Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Patent law (14)
- Patent system (12)
- Law reform (9)
- Patent reform (7)
- Federal Circuit (6)
-
- Drugs (5)
- Innovation (5)
- Pharmaceuticals (5)
- Technology (5)
- United States Supreme Court (5)
- Fair use (4)
- Patent and Trademark Office (4)
- Patent trolls (4)
- Copyright law (3)
- EBay v. MercExchange (3)
- Federal agencies (3)
- Food and Drug Administration (3)
- Industries (3)
- Infringement (3)
- KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. (3)
- Markets (3)
- Patentability (3)
- Patents (3)
- Public policy (3)
- Research and development (3)
- Competition (2)
- Copyright Act (2)
- Diversity (2)
- Drug approvals (2)
- Exclusivity (2)
Articles 1 - 25 of 25
Full-Text Articles in Law
Trolling For Trolls: The Pitfalls Of The Emerging Market Competition Requirement For Permanent Injunctions In Patent Cases Post-Ebay, Benjamin H. Diessel
Trolling For Trolls: The Pitfalls Of The Emerging Market Competition Requirement For Permanent Injunctions In Patent Cases Post-Ebay, Benjamin H. Diessel
Michigan Law Review
In eBay v. MercExchange, a unanimous Supreme Court announced that a new four-factor test should be employed by district courts in determining whether to award an injunction or damages to an aggrieved party whose intellectual property has been infringed. In the context of permanent injunctions in patent cases, district courts have distorted the four-factor test resulting in a "market competition requirement." Under the new market competition requirement, success at obtaining an injunction is contingent upon a party demonstrating that it is a market competitor After consistent application in the first twenty-five district court cases post-eBay, the market competition requirement …
Exclusion Confusion? A Defense Of The Federal Circuit's Specific Exclusion Jurisprudence, Peter Curtis Magic
Exclusion Confusion? A Defense Of The Federal Circuit's Specific Exclusion Jurisprudence, Peter Curtis Magic
Michigan Law Review
Specific exclusion has become a controversial limitation on the doctrine of equivalents, which is itself an essential and controversial area of patent law. The doctrine of equivalents allows a patentee to successfully claim infringement against devices that are outside of the literal reach of the language used by the patentee in her patent to describe what she claims as her invention. The Supreme Court has prescribed some of the outer limits of the doctrine of equivalents and articulated the underlying policy concerns that inform its analysis-noting that courts should balance protection of the patentee's intellectual property with the public's reasonable …
Protecting Fair Use With Fogerty: Toward A New Dual Standard, John A. Fonstad
Protecting Fair Use With Fogerty: Toward A New Dual Standard, John A. Fonstad
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Copyright law exists to promote the progress of art and science. It achieves this by balancing limited grants of rights to authors against public access to works. However, copyright holders have upset this balance and tilted the law in their favor One cause of this phenomenon is that the benefit of public access to works is diffused throughout the entire public while the benefit of rights in works is concentrated in the copyright holder. This problem is especially prevalent in the context of litigation where copyright holders (plaintiffs) often stand to gain more through victory than copyright users (defendants). As …
Should Patent Infringement Require Proof Of Copying?, Mark A. Lemley
Should Patent Infringement Require Proof Of Copying?, Mark A. Lemley
Michigan Law Review
Patent infringement is a strict liability offense. Patent law gives patent owners not just the right to prevent others from copying their ideas, but the power to control the use of their idea--even by those who independently develop a technology with no knowledge of the patent or the patentee. This is a power that exists nowhere else in intellectual property (IP) or real property law, but it is a one that patentees have had, with rare exceptions, since the inception of the Republic. In an important paper in the Michigan Law Review, Samson Vermont seeks to change this, arguing …
"By Night She Fought For Fair Use": Restoring The Integrity Of Copyright Law, One Comic-Book Reader At A Time, Jessica Sawyer Wang
"By Night She Fought For Fair Use": Restoring The Integrity Of Copyright Law, One Comic-Book Reader At A Time, Jessica Sawyer Wang
Michigan Law Review
Students of copyright law quickly learn that the subject is counterintuitive. One of the first revelations of this is-somewhat alarmingly-the purpose of copyright itself. Contrary to popular belief, copyright is not just about protecting an artist's creation, but sharing it. Simultaneously protecting a work and sharing it helps to fulfill the Constitution's mandate that Congress "promote the Progress of Science ... by securing for limited Times to Authors ... the exclusive Right to their ... Writings." In other words, Congress is to promote learning and the advancement of our culture. The symbiosis of protecting and sharing is effected through the …
Now That The Courts Have Beaten Congress To The Punch, Why Is Congress Still Punching The Patent System?, Robert A. Armitage
Now That The Courts Have Beaten Congress To The Punch, Why Is Congress Still Punching The Patent System?, Robert A. Armitage
Michigan Law Review First Impressions
The U.S. House of Representatives began September by passing the Patent Reform Act of 2007. This bill, if enacted, would make major changes to U.S. patent law. Given the universally recognized need for improvements to the U.S. patent system, passing a patent reform bill in the House should have been easy. It was not. The Patent Reform Act of 2007 made it through the House only after a spirited debate. There were a host of complaints by House members that the bill was not ready for floor action. In the end, it passed the House by a relatively narrow margin, …
Making Sense Of Ksr And Other Recent Patent Cases, Harold C. Wegner
Making Sense Of Ksr And Other Recent Patent Cases, Harold C. Wegner
Michigan Law Review First Impressions
The recent Supreme Court review of KSR International Inc. v. Teleflex Inc., eBay Inc. v. MercExchange LLC, and Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp. manifests the Court’s current interest in the patent jurisprudence of the Fed-eral Circuit. Now it is evident that the Court has a level of concern sufficient to guarantee the possibility of grant of certiorari—whereas formerly a case could rarely generate sufficient interest for review. For long-range impor-tance in patent law, KSR stands alone as the single most important Supreme Court patent decision on the bread and butter standard of “obviousness” in the more than forty years since …
Ksr's Effect On Patent Law, Stephen G. Kunin, Andrew K. Beverina
Ksr's Effect On Patent Law, Stephen G. Kunin, Andrew K. Beverina
Michigan Law Review First Impressions
The Supreme Court in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. clarified its 1966 decision in Graham v. John Deere, avoiding the sea change to a synergy- based standard that many had expected—and perhaps feared. KSR has raised the bar set in Graham for seeking patent protection—by providing a flexible test for obviousness—while simultaneously making it easier for accused infringers to defend themselves. Moreover, KSR will change the strategies of both patent prosecutors and litigators. Before KSR, the Supreme Court’s last major decision on nonobviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103 was Graham, in which the Court established three factual inquiries for …
Pharmaceutical Lemons: Innovation And Regulation In The Drug Industry, Ariel Katz
Pharmaceutical Lemons: Innovation And Regulation In The Drug Industry, Ariel Katz
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
Before a new drug can be marketed, the Food and Drug Administration must be satisfied that it is safe and effective. According to conventional wisdom, the cost and delay involved in this process diminish the incentives to invest in the development of new drugs. Accordingly, several reforms aimed at restoring such incentives have been implemented or advocated. This Article challenges the central argument that drug regulation and drug innovation are necessarily at odds with one another. Although intuitively appealing, the argument that drug regulation negatively affects the incentives to innovate does not fully capture the role that regulation plays in …
Restoring The Genetic Commons: A Common Sense Approach To Biotechnology Patents In The Wake Of Ksr V. Teleflex , Anna Bartow Laakmann
Restoring The Genetic Commons: A Common Sense Approach To Biotechnology Patents In The Wake Of Ksr V. Teleflex , Anna Bartow Laakmann
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
In this Article, I argue that a new approach to biotechnology patenting is necessary to fully realize the tremendous potential of recent advances in our understanding of the human genome. Part I places the gene patenting debate in context by highlighting the key landmarks that have shaped the biotechnology industry and outlining the products and stakeholders that comprise the industry. Part II describes the current state of the law on biotechnology patents, summarizing the Federal Circuit's application of the various doctrines that collectively define the patent landscape's parameters. In this Part, I explain how the Federal Circuit's jurisprudence is tied …
Copyright And Youtube: Pirate's Playground Or Fair Use Forum?, Kurt Hunt
Copyright And Youtube: Pirate's Playground Or Fair Use Forum?, Kurt Hunt
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
The entertainment industry has a history of framing new technology as piracy that threatens its very existence, regardless of the potential benefits of the technology or the legal limits of copyright rights. In the case of YouTube, copyright owners' attempts to retain content control negatively impact the public's ability to discuss culture in an online world. This implicates the basic policy behind fair use: to prevent copyright law from "stifl[ing] the very creativity which that law is designed to foster." The internet has become a powerful medium for expression. It is a vital tool in today's world for sharing original …
Economics And The Design Of Patent Systems, Robert M. Hunt
Economics And The Design Of Patent Systems, Robert M. Hunt
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
I use intuition derived from several of my research papers to make three points. First, in the absence of a common law balancing test, application of uniform patentability criteria favors some industries over others. Policymakers must decide the optimal tradeoff across industries. Second, if patent rights are not closely related to the underlying inventions, more patenting may reduce R&D in industries that are both R&D and patent intensive. Third, the U.S. private innovation system has become far more decentralized than it was a generation ago. It is reasonable to inquire whether a patent system that worked well in an era …
Patents And Diversity In Innovation, Brian Kahin
Patents And Diversity In Innovation, Brian Kahin
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
Over the past quarter-century, the patent system has expanded in scope and significance, claiming a central position in a U.S. economy increasingly based on knowledge and intangible assets. This historic expansion has come at the cost of controversy and, within the past five years, growing public scrutiny from outside the system--from the press, business, Congress, and finally the Supreme Court. However, proposed reforms are marked by deepening divisions between sectors of the economy. The information technology (IT) and services industries favor strong reforms while pharmaceutical and biotech industries, as well as the patent bar, favor modest, incremental reforms. This yawning …
Diversifying Without Discriminating: Complying With The Mandates Of The Trips Agreement, Graeme B. Dinwoodie, Rochelle C. Dreyfuss
Diversifying Without Discriminating: Complying With The Mandates Of The Trips Agreement, Graeme B. Dinwoodie, Rochelle C. Dreyfuss
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
Since the Patent Act was revised in 1952, patent law has expanded to cover an array of novel endeavors--new fields of technology (notably computer science and business methods) as well as the activities of researchers engaged in fundamental scientific discovery. These changes have been accompanied by shifts in the organizational structure of the technological community, with smaller firms and universities emerging as important players in the patent system, and by new marketplace expectations arising from consumer demand for interoperable technology and converging functionality. As a result of these developments, structural flaws in the legal order have become evident. Although the …
The Patent End Game: Evaluating Generic Entry Into A Blockbuster Pharmaceutical Market In The Absence Of Fda Incentives, Jeremiah Helm
The Patent End Game: Evaluating Generic Entry Into A Blockbuster Pharmaceutical Market In The Absence Of Fda Incentives, Jeremiah Helm
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
Generic drugs play an important role in the American system of health care. Most anticipate that the entry of these drugs into the market will lower prices and thereby increase treatment options for consumers. To stimulate generic entry, the Food and Drug Administration currently offers a period of marketing exclusivity to the first firm that gains approval for a generic version of a branded drug. During this 180-day period, only two firms can sell versions of the drug: the original, branded drug maker and the first approved generic firm. After the period of exclusivity expires, other generic firms are free …
The Myth Of Inherent And Inevitable Industry Differences: Diversity As Artifact In The Quest For Patent Reforms, Robert A. Armitage
The Myth Of Inherent And Inevitable Industry Differences: Diversity As Artifact In The Quest For Patent Reforms, Robert A. Armitage
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
The University of Michigan Law School hosted a two-day conference entitled "Patents and Diversity in Innovation." The morning of the first day featured a panel devoted to "industry differences." This panel took up the task of dealing with the following questions: How has diversification of innovation and the expansion of patentable subject matter affected patent practice? How do markets for technology vary from sector to sector? And how do they reflect or influence patent practice? To what extent are business practices and competitive markets shaped by the nature of the technology, product, or service?[...] A conference titled "Patents and Diversity" …
Patent Injunctions And The Problem Of Uniformity Cost, Michael W. Carroll
Patent Injunctions And The Problem Of Uniformity Cost, Michael W. Carroll
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
In eBay v. MercExchange, the Supreme Court correctly rejected the Federal Circuit's general rule requiring that a permanent injunction follow from a finding that a patent is valid and infringed. Recognizing that one size does not fit all in patent law, the Court returned traditional equitable discretion to the district courts. With this discretion, district courts can now deploy remedies for patent infringement that are sensitive to relevant differences among industries, technologies, and entities. This Essay sets the Court's rejection of a uniform remedial regime in a larger context concerning the role of uniformity in patent law. It then explores …
A Method For Reforming The Patent System, Peter S. Menell
A Method For Reforming The Patent System, Peter S. Menell
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
The principal recent studies of patent reform (NAS (2004), FTC (2003), Jaffe and Lerner (2004)) contend that a uniform system of patent protection must (or should) be available for "anything under the sun made by man" based upon one or more of the following premises: (1) the Patent Act requires this breadth and uniformity of treatment; (2) "discriminating" against any particular field of "technology" would be undesirable; (3) discrimination among technologies would present insurmountable boundary problems and could easily be circumvented through clever patent drafting; and (4) interest group politics stand in the way of excluding any subject matter classes …
Knowledge, Competition And The Innovation: Is Stronger Ipr Protection Really Needed For More And Better Innovations, Giovanni Dosi, Luigi Marengo, Corrado Pasquali
Knowledge, Competition And The Innovation: Is Stronger Ipr Protection Really Needed For More And Better Innovations, Giovanni Dosi, Luigi Marengo, Corrado Pasquali
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
The main questions addressed in this Article are thus: given that growth is a highly desirable phenomenon and that it is primarily spurred by technological innovation, how should society solve the problem of favoring a sufficient level of investments in R&D? In particular, is it necessarily true and always desirable that, independent of any other consideration, society should protect innovators from competition and shelter them in a legally protected and enforced monopoly? Is it true that the real source of economic value of new recipes is only found in the blueprints of ideas that those recipes implement? Is it necessarily …
What Is Hiding In The Bushes - Ebay's Effect On Holdout Behavior In Patent Thickets, Gavin D. George
What Is Hiding In The Bushes - Ebay's Effect On Holdout Behavior In Patent Thickets, Gavin D. George
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
Importantly, at least a few relevant patent holders are inevitably left out of an industry organization's collection of patents. These left-out patent holders, known as "holdouts," can undermine the collective arrangement with demand letters and infringement suits.[...] The first part of this Note explains why holdouts exist in the first place, given the benefits of joining an organization of collected patents. In the second part of this Note, I explore the lack of legal protections against holdout demands offered by pre-eBay patent law. The third part of this Note introduces the eBay decision as revolutionary addition to list of legal …
Compulsory Patent Licensing: Is It A Viable Solution In The United States, Carol M. Nielsen, Michael R. Samardzija
Compulsory Patent Licensing: Is It A Viable Solution In The United States, Carol M. Nielsen, Michael R. Samardzija
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, so do the number of patents that cover every aspect of making, using, and selling these innovations. In 1996, to compound the rapid change of technology, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that business methods are also patentable. Hence in the current environment, scores of patents, assigned to many different parties, may cover a single electronic device or software--making it increasingly impossible to manufacture an electronic device without receiving a cease and desist letter or other notice from a patentee demanding a large royalty or threatening an injunction. Companies, particularly those in …
Fair Use And The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Thomas J. Loos
Fair Use And The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Thomas J. Loos
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
In the last decade of the 20th Century, more than 200 years after the first Copyright Act of 1790, the rights of copyright owners have increased relative to those of the public. The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 provided a limited right to visual artists to control their work; even after sold, limiting first use rights. The first copyright act had a 28 year term; in 1998, the term of copyright was increased to the life of the author plus 70 years. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 dramatically shrank the fair use rights provided under 17 …
Ksr V. Teleflex: Predictable Reform Of Patent Substance And Procedure In The Judiciary, John F. Duffy
Ksr V. Teleflex: Predictable Reform Of Patent Substance And Procedure In The Judiciary, John F. Duffy
Michigan Law Review First Impressions
Though KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc. is now widely acknowl-edged in the bar and the academy to be the most significant patent case in at least a quarter century, that view dramatically underestimates the impor-tance of the decision. The KSR decision has immense significance not merely because it rejected the standard of patentability that had been applied in the lower courts for decades, but also because it highlights many separate trends that are reshaping the patent system. This Commentary will touch upon four such trends that are clearly evi-dent in KSR. First, the case was a predictable continuation of …
The Role Of The Fda In Innovation Policy, Rebecca S. Eisenberg
The Role Of The Fda In Innovation Policy, Rebecca S. Eisenberg
Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review
This Article reexamines the role of FDA regulation in motivating investment in biopharmaceutical innovation. I begin by challenging the standard story that it is the patent system that makes drug development profitable, and drug regulation that makes it costly, by showing how patents add to costs and how drug regulation works in tandem with patents to protect profits. I then compare FDA-administered exclusive rights to patents as a means of fortifying drug development incentives, suggesting ways that FDA-administered rights might be preferable both from the perspective of policy makers and from the perspective of firms. In the remainder of the …
The Angel Is In The Big Picture: A Response To Lemley, Samson Vermont
The Angel Is In The Big Picture: A Response To Lemley, Samson Vermont
Michigan Law Review
An invention within close reach of multiple inventors differs from an invention within distant reach of a lone inventor. The differences between these two archetypes of invention -"reinventables" and "singletons"- remain unexploited under current U.S. law. Should we reform the law to exploit the differences? Mark Lemley and I agree that we should. To date, those economists who have closely examined the issue concur. What are the differences between reinventables and singletons? First, reinventables can be brought into existence with incentives of lower magnitude. This suggests that we can obtain reinventables at a lower price than we currently pay-i.e., with …