Law Commons^™

The World’S Laboratory: China’S Patent Boom, It Standards And The Implications For The Global Knowledge, Christopher Mcelwain, Dennis Fernandez

Christopher McElwain

Just as China’s factories disrupted the economics of IT hardware, its research labs have the potential to disrupt the economics of the technology itself. In 2014, China’s patent office received nearly 2.4 million patent applications, 93% from domestic applicants. China has also climbed to third place in terms of international applications, with over 21,000 WIPO PCT applications. Meanwhile, China has taken an assertive role in setting technology standards, both at the national and international levels. In the past, this has included developing and promoting alternatives to important IT standards as a means of challenging perceived monopolies by certain (foreign-dominated) technologies. …

Ninth Circuit Nine-Plus -- Settling The Law In Internet Keyword Advertising And Trademark Use, Andrew Leahey

Andrew Leahey

No abstract provided.

The Irrelevance Of Nanotechnology Patents, Emily Michiko Morris

Emily Michiko Morris

Once the stuff of science fiction, nanotechnology is now expected to be the next technological revolution, but despite millions of dollars of investment, we still have yet to see the brave new world of cheap energy, cell-specific drug delivery systems, and self-replicating nanobots that nanotechnology promises. Instead, nanotechnology seems to be in a holding pattern, perpetually stuck in the status of “emerging science,” “immature field,” and “new technology” for over three decades now. Why? Professor Mark Lemley and a number of others have suggested that the answer to this puzzling question is simple: nanotechnology differs from the all of the …

Information Technology And The Law - Copyright In Cyberspace, Ulf Maunsbach

Ulf Maunsbach

No abstract provided.

From The Unforeseeability Exception To Foreseeability Estoppel: The Federal Circuit’S Effort To Limit The Doctrine Of Equivalents, Ping-Hsun Chen

Ping-Hsun Chen

A person can infringe a patent under the doctrine of equivalents (“DOE”) which may be limited by prosecution history estoppel (“PHE”). The Supreme Court in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722 (2002), finalized the basic doctrine of PHE in the context of claim amendment. A narrowing amendment of a claim results in a presumption that a patentee has surrendered the scope between the original claim and amended claim, but the patentee is allowed to rebut the presumption by proving any of three exceptions. Among those exceptions is the “unforeseeable” exception under which a patentee …

Invisible Labor, Invisible Play: Online Gold Farming And The Boundary Between Jobs And Games, Julian Dibbell

Julian Dibbell

When does work become play, and play work? Courts have considered the question in a variety of economic contexts, from student athletes seeking recognition as employees to professional blackjack players seeking to be treated by casinos just like casual players. Here I apply the question to a relatively novel context: that of online gold farming, a gray-market industry in which wage-earning workers, largely based in China, are paid to play online fantasy games (MMOs) that reward them with virtual items their employers sell for profit to the same games’ casual players. Gold farming is clearly a job (and under the …

Problematic Approaches Of The Joinder Clause Under The America Invents Act By Federal District Courts, Ping-Hsun Chen

Ping-Hsun Chen

Before 35 U.S.C. § 299 was enacted, some minority district courts had permitted joinder of independent defendants only because the same patent was infringed. That gave a great incentive to non-practicing entities to sue as many defendants as possible in one suit. To resolve this problem, Congress created § 299(b) to abrogate the minority view of joinder. The Federal Circuit in In re EMC Corp. also created a test requiring finding of “an actual link between the facts underlying each claim of infringement.” The Federal Circuit provides six EMC factors for lower courts to determine permissive joinder. However, the Eastern …

Censorship By Intermediary And Moral Rights: Strengthening Authors’ Control Over The Online Expressions Through The Right Of Respect And Integrity, Methaya Sirichit

Methaya Sirichit

The mega intermediaries, the Leviathans of cyberspace, are practicing content discrimination and distortion of speech in the public communication space. These intermediaries operate vast close-walled digital empires that provide both communication platforms as well as an extremely broad range of products and services for billions of people. Consequently, they can easily slip past the deontological regulatory model that relies on a clear-cut determination between passive conduits, on one hand, and content providers or corporate speakers on another. In the United States, the First Amendment’s editorial privilege and the Good Samaritan safe harbors under Section 230 of the CDA shield networked …

Traditional Knowledge Rights And Wrongs, Sean Pager

Sean Pager

Should the intangible heritage of indigenous cultures be subject to intellectual property rights? After years of effort, international delegates are poised to complete a pair of ambitious treaties that would accomplish this goal. This Article provides the first detailed analysis and critique of the draft treaties, which provide for exclusive rights in traditional knowledge and cultural expression, respectively. Proponents of such protection often invoke both cultural integrity and economic justice rationales. Yet, these rationales dictate conflicting imperatives. To resolve these conflicts, the Article argues for greater differentiation between the two draft treaties based on subject matter. Just as copyright and …

Nsfw: An Empirical Study Of Scandalous Trademarks, Megan M. Carpenter

Megan M Carpenter

This project is an empirical analysis of trademarks that have received rejections based on the judgment that they are “scandalous." It is the first of its kind. The Lanham Act bars registration for trademarks that are “scandalous” and “immoral.” While much has been written on the morality provisions in the Lanham Act generally, this piece is the first scholarly project that engages an empirical analysis of 2(a) rejections based on scandalousness; it contains a look behind the scenes at how the morality provisions are applied throughout the trademark registration process. We study which marks are being rejected, what evidence is …

Rejected Of Registration Trade Mark "Stop The Islamisation Of America" From Court Of Appeals, Haitham Atiyah

haitham atiyah

No abstract provided.

Trazos Y Reflexiones En Torno A La Marca Farmacéutica, Javier André Murillo Chávez

Javier André Murillo Chávez

No abstract provided.

A Preliminary Measure: Retroactive Copyright Term Reduction And The Takings Clause, Eugene V. Beliy

Eugene V Beliy

The current duration of a copyright term under U.S. law is an astounding life of the author plus 70 years. This term length is a product of a series of retroactive extensions enacted by Congress. It is well settled that the term can be retroactively extended--but can it be retroactively reduced? Would Congress violate the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause if it retroactively reduced copyright term without providing just compensation? This paper argues that it would not. First, this paper frames the discussion by analyzing the policy behind Copyright Law and term length. Second, this paper identifies a potential Takings Clause …

Comments On India's Draft National Ipr Policy, Srividhya Ragavan, Brook Baker, Sean Flynn

Srividhya Ragavan

No abstract provided.

Prices Versus Prizes: Patents, Public Policy And The Market For Inventions, Daniel F. Spulber

Daniel F Spulber

The article argues that market prices provide far better incentives for invention and innovation than do government prizes. The question of prices versus prizes is important because the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 has established a framework for government prizes. The article finds fundamental flaws in the deadweight welfare loss arguments for replacing market prices with government prizes. The article examines public prizes in comparison to the market for inventions in terms of efficiency in the allocation of inventions. The discussion shows how, in contrast to public prizes, prices in the market for inventions provide guidance for investment in …

Promoting “Academic Entrepreurship” In Europe And The United States: Creating An Intellectual Property Regime To Facilitate The Efficient Transfer Of Knowledge From The Lab To The Patient, Constance Bagley, Christina Tvarno

Constance E. Bagley

In 2014, the European Commission announced the launch of a study of knowledge transfer by public research organizations and other institutes of higher learning “to determine which additional measures might be needed to ensure an optimal flow of knowledge between the public research organisations and business thereby contributing to the development of the knowledge based economy.” As the European Commission has recognized, the EU needs to take action to “unlock the potential of IPRs [intellectual property rights] that lie dormant in universities, research institutes and companies.” This article builds on our earlier work on structuring efficient pharmaceutical public-private partnerships (PPPPs) …

Information Technology And The Law - An Overview Of Issues, Ulf Maunsbach

Ulf Maunsbach

No abstract provided.

Holding Standards For Randsome: A Remedial Perspective On Rand Licensing Commitments, Layne S. Keele

Layne S. Keele

In Apple, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., 757 F.3d 1286 (Fed. Cir. 2014), the four federal judges who considered the case—Judge Posner by designation at the trial level, and three Federal Circuit judges on appeal—all expressed differing opinions on the question of whether and to what extent extraordinary patent remedies should be available for the infringement of standard-essential patents. This article aims to simplify this muddled and confusing topic.

The article employs a teleological approach, examining the purposes behind remedies in general, the purposes of extraordinary remedies in patent law, and the purposes of RAND commitments (commitments to license standard-essential …

Prerogative, Nationalized: The Social Formation Of Intellectual Property, Laura R. Ford

Laura R Ford

In this article, I offer a “social formation story” (Hirschman & Reed) of the emergence of intellectual property, as a new type of legal property in England. I treat the history of patents and copyrights together, and focus especially on the Constitutional transformations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries that enabled this new, “intellectual” form of property to finally emerge in the Eighteenth Century. I open and conclude with the cases of Millar v. Taylor (King’s Bench 1769) and Donaldson v. Becket (House of Lords 1774), viewing these as the first cases in which the status of this new type …

Yours, Mine, And Ours: The Development, Management And Protection Of Intellectual Property In Third-Sector Enterprise, Elizabeth Spencer, Francina Cantatore

Francina Cantatore

Effective intellectual property (IP) management is an important aspect of good governance. There has been little research on IP management in the third sector and the challenges faced by these enterprises in developing, managing and protecting IP. This article explores the landscape of IP in third-sector enterprise. It outlines the challenges in developing and managing IP. and the reasons why IP may be under-managed. From a theoretical perspective this article will contribute to the literature available in this field and provide a foundation for further research. Debate about IP taw is polarised, but it is hoped that "a balanced approach …

From The Unforeseeability Exception To Foreseeability Estoppel: The Federal Circuit’S Effort To Limit The Doctrine Of Equivalents, Ping-Hsun Chen

Ping-Hsun Chen

A person can infringe a patent under the doctrine of equivalents (“DOE”) which may be limited by prosecution history estoppel (“PHE”). The Supreme Court in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722 (2002), finalized the basic doctrine of PHE in the context of claim amendment. A narrowing amendment of a claim results in a presumption that a patentee has surrendered the scope between the original claim and amended claim, but the patentee is allowed to rebut the presumption by proving any of three exceptions. Among those exceptions is the “unforeseeable” exception under which a patentee …

The Right To Read, Lea Shaver

Lea Shaver

Reading – for education and for pleasure – may be framed as a personal indulgence, a moral virtue, or even a civic duty. What are the implications of framing reading as a human right?

Although novel, the rights-based frame finds strong support in international human rights law. The right to read need not be defended as a “new” human right. Rather, it can be located at the intersection of more familiar guarantees. Well-established rights to education, science, culture, and freedom of expression, among others, provide the necessary normative support for recognizing a universal right to read as already implicit in …

The Classical Constitution, Herbert Hovenkamp

Herbert Hovenkamp

Conservative and libertarian constitutional writers have often pined for return to a "classical" understanding of American federal and state Constitutions. "Classical" does not necessarily mean "originalist" or "interpretivist." Some classical views, such as the attempt to revitalize Lochner-style economic due process, find little support in the text of the federal Constitution or any of the contemporary state constitutions. Rather, constitutional meaning is thought to lie in a background link between constitution formation and classical statecraft. The core theory rests on the assumption of a social contract to which everyone in some initial position agreed. Like any contract, it would …

The Unheightened Reality Of Plausibility Pleading: Identification Of Defendants In Copyright Infringement Claims Using Only An Ip Address Impacts Hundreds Of Thousands, Harmony N. Oswald

Harmony N. Oswald

No abstract provided.

Antitrust And Information Technologies, Herbert Hovenkamp

Herbert Hovenkamp

Technological change strongly affects the use of information to facilitate anticompetitive practices. The effects result mainly from digitization and the many products and processes that it enables. These technologies also account for a significant portion of the difficulties that antitrust law encounters when its addresses intellectual property rights. Changes in the technologies of information also affect the structures of certain products, in the process either increasing or decreasing the potential for competitive harm. For example, digital technology affects the way firms exercise market power, but it also imposes serious measurement difficulties. In purely digital markets intellectual property rights are crucial …

The Cost Of Confusion: The Paradox Of Trademarked Pharmaceuticals, Hannah W. Brennan

Hannah W Brennan

The United States spends nearly $1,000 per person annually on drugs—40 percent more than the next highest spender, Canada, and more than twice the amount France and Germany spend. Although myriad factors contribute to high drug spending in the United States, the crucial role that intellectual property laws play in inhibiting access to cheaper, generic medications is among one of the best documented. Yet, for the most part, the discussion of the relationship between intellectual property law and drug spending has centered on patent protection. Recently, however, a few researchers have turned their attention to a different exclusivity—trademark law. New …

Bowman V. Monsanto: A Bellwether For The Emerging Issue Of Patentable Self-Replicating Technologies And Inadvertent Infringement, Christopher M. Holman

Christopher M Holman

The inherent tendency of patented seeds to self-replicate has led to fears that farmers might face liability for inadvertent patent infringement. To address the perceived problem, some have proposed severely limiting the availability of effective patent protection for self-replicating technologies, for example by denying patent rights to “second generation” self-replicating products, or even by broadly declaring such technologies ineligible for patent protection. The fact is, lawsuits against inadvertently infringing farmers remain of largely hypothetical concern. However, changes in the market could soon render such lawsuits a reality. In addressing the resulting policy concerns, the courts and/or Congress have at their …

No Todo Lo Que Brilla Es Oro, Pero Podría Serlo… Sobre El Nuevo Precedente Del Tribunal De Indecopi Sobre La Evaluación De Acuerdos De Coexistencia Marcaria, Javier André Murillo Chávez

Javier André Murillo Chávez

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Cybersecurity: Applying Lessons From The Green Movement To Managing Cyber Attacks, Scott J. Shackelford, Tim Fort

Scott Shackelford

According to Frank Montoya, the U.S. National Counterintelligence Chief, “We’re an information-based society now. Information is everything. That makes . . . company executives, the front line – not the support mechanism, the front line – in [determining] what comes.”[1] Chief Montoya’s remarks underscore the central role played by the private sector in ongoing efforts aimed at enhancing cybersecurity, much like the increasingly vital role firms are playing in fostering sustainability. For example, according to Accenture surveys, the number of managers who consider sustainability to be critical to the future success of their organizations jumped from fifty to more …

Making A Mark: Taking A Glance At Trademarks And Graphic Infringement, Heather S. Ray

Heather S Ray

No abstract provided.