problems arising from the use of nuclear energy unfortunately has diverted attention from some of the matters about which something can be done by lawyers, administrators, and legislators without the necessity of complicated international negotiations between various parties to the "Cold War." The headlines leave the uninformed, and perhaps often also the informed, public with the impression that even for radiation injuries the important problems all deal with such questions as: (1) Will only a few or many millions of people survive an all-out nuclear war? …

International Control Of The Safety Of Nuclear-Powered Merchant Ships, William H. Berman, Lee M. Hydeman

Michigan Law Review

In recent years we have witnessed the transition of nuclear-powered ships from an imaginative dream to an engineering reality. This vast step from the drawing board to successful operation on the high-seas has taken place in a remarkably short span of time. Nevertheless, in the :flush of enthusiasm over the technological achievement, we must not lose sight of the fact that the promise of nuclear power for the propulsion of ships will not have been fulfilled until nuclear vessels are operating safely and economically over the maritime trade routes of the world. It would be unrealistic to assume that further …

Stason, Estep & Pierce: Atoms And The Law, David F. Cavers

Michigan Law Review

A Review of ATOMS AND THE LAW. By E. Blythe Stason, Samuel D. Estep, and William J. Pierce.

Scientific Investigation And Defendants' Rights, B. J. George Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Advances in science, medicine and industry have made much of the world a more pleasant place in which to live. In general more men are living a physically more satisfying life in more comfortable surroundings than preceding generations. But with this has come a parallel increase in criminality to the point that the term "crime wave" is heard with increasing frequency. Many crimes are facilitated in their commission by adaption or application of new scientific discoveries by criminal elements. A natural consequence is that already overburdened police departments turn as quickly as is financially possible to new scientific techniques in …

Atomic Energy - Indemnity Legislation - Anderson Amendments To The Atomic Energy Act Of 1954, Dudley H. Chapman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Anderson Amendments were enacted to encourage private industry to enter the atomic energy field by removing the risk of excessive liability for a major nuclear reactor disaster. Such a disaster could result in liability far in excess of available insurance coverage. The solution provided by the new legislation has three aspects: (1) After private financial protection, geared to the amount of available insurance, is obtained by a person licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission, (2) the Commission will execute an agreement to indemnify (not insure) the licensee and "any other person who may be liable for public liability" to …

Atomic Energy - Patents - Patent Aspects Of Domestic Law, Euratom, And The International Atomic Energy Agency, Peter H. Hay

Michigan Law Review

With the growing importance of atomic energy, conventional legal concepts must be adapted and remodeled to fit new situations. In the area of patent law, the traditional notion that the inventor's reward should be a legal monopoly in the invention, in the form of a patent, has to be reconciled with the need for wide dissemination of technical information. The need for secrecy, for government control over weapons, and for cooperation with other countries affects the atomic patent system. These factors are reflected in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and in the agreements establishing two international organizations concerned with …

Atomic Energy - Uranium Procurement - Legal Aspects Of The Aec Domestic Ore Purchase Program, Michael Scott S.Ed., Edward M. Heppenstall

Michigan Law Review

The federal government's domestic uranium ore procurement program, initially announced following World War II to ensure maximum exploration and development for military purposes, has met with extraordinary success. So improved is this country's military uranium picture that the Atomic Energy Commission was recently able to announce that uranium concentrate purchases would not be further increased. This announcement is viewed as a matter .of serious concern by the domestic ore producer, who must continue to look to the federal government as his sole market; a noticeable private market for peaceful uses of atomic energy fuels may not be realized for more …

Beutel: Some Potentialities Of Experimental Jurisprudence As A New Branch Of Social Science, Samuel I. Shuman

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Some Potentialities of Experimental Jurisprudence as a New Branch of Social Science. By Fredrick K. Beutel.

Federal Employee Invention Rights - Time To Legislate, Marcus B. Finnegan, Richard W. Pogue

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this article to review judicial standards applicable to the determination of rights in inventions made by employees of the federal government, to note statutory provisions affecting the problem, to examine the content and effect of the present Executive program for determining such rights, to review and evaluate two fundamental and conflicting theories in this field, and to propose legislation establishing appropriate standards and procedures. This topic is believed to have general interest because, in addition to the urgencies suggested above, the problem touches some of the basic legal philosophy underlying the United States patent system.

Atoms For Peace: The New International Atomic Energy Agency, Bernhard G. Bechhoefer, Eric Stein

Michigan Law Review

On October 26, 1956 seventy states signed an international agreement described as the Statute of an International Atomic Energy Agency. This signing followed a conference of over a month in which eighty-two states participated. All of the participating states supported the text which resulted from this conference-a truly remarkable result considering that the subject of the conference was atomic energy with its far-reaching international security implications.

Constitutional Law - Freedom Of Religion - Fluoridation Of City Water, John M. Webb S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In its proprietary capacity the City of Bend maintains and operates a water system with the exclusive right to supply water to its inhabitants. In February 1952 the mayor and city commissioners adopted an ordinance providing for the introduction of fluorine into the water supply to reduce dental caries in the teeth of young children. The plaintiff as a resident and taxpayer brought suit to enjoin such action. A demurrer to his complaint was sustained. On appeal, held, affirmed. A city, in the exercise of its police power, may enact reasonable regulations for the protection of the public health, …

Social Scientists Take The Stand: A Review And Appraisal Of Their Testimony In Litigation, Jack Greenberg

Michigan Law Review

"How to inform the judicial mind, as you know, is one of the most complicated problems,'' said Justice Frankfurter during argument of the school segregation cases. And as law deals more and more with issues of great public consequence the judiciary's need for knowledge increases. Much of this knowledge is within the realm of what are called the social sciences.

Although jurisprudents and social scientists have long complained of a gulf between law and social science, little notice has been given to the recent, recurrent collaboration between the two at the trial level. In a variety of cases social scientists' …

Vaughan: The United States Patent System. Legal And Economic Conflicts In American Patent History, Bernard F. Garvey

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The United States Patent System. Legal and Economic Conflicts in American Patent History. By Floyd L. Vaughan.

Patent Office Performance In Perspective, George E. Frost

Michigan Law Review

" the only patent that is valid is one which this Court has not been able to get its hands on."

Justice Jackson's note of despair reflects all too accurately the treatment patents have seemingly received in the hands of the courts since the "new trend" of recent years. It has become the legal fashion to characterize letters patent as something the Patent Office issues and the courts strike down. Statistical support for this conclusion can be readily assembled.

Evidence - Validity Of Statutory Presumption Of Intoxication From A Finding Of 0.15 Percent Concentration Of Alcohol In The Blood, Donald F. Oosterhouse S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was tried and convicted of the statutory crime of driving an automobile while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The state introduced into evidence the result of a blood test, voluntarily submitted to by the defendant, which showed 0,20% concentration of alcohol in the defendant's blood. Arizona statutes established a rebuttable presumption of no intoxication if such tests showed a concentration of 0.05%, or less, of alcohol in one's blood, and of intoxication if the tests showed a concentration of 0.15%, or more. Breath, urine, and direct blood tests are authorized by the statute. Defendant argued that the statute …

Alsop: We Accuse!, George S. Flint S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of We Accuse! By Joseph and Stewart Alsop

Federal Control Of Health And Safety Standards In Peacetime Private Atomic Energy Activities, Samuel D. Estep

Michigan Law Review

This article is directed to the question of the power of Congress to provide for such regulation of those who handle radioactive materials in private industry and not to the policy question of whether Congress ought to attempt such regulation.

Book Reviews, Edward S. Rogers, John Barker Waite

Michigan Law Review

Patent Law. by John Barker Waite, Professor of Law in the University of Michigan Law School. Princeton University Press, x92o.

Restrictions On The Use Of Patented Articles, Edward S. Rogers

Michigan Law Review

The case of Henry v. Dick recently decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, has occasioned considerable unfavorable comment in the public press. It seems to be the opinion of many that the decision lays down a new principle of law, particularly adaptable to the working of a monopoly, and that the public is, under the supposed new principle, exposed to a practically unlimited exploitation by any patentee. It is believed that neither of these contentions is correct.