Law Commons^™

Perfecting U.S. Patentable Subject Matter - Merging The European Approach And The American Principles, Ilija Ilijovski

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

This article illuminates the recent developments in the field of the subject matter eligibility of the inventions and offers a resolution to the crucial issues in the field. The solution for resolving of the crucial issues combines the current U.S. approach of affirmative defining of the scope of the subject matter of the patents and the approach of the European Patent Convention, of both affirmative and negative defining of the patentable subject matter. In particular, the article provides a draft legislation as a more sustainable and precise solution that emerged from the comparison between the experience of the participants in …

Discretionary Denials Of Ipr Institution, Jasper Tran, Matthew Chung, David Maiorana, Matthew Johnson

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Litigating Invalidity After Ipr Resolution, Libbie Dimarco, Nathan Speed

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

It is becoming increasingly apparent that inter partes review (“IPR”) petitioner estoppel after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) issues a final written decision can have broad consequences on a petitioner’s invalidity defenses in civil actions. This article will examine the practical impact of IPR estoppel and discuss strategic considerations for IPR parties involved in parallel district court or International Trade Commission (“ITC”) actions. This article will address four main questions : (1) when and how a petitioner can use paper prior art in a § 102 or 103 defense after an unsuccessful IPR; (2) how IPR estoppel may …

The Disappointments Of Networks, Henry Fraser Phd

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

The past 25 years have seen a ‘turn to culture’ in copyright scholarship. This cultural turn has produced an expansive account of copyright’s disadvantages with respect to qualitative cultural and political goals such as: promoting democracy, individual self-authorship, expressive diversity, and more inclusive power distribution in shaping culture and discourse. The prevailing view among proponents of the cultural turn is that copyright stands in the way of the democratisation of creative and discursive spheres online. This article challenges that view. I contend that online, ‘free’ content economies—characterised by peer production, decentralised selection, and peer to peer content sharing—have not lived …

Democracy, Federalism, And The Guarantee Clause, Carolyn Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

The Guarantee Clause of the Constitution promises that “[t]he United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government . . . .” The Supreme Court has long held this Clause to be nonjusticiable, and as a result, many see the Clause as purely vestigial. But nonjusticiable does not mean toothless, and this view fails to recognize the Clause’s grant of power to Congress. The Guarantee Clause provides Congress with the authority to ensure that each state’s internal governance meets a minimum standard of republicanism. The Framers included this promise because they feared that some …

Docket Control, Mandatory Jurisdiction, And The Supreme Court's Failure In Rucho V. Common Cause, Carolyn Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper, part of a Symposium on Andrew Coan's book, Rationing the Constitution: How Judicial Capacity Shapes Supreme Court Decision-Making, traces congressional changes to Supreme Court jurisdiction over more than a century, noting that those changes were regularly made in response to concerns about the Court's caseload. To the extent that Coan, and the Court, turn to doctrinal methods of controlling caseloads, such as deferential standards of review, they are overlooking the important congressional role in setting the Court's jurisdiction. The paper concludes by criticizing the recent decision of Rucho v. Common Cause in which the Court held that extreme …

The Complicated Relationship Of Patent Examination And Invalidation, Gregory Reilly

All Faculty Scholarship

The conventional view is that the Patent Office examines patent applications before issuance to assure compliance with the statutory criteria of patentability. Ex post invalidation in district court litigation or Patent Office cancellation proceedings then reviews the Patent Office’s work to correct errors that result from the Patent Office’s shortcomings, bias, or “rational ignorance” that limits resources spent on examination because of the irrelevance of most patents. Scholars, the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court have all endorsed this conventional view. However, it is wrong—or at least overly simplistic. The American patent system is only partially a system of ex …

To 13(B) Or Not To Be? How The Seventh Circuit’S Narrow Interpretation Of Remedies Under Section 13(B) Of The Ftc Act Leaves The Ftc Vulnerable, Jamie N. Noonan

Seventh Circuit Review

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has been the most efficient regulator of commerce for over a century. It serves as the primary line of defense against anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices. Between July 2017 and July 2018 alone the FTC obtained a total of 114 court orders totaling $563 million and led refund programs that delivered $2.3 billion in refunds to wronged customers. To continue obtaining such results and ensuring a fair marketplace, the FTC requires a broad range of enforcement powers. But key FTC enforcement powers under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act—the primary provision that the FTC …

Exposing The Unconstitutionality Of The Illinois Firearm Concealed Carry Act, Adam J. Share

Seventh Circuit Review

While the right to bear arms may be controversial, it is nonetheless provided by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. States are lawfully able to limit people’s right to bear arms to an extent but must not go so far where a State’s limits ultimately infringe upon that right. The Seventh Circuit in Culp v. Raoul pushed the limits to which a State may restrict a person’s Second Amendment right. In Culp, the court determined whether the Illinois Firearm Concealed Carry Act was constitutional. The Illinois Firearm Concealed Carry prohibits nonresidents from applying for an Illinois concealed …

Chasing Title Ix: Examining The Circular Effects Of Title Ix From An Unpopular Perspective, Mitchell W. Bild

Seventh Circuit Review

The rise in sexual misconduct awareness campaigns, particularly on college campuses, has brought a traditionally-taboo subject to the fore of national discourse. Accordingly, the federal government has required public institutions of higher education to respond aggressively to accusations of sexual misconduct by expanding the reach of Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination and relaxing adjudicative procedures. To enforce these changes, the U.S. Department of Education threatened to withdraw federal funding from institutions that failed to comply with its mandates after engaging in public investigations, therefore resulting in financial and reputational ruin. This aggressive practice has resulted in a systematic and …

Unreasonable: Judge Easterbrook, The Seventh Circuit, & The Deterioration Of Fourth Amendment Protection For Convicted Prisoners, Clayburn E. Arnold

Seventh Circuit Review

How limited are the constitutional rights of convicted prisoners? In a line of cases authored by Judge Easterbrook, the Seventh Circuit has allowed greater intrusion on Fourth Amendment privacy rights of prisoners than any other circuit. Today, even arbitrary and degrading visual body-cavity searches are deemed constitutional under this line of precedent. The deference to prison officials—who lack any meaningful oversite—is unwise, and leaves prisoners without a necessary protection against abuse. The Court should employ a workable standard that respects the rights of prisoners and protects them from abuse. Considering dignity within the realm of Fourth Amendment protections would meet …

When Insurance Companies Meet Their Match, The Seventh Circuit Resolves Ambiguous Replacement-Cost Policy Language, Sarah G. Anderson

Seventh Circuit Review

Disaster strikes and you, as a homeowner, are left with a partially damaged building. That is the first mess. The next mess? Arguing with your insurance company over your replacement-cost policy language. In cases of partial damage to property, replacement cost policies have often been ambiguous regarding what property the insurer will actually replace. If the siding on your house was damaged, you might wonder if the insurance company is replacing the siding on the whole house or just the siding on the side that was damaged? The insureds will argue that entire replacement should occur—for example, all the shingles …

Jurisdiction Means Jurisdiction Not Claims-Processing: The Seventh Circuit’S Flawed Approach To Pereira V. Sessions In Ortiz-Santiago V. Barr, Mayra Gomez

Seventh Circuit Review

“Jurisdiction is [not necessarily] a word of too many meanings.” Jurisdiction, in its most basic terms, refers to a court’s adjudicatory authority over a case or individual. However, courts’ holdings distinguishing between what is a jurisdictional rule and what is a claims-processing rule have left immigrants even more vulnerable to judges’ discretion. In Santiago-Ortiz v. Barr, the Seventh Circuit held that incomplete charging documents known as notices to appear do not present a jurisdictional question, but rather, a claims-processing one, violations of which can be forfeited if not raised in a timely manner. While some may refer to this distinction …

The Special Norms Thesis: Why Congress's Constitutional Decision-Making Should Be Disciplined By More Than The Usual Norms Of Politics, Mark Rosen

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

After Janus, Martin Malin, Catherine Fisk

All Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 upended public sector labor law by finding a novel First Amendment right of public employees to refuse to pay union fees and declaring unconstitutional scores of laws and thousands of labor contracts. This Article assesses the constraints on public sector labor law post-Janus, examines the variety of legislative responses, and proposes a path forward.Janus makes it difficult to address the collective action problem facing all large groups. Although it is in the interest of every member of a group to engage in collective action …

Vol. 36, No. 4, Helen J. Kim

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

Which ULP is It?: An Examination of Retaliation under Sections 10(a)(1) and 10(a)(2) of the Illinois Public Relations Act by Helen J. Kim

Recent Developments

“Dude, Where’S My Car?” A Look At How The Seventh Circuit Addresses Chicago’S Vehicle Immobilization Practices That Drive Its Residents Into Bankruptcy, Steven L. Yachik

Seventh Circuit Review

Bankruptcy is largely a collective process that furthers two goals—the equitable distribution of the debtor’s assets on account of his liabilities and either granting the debtor a fresh start, or the rehabilitation of the debtor by utilizing his income and property to reorganize his affairs. The most significant tool available to further these goals is the automatic stay, which is widely recognized to enjoin most collection efforts against the debtor and prevent the chaotic scramble for the debtor’s assets would otherwise occur between his creditors. However, the debate has intensified the automatic stay is just a “stay”, or whether it …

Piercing The Bubble: Why Bubble Zone Regulations Are Content Based Restrictions On Speech, Hubert J. Zanczak

Seventh Circuit Review

While the Due Process Clause provides a right to privacy, including the right to access to abortion, the First Amendment provides the right to speak publicly against abortion. The clash between those two constitutional rights is most evident outside of abortion clinics, where protestors frequently gather to protests, or “counsel,” those seeking abortions. To ensure that those who wish to speak against abortions are not effectively prohibiting other's right to access to abortions, many municipalities have enacted strict restrictions on the ability to congregate and protests outside of reproductive healthcare facilities. By design, and in their effect, the laws target …

The Anatomy Of Violent Crime: How Judicial Analysis For “Crimes Of Violence” Impacts Juveniles When Applied To The Federal Juvenile Delinquency And Transfer Statute, Anna Derkacz

Seventh Circuit Review

In 1984, the Comprehensive Crime Control Act revolutionized sentencing in the federal system by imposing mandatory minimum sentences for offenders who committed criminal offenses, increasing penalties for repeat offenses considered to be violent crimes. Since then, courts across the country have labored over defining what constitutes a “violent crime.” In the federal court system, juveniles can be transferred to adult proceedings under The Juvenile Transfer Statute. This statutes gives the government authority to transfer minors to adult court if he or she meets three conditions, one of which is whether the juvenile has a prior conviction of a “violent crime.” …

The Technology Enterprise: Systemic Bias Against Women, Lori Andrews

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Vol. 36, No. 3, Melissa D. Sobota, Erin K. Walsh

The Illinois Public Employee Relations Report

A New Day for Illinois: Expectations on the Impacts of the J. B. Pritzker Administration

The Confusion Of Trademark Territoriality, Joseph Michael Levy

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Death Of Moral Freedom: How The Trademark Dilution Act Has Allowed Federal Courts To Punish Subjectively-Defined Immoral Secondary Use Of Trademarks, David E. Missirian

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Patent Showdown At The N.D. C[Orr]Al, Peter S. Menell

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Parity Analysis: Topological Considerations For Patent Valuation And Portfolio Management, James Skelley

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Judge-Made Solutions To Patent Litigation, Sapna Kumar

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Tc Heartland, A Legally Wrong Painkiller For The Forum Shopping Problem, Xincheng Ma

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Disclosure In European Prodrug Patent Claims, Mari Minn Phd, Llm

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Editors

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Focusing Patent Litigation, Bernard Chao

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.