Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

The Constitution And The Cathedral: Prohibiting, Purchasing, And Possibly Condemning Tobacco Advertising, Thomas W. Merrill

Faculty Scholarship

This Article has both theoretical and practical objectives, which are closely interrelated. The theoretical objective is to develop a framework for understanding the "transaction structure" of constitutional rights. By this, I refer to the different rules that determine when the government may purchase, condemn, or otherwise extinguish constitutional rights. The practical objective is to consider different options that may be available to the government, as part of a broader effort to reduce the incidence of smoking, to curtail tobacco advertising that would otherwise be protected under the First Amendment. It is my hope that the theoretical framework will illuminate the …

Brief Amici Curiae Of Intellectual Property Professors In Support Of Petitoner, Thomas G. Field Jr., John F. Duffy, Craig Allen Nard

Law Faculty Scholarship

Congress enacted the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946 as a comprehensive statute to regulate the field of federal administrative law. In holding that the PTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences is not subject to the standards of judicial review set forth in the APA, the [Zurko] decision isolates patent law from the rest of administrative law and undermines the APA’s goal of achieving consistency and uniformity in federal administrative law.

Amicus Brief Of Thomas G. Field, Jr., Pro Se Supporting In Principle, On Rehearing The Commissioner Of Patents And Trademarks, Thomas G. Field Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarship

To those unfamiliar with the long, often bitter, struggle over equally compelling needs to provide, on the one hand, innovators with an adequate opportunity to recoup risk capital and to avoid, on the other, erecting unwarranted barriers to competition, a dispute over the proper scope of review for Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) patent appeals will seem both trivial and arcane. This case involves more than semantics -- its resolution turns on the allocation of power among three, and arguably four, branches of government. This Court, itself, has a stake.

The Chinese System Of Administrative Protection For Pharmaceuticals, 31 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1165 (1998), J. Michael Warner, Han Xiaoquing

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Promulgating Requirements For Admission To Prosecute Patent Applications, Michelle J. Burke, Thomas G. Field Jr

Law Faculty Scholarship

Among federal agencies, the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office is unique in its ability to require attorneys to submit to special requirements, such as passing a six hour examination, before being permitted to practice before it in patent cases. Indeed, the Supreme Court has held that an individual so admitted to practice before the PTO need not comply with state requirements otherwise applicable to those practicing law.

The first part of this article discusses how this requirement came to be. It then discusses how the PTO determines whether an individual is fit to sit for the patent examination, focusing …

Intellectual Property Issues In Genomics, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

Controversy over intellectual property rights in the results of large-scale cDNA sequencing raises intriguing questions about the roles of the public and private sectors in genomics research, and about who stands to benefit (and who stands to lose) from the private appropriation of genomic information. While the US Patent and Trademark Office has rejected patent applications on cDNA fragments of unknown function from the National Institutes of Health, private firms have pursued three distinct strategies for exploiting unpatented cDNA sequence information: exclusive licensing, non-exclusive licensing and dedication to the public domain.

The Externalization Of Domestic Regulation: Intellectual Property Rights Reform In A Global Era, Paul N. Doremus

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Intellectual property rights (IPR) issues in the software, biotechnology, and semiconductor industries exemplify the pressure that new technologies and international competition are placing on domestic and international regulatory systems. Traditional patent and copyright rules cannot easily accommodate any of these technologies. At the same time, the high costs of research and development, relative ease of replication, and global markets characteristic of these technologies heighten the importance of both domestic and foreign IPR protection. In the context of rapidly changing technological conditions, borderless markets, and inflexible international regimes, national policymakers face a political dilemma: how to accommodate new technologies at home, …

Reply To Comments On The Patentability Of Certain Inventions Associated With The Identification Of Partial Cdna Sequences, Rebecca S. Eisenberg, Robert P. Merges

Articles

A brief reply is in order to clarify our position on the patenting of research tools. We stand by the statement that "there are reasons to be wary of patents on research tools," but that statement should not be understood as a broad condemnation of patents on research tools in all contexts. Indeed, immediately after the cited language our opinion letter acknowledges that withholding patent protection from research tools could undermine private incentives to develop research tools and to make them available to investigators or lead to greater reliance on trade secrecy. Unlike the government, which purports to pursue patent …

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

Articles

You have asked for our legal opinion on the patentability of inventions claimed in U.S. patent applications 07/716,831, filed June 21, 1991 (the '831 application, or .'831"), 07/837,195, filed September 25, 1992 ("'195"), and 07/952,911, filed February 12, 1993 (."911"), all filed in the name of Craig Venter and others and assigned to the National Institutes of Health "(NIH)." We understand that NIH has abandoned these patent applications and has no present intention of filing similar applications in the future, but that NIH remains interested in the patenting of human DNA sequences from a broader public policy perspective. We have …

Access To And Authority To Cite Unpublished Decisions Of The Pto, Thomas G. Field Jr

Law Faculty Scholarship

This paper begins with the Solicitor [of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office]'s explanation of the term "unpublished." It then reviews various kinds of published PTO decisions where the precedential effect of unpublished decisions has been addressed. There, we see that the PTO has generally not ignored unpublished precedent--at least, deliberately--and that the Solicitor agrees that this may not be done. Next, this paper examines the almost universal practice of federal appeals courts disallowing use of their unpublished decisions as precedent--and some of the reasons for widespread criticism of that practice. It also discusses some of the reasons that judges, …

Issue Preclusion - Recognizing Foreign Judgments In United States Patent Infringement Suits: A New Approach, 26 J. Marshall L. Rev. 627 (1993), James P. Muraff

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Complex Tradeoffs In Patent Antitrust Law: A Comment On Millstein, F. M. Scherer

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Information Law Overview, 18 J. Marshall L. Rev. 815 (1985), George B. Trubow

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Passion: An Essay On Personality , Richard F. Devlin Frsc

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Passion is a cogently structured, compel Jingly argued and seductively enthralling masterpiece which, in years to come, will undoubtedly stand out as an inspirational source for many who seek social transformation. Unger's style, in this essay at least, is lucid and inviting. Substantively, Passion demonstrates not only the depth of his penetrating intellect but also his command of an array of' disciplines. Unger's polymathy is all the more impressive when we remember that ours is an era in which idiosyncratic specialization is the norm.

Recent Decisions, James A. Walker, Charles A. Daughtrey, A. Dale Wilson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW--PRESIDENT'S ATTEMPT UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER TO REMOVE PRESIDENTIALLY APPROVED CAB ORDER FROM SCOPE OF THE WATERMAN DOCTRINE

James A. Walker

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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES--TRADEMARK RIGHTS--COURT OF JUSTICE PREVENTS THIRD PARTY FROM AFFIXING TRADEMARK TO GOODS SOLD UNDER ANOTHER MARK

Charles Anthony Daughtrey

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THE TREATY POWER--THE PROPERTY CLAUSE PERMITS THE TRANSFER OF UNITED STATES PROPERTY THROUGH SELF-EXECUTING TREATY

A. Dale Wilson

Compulsory Licensing Of A Trademark, Vincent N. Palladino

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Corporate Patent - Reform Or Retrogression, Mary Helen Sears

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Abuse Of Trademarks: A Proposal For Ompulsory Licensing, Mara L. Babin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article neither deals with the propriety of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) proposed order nor evaluates the effectiveness of compulsory trademark licensing as a remedy for unfair trade practices.8 Rather, the pending cereal industry case is used as a point of departure for an examination of the problem of trademark abuse and the responses of the courts, the Congress, and the FTC to it. Acknowledging the legality of compulsory licensing of trademarks, the article suggests legislation which will incorporate licensing and standards for its application. Such legislation would make licensing an accessible remedy for trademark abuse while accommodating both …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Accountants--Auditors--Compliance with General Accounting Principles Not a Complete Defense To Criminal Fraud

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Administrative Law--Standing to Challenge Administrative Actions--Anyone Arguably Protected by Statute May Sue

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Constitutional Law--Abortion--Standard Excepting Abortions Done as "Necessary for the Preservation of the Mother's Life or Health" Held Unconstitutionally Vague

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Constitutional Law--Civil Rights--Discrimination by a Third Party in Connection with the Rental of Property Entitles the Injured Party to a Private Right of Damages Under Section 1982

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Constitutional Law--Double Jeopardy--Benton v. Maryland Applies Retroactively to State Criminal Convictions

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Copyright--Unfair Competition--Unauthorized Reproduction of Another's Recording for Resale Violates State Unfair Competition Doctrine

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The Copyright Law And Its Relevance To Catv: Can An Old Dog Be Taught New Tricks, Alan R. Chase

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Post Expiration Royalty Payments And Mandatory Package Licensing As Patent Misuses, Thomas C. Sickman

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Version: A Reflection On The Copyright Law's Policy Of Protection, James M. Salony

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Kurt L. Hanslowe, Boaz Siegel, Walter J. Derenberg, David S. Stern, B. J. George

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Patent Office Performance In Perspective, George E. Frost

Michigan Law Review

" the only patent that is valid is one which this Court has not been able to get its hands on."

Justice Jackson's note of despair reflects all too accurately the treatment patents have seemingly received in the hands of the courts since the "new trend" of recent years. It has become the legal fashion to characterize letters patent as something the Patent Office issues and the courts strike down. Statistical support for this conclusion can be readily assembled.

Book Reviews

Michigan Law Review

A collection of book reviews by multiple authors.