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Inventing Around Edison’S Lamp Patent: The Role Of Patents In Stimulating Downstream Development And Competition, Ron D. Katznelson, John Howells
Inventing Around Edison’S Lamp Patent: The Role Of Patents In Stimulating Downstream Development And Competition, Ron D. Katznelson, John Howells
Ron D. Katznelson
We provide the first detailed empirical study of inventing around patent claims. The enforcement of Edison’s incandescent lamp patent in 1891-1894 stimulated a surge of patenting. Most of these later patents disclosed inventions around the Edison patent. Some of these patents introduced important new technology in their own right and became prior art for new fields, indicating that invention around patents contributes to dynamic efficiency. Contrary to widespread contemporary understanding, the Edison lamp patent did not suppress technological advance in electric lighting. The market position of General Electric (“GE”), the Edison patent-owner, weakened through the period of this patent’s enforcement.
The U.S. Patent Office’S Proposed Fees Under The America Invents Act—Part I: The Scope Of The Office’S Fee-Setting Authority, Ron D. Katznelson
The U.S. Patent Office’S Proposed Fees Under The America Invents Act—Part I: The Scope Of The Office’S Fee-Setting Authority, Ron D. Katznelson
Ron D. Katznelson
This two-part article discusses the Patent and Trademark Office’s recent proposed rulemaking setting new patent user fees. In Part I the author argues that the PTO can raise fees in accordance with its aggregate costs but lacks authority to set national patent policies, or to skew certain fees to discourage or encourage a particular service. The author also asserts that the America Invents Act does not vest with the PTO discretion to set the level of its operating reserve – a determination reserved solely for congressional appropriations. In an upcoming Part II, the author will discuss specific fees and their …
A Critique Of Mark Lemley’S “The Myth Of The Sole Inventor”, John Howells, Ron D. Katznelson
A Critique Of Mark Lemley’S “The Myth Of The Sole Inventor”, John Howells, Ron D. Katznelson
Ron D. Katznelson
In a forthcoming article in the Michigan Law Review, Professor Mark Lemley advances a thesis that “the canonical story of the lone genius inventor is largely a myth” and describes a selection of pioneer inventions to support his thesis. We show that Lemley has many of his facts wrong. We examine his assertions and set the record straight in the pioneer invention cases of Edison, the Wright brothers, the Selden automobile patent vis a vis Ford, Watt and the steam engine and Fleming and penicillin. We are concerned with the errors in alleged historical and legal facts in what Lemley …
Bad Science In Search Of “Bad” Patents, Ron D. Katznelson
Bad Science In Search Of “Bad” Patents, Ron D. Katznelson
Ron D. Katznelson
This paper draws attention to fundamental deficiencies in studies that have been relied upon as authoritative sources on patent grant rate comparisons among national patent offices. The two prominent studies analyzed here had employed erroneous methods to compare patent grant rates, resulting in false high indications of such rates at the U.S. patent office compared to foreign patent offices. The three identified categories of analysis errors found in these studies were (i) the misapplication of conditional probability; (ii) miscounting invention applications; and (iii) failure to account for patent obsolescence and application attrition due to the widely differing delays among national …