Law Commons^™

The Patent Option, Daniel J. Gervais

Daniel J Gervais

There is a shift in the shape of intellectual property (IP) tools used to strengthen and lengthen the right of pharmaceutical companies to exclude others from making and marketing their products. Patents have traditionally been the tool of choice. Over the past two decades, however, pharmaceutical companies have increased their degree of reliance on a right known as “data exclusivity.” This right, which now exists in most major jurisdictions, is the right to prevent third parties from relying on the clinical trial data submitted by another pharmaceutical company to obtain marketing approval for a bioequivalent or biosimilar product. The right …

Right On Time: First Possession In Property And Intellectual Property, Dotan Oliar, James Y. Stern

James Y. Stern

How should we allocate property rights in unowned tangible and intangible resources? This Article develops a model of original acquisition that draws together common law doctrines of first possession with original acquisition doctrines in patent, copyright, and trademark law. The common denominator is time: in each context, doctrine involves a trade-off between assigning entitlements to resources earlier or later in the process of their development and use. Early awards risk granting exclusivity to parties who may not be capable of putting resources to their best use. Late awards prolong contests for ownership, which may generate waste or discourage acquisition efforts …

Evaluating Flexibility In International Patent Law, Sarah R. Wasserman Rajec

Sarah R. Wasserman Rajec

Global patent law has raced toward harmonization over the past decades. Countries with vastly different industries, values, and levels of development now offer robust patent rights with similar contours through membership in the World Trade Organization and consequent adoption of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”). However, patent law is still far from harmonized among countries or static within countries. Jurisdictions tailor their patent laws to accommodate differences between industries, unforeseen inefficiencies, and diverse views of the costs and benefits associated with offering patent rights to stimulate innovation. Prior scholarly work consists of either doctrinal analyses …

An Overview Of Patent Prosecution, Frederick W. Dingledy

Frederick W. Dingledy

No abstract provided.

Are We Overprotecting Code? Thoughts On First-Generation Internet Law, Orin S. Kerr

Orin Kerr

No abstract provided.

Commercial Success And Patent Standards: Economic Perspectives On Innovation, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

This Article criticizes a recent line of patent decisions in which the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has considered evidence of an innovation's commercial success in deciding whether to award a patent to the inn innovator. Professor Merges briefly reviews the history of patent law and concludes that one of its principle purposes is to reward "invention," or the achievement of a significant technical advance and thereby to spur innovative technological development. He notes, however, that recently, the Federal Circuit has begun to consider "secondary factors," including the financial success of a commercialized invention, and the extent to …

High Technology Entrepreneurs And The Patent System: Results Of The 2008 Berkeley Patent Survey, Stuart J. H. Graham, Robert P. Merges, Pam Samuelson, Ted Sichelman

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Unwinding Sony, Peter S. Menell, David Nimmer

Peter Menell

No abstract provided.

Private Law And The Future Of Patents, Oskar Liivak

Oskar Liivak

As it operates today, patent law does not qualify as private law and, without change, I doubt it ever will. For some, this is as it should be and any private law aspects that remain in the patent system should be purged. The basic argument is that the dominant theory of patents is just not compatible with private law and patent doctrine should reflect a pure public law theoretical basis. I agree that today's dominant patent theory is incompatible with private law principles. Yet agreeing with that inherent incompatibility does not imply that doctrine needs to be reformed. There is …

The Pull Of Patents, Brett M. Frischmann

Brett Frischmann

No abstract provided.

“An Ingenious Man Enabled By Contract”: Entrepreneurship And The Rise Of Contract, Catherine Fisk

Catherine Fisk

A legal ideology emerged in the 1870s that celebrated contract as the body of law with the particular purpose of facilitating the formation of productive exchanges that would enrich the parties to the contract and, therefore, society as a whole. Across the spectrum of intellectual property, courts used the legal fiction of implied contract, and a version of it particularly emphasizing liberty of contract, to shift control of workplace knowledge from skilled employees to firms while suggesting that the emergence of hierarchical control and loss of entrepreneurial opportunity for creative workers was consistent with the free labor ideology that dominated …

Do Patent Challenges Increase Competition?, Stephen Yelderman

Stephen Yelderman

As a general rule, judges and scholars believe settlement is a good thing. But for nearly a century, the Supreme Court has said that patent litigation is categorically different, since it offers the chance to increase competition by freeing the public from the burdens of a monopoly. Based on this theory, and in the hopes of seeing more patent litigation fought to completion, the Court has overturned long-standing common-law doctrines, declined to enforce otherwise-valid contracts, and—in the recent case of Federal Trade Commission v Actavis, Inc—subjected patent settlements to scrutiny under the antitrust laws. Similar reasoning has resulted in legislative …

Patents And Traditional Knowledge Of The Uses Of Plants: Is A Communal Patent Regime Part Of The Solution To The Scourge Of Bio Piracy, Ikechi Mgbeoji

Ikechi Mgbeoji

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Property: The New Ip, Robin C. Feldman

Robin C Feldman

Some Key Things Entrepreneurs Need To Know About The Law And Lawyers, Lawrence J. Trautman, Anthony Luppino, Malika S. Simmons

Lawrence J. Trautman Sr.

New business formation is a powerful economic engine that creates jobs. Diverse legal issues are encountered as a start-up entity approaches formation, initial capitalization and fundraising, arrangements with employees and independent contractors, and relationships with other third parties. The endeavors of a typical start-up in the United States will likely implicate many of the following areas of law: intellectual property; business organizations; tax laws; employment and labor laws; securities regulation; contracts and licensing agreements; commercial sales; debtor-creditor relations; real estate law; health and safety laws/codes; permits and licenses; environmental protection; industry specific regulatory laws and approval processes; tort/personal injury, products …

Sharing Research Data And Intellectual Property Law: A Primer, Michael W. Carroll

Michael W. Carroll

Patent Claim Construction: A Modern Synthesis And Structured Framework, Peter S. Menell, Matthew D. Powers, Steven C. Carlson

Peter Menell

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of Classical American Patent Law, Herbert Hovenkamp

Herbert Hovenkamp

The Emergence of Classical Patent Law

Abstract

One enduring historical debate concerns whether the American Constitution was intended to be "classical" -- referring to a theory of statecraft that maximizes the role of private markets and minimizes the role of government in economic affairs. The most central and powerful proposition of classical constitutionalism is that the government's role in economic development should be minimal. First, private rights in property and contract exist prior to any community needs for development. Second, if a particular project is worthwhile the market itself will make it occur. Third, when the government attempts to induce …

Constitutionalizing Patents: From Venice To Philadelphia, Craig Allen Nard, Andrew P. Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

Patent law today is a complex institution in most developed economies and the appropriate structure for patent law is hotly debated around the world. Despite their differences, one crucial feature is shared by the diverse patent systems of the industrialized world even before the recent trend toward harmonization: modern patent regimes include self-imposed restrictions of executive and legislative discretion, which we refer to as "constitutionalized" systems. Given the lucrative nature of patent monopolies, the long history of granting patents as a form of patronage, and the aggressive pursuit of patronage in most societies, the choice to confine patents within a …

Constitutionalizing Patents: From Venice To Philadelphia, Craig Allen Nard, Andrew P. Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

Patent law today is a complex institution in most developed economies and the appropriate structure for patent law is hotly debated around the world. Despite their differences, one crucial feature is shared by the diverse patent systems of the industrialized world even before the recent trend toward harmonization: modern patent regimes include self-imposed restrictions of executive and legislative discretion, which we refer to as "constitutionalized" systems. Given the lucrative nature of patent monopolies, the long history of granting patents as a form of patronage, and the aggressive pursuit of patronage in most societies, the choice to confine patents within a …

Intellectual Property Rights Management In Small And Medium Size Social Enterprise In Australia, Francina Cantatore, Elizabeth Spencer

Francina Cantatore

This paper identifies the role and significance of Intellectual Property (IP) management in small and medium-sized social enterprises (SMSEs) and aims to address a gap in the available literature dealing with IP use and management in social enterprise. The findings are based on the results of a qualitative study undertaken with Australian SMSEs, in the form of in-depth semi-structured interviews. The research identifies how SMSEs view and manage their IP rights, and the significance of these rights in the organisation. The findings suggest that there is a significant lack of IP rights management strategies for protection of IP assets such …

The Proper Scope Of The Copyright And Patent Power, Robert Patrick Merges, Glenn Harlan Reynolds

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property Rights And Bargaining Breakdown: The Case Of Blocking Patents, Robert Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

As Many As Six Impossible Patent Before Breakfast: Property Rights For Business Concepts And Patent System Reform, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property In Higher Life Forms: The Patent System And Controversial Technologies, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Current Legislation Affecting Patent Misuse, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Opinion Letter As To The Patentability Of Certain Inventions Associated With The Identification Of Partial Dna Sequences, Rebecca S. Eisenberg, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Uncertainty And The Standard Of Patentability, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Co-Ownership Of Patents: A Comparative And Economic View, Robert P. Merges, Lawrence A. Locke

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

The Law And Economics Of Employee Inventions, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.