Law Commons^™

Escaping The World Of I Know It When I See It: A New Test For Software Patent Ability, Brooke Schumm Iii

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The major thesis presented in this article is a focused standard of software patentability, in particular for pure computational methods or algorithms directed to the manipulation of numbers operating on a computer. The general philosophy is to compel inventors to narrow their claims to an algorithm expressed in terms of its utility and then to require that the particular utility or functionality be expressed in the claim as a limit on the claim, thus precluding the patent monopoly from being overbroad. As a corollary, any person is free to use or perhaps to patent the algorithm for a different utility …

Software Developers Want Changes In Patent And Copyright Law, David A. Burton

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Most software developers do not oppose all software copyrights. There is broad support for basic copyright protection of computer programs which prohibits directly copying computer programs without the author's permission. Nearly all commercial software is copyrighted, and most programmers agree that such protection is necessary in order for software development to be profitable. However, software patents and "look and feel" copyrights go well beyond this to prohibit other programmers from independently writing even programs that are similar to the protected program. Such constraints are strongly resented by many in the software development community who long for the good old days …

Information Wants To Be Free, But The Packaging Is Going To Cost You, Gregory A. Stobbs

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The question is this: where do we draw the line between private ownership and the public domain? It is not a question of choosing between copyright and patent, of choosing between hardware and software, or of choosing between implementation and algorithm. It is a more fundamental question that reaches back to ancient human values and transcends our current fixation on computers and software. It helps to put things in perspective. When debating where we and the law are headed (as we are now), it helps to know where we have been. In this regard, do not assume that software patents …

Comments In Response To The Patent And Trademark Office's Proposed Examination Guidelines For Computer-Implemented Inventions, Robert R. Sachs

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The Guidelines reflect a policy decision that computer-implemented inventions require both hardware and software elements. This policy decision and definition present several important issues. First, do the Guidelines accurately reflect and accommodate the practices of the software industry and software engineers? Second, do the Guidelines accurately reflect the current case law?

Sofware Patents And The Information Economy, Michael Perelman

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Modern economists universally acknowledge that information is an essential component of productivity. Moreover, as they begin to focus more and more on the nature of information, their conception of information widens considerably.

Software Patents--Just Make A Good Thing Better, David R. Syrowik

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Some have stated that software is somehow "different" from other technologies and must be treated differently. Others have gone so far as to advocate the abolition of patents for software-related technologies. I disagree with both propositions. I believe a heavy burden rests on those who advocate that a particular field of technology should be exempted from the patent system absent a statutory prohibition. Software-related technology should be treated under the U.S. patent laws as any other technology would be treated. Otherwise, investment in the software industry will be negatively impacted. The current patent system is vital to the protection of …

1995 Patent Law Decisions Of The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit, Lawrence M. Sung

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Prospects For Developing Countries Under The Trips Agreement, Ruth L. Gana

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article focuses on the future impact of the TRIPs Agreement on developing countries with regard to patent and copyright protection. While some scholars have suggested that the intellectual property protection provided by the TRIPs Agreement significantly benefits developing countries just as well as such protection has benefited developed countries in terms of increased economic growth and development, the author of this Article disagrees. Upon close analysis of the TRIPs Agreement's impact on developing countries, including the use of illustrative examples and a case study of the People's Republic of China with regard to copyright protection, this author concludes that …

Prospects And Limits Of The Patent Provision In The Trips Agreement: The Case Of India, Martin J. Adelman, Sonia Baldia

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article analyzes the impact of TRIPS on the pharmaceutical industry in India, an industry that has traditionally taken a "free-ride" on the technological developments of other nations. The authors discuss the patent system in India prior to TRIPS and India's long-term refusal to join the Paris Convention regarding intellectual property.

In the past, India had limited protection for technology. Some areas--food, pharmaceuticals, and products made by processes--received no patent protection at all. TRIPS changed this system and also changed the compulsory licensing and license of right provisions that limited patent protection in India. The authors argue that all people--scientists …

Public Research And Private Development: Patents And Technology Transfer In Government-Sponsored Research, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

This article revisits the logical and empirical basis for current government patent policy in order to shed light on the competing interests at stake and to begin to assess how the system is operating in practice. Such an inquiry is justified in part by the significance of federally-sponsored research and development to the overall U.S. research effort. Although the share of national expenditures for research and development borne by the federal government has declined since 1980, federal funding in 1995 still accounted for approximately thirty-six percent of total national outlays for research and development' and nearly fifty-eight percent of outlays …

Trips Boomerang--Obligations For Domestic Reform, Harold C. Wegner

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Today, one of the biggest obstacles facing inventors is the problem of patent harmonization. Inventors, who spend their time, money, and resources to develop new technology, are faced with the problem of ensuring that their new development receives patent protection not only in their home countries, but also worldwide. This problem is complicated by the fact that the United States maintains a different patent filing process than most other developed nations. Efforts of the international community to harmonize these different approaches, however, have been only partially successful.

In this Article, Professor Wegner examines the latest attempt by the international community …

Intellectual Property At The Public-Private Divide: The Case Of Large-Scale Cdna Sequencing, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

The Human Genome Project provides fertile ground for studying the role of intellectual property at the wavering boundary between public and private research science. It involves a major commitment of both public and private research funds in an area that is of significant interest both to research scientists working in university and government laboratories and to commercial firms. It thus provides a wealth of new scientific discoveries that are simultaneously potential candidates for commercial development and inputs into further research. Its obvious implications for human health raise the stakes of getting the balance between private property and public access right, …