Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Franchise Participants As Proper Patent Opponents: Walker Process Claims, Robert W. Emerson

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Franchise parties may be sued for patent infringement, or they may seek to sue others for an antitrust injury as the result of a fraudulently obtained patent. Indeed, franchisors and franchisees may simultaneously fall under both categories-sued for infringement but aggrieved because the very basis of that suit is illegitimate in their eyes. These franchise parties may turn for relief to a patent-validity challenge authorized in the seminal case Walker Process Equipment, Inc. v. Food Machine & Chemical Corp. Franchise participants-franchisees and franchisors alike-may be the ideal Walker Process claimants. When these types of cases occur, the damages within the …

One Consumer’S Trash Is Another’S Treasure: Upcycling’S Place In Trademark Law, Jolie Brett Schenerman

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

The note argues that upcycling, the process of creating new, high-value products from salvaged materials, should be protected under trademark law's fair use doctrine. It contends that upcycling, unlike traditional infringement, does not confuse consumers about the source of goods and instead creates transformative works that benefit both sustainability and brand relevance. The analysis draws parallels between upcycling and parody, advocating for similar legal protections, and highlights the evolving relationship between luxury brands and upcyclers, from litigation to collaboration.

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Brief Of Amici Curiae Law And Economics Scholars In Support Of Appellee And Affirmance, Mark A. Lemley, A. Douglas Melamed, Steven C. Salop

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In reliance on Qualcomm’s FRAND promises, key SSOs incorporated its technologies into wireless standards. Qualcomm takes the position that its patented technologies are essential to those standards and, therefore, that any firm making or selling a standard-compliant product infringes its patents. As a result, the SSOs’ incorporation of Qualcomm’s patented technologies into wireless standards created a huge market for licenses to Qualcomm’s SEPs.

The district court held that Qualcomm used its chipset monopolies, not only to extract the high chip-set prices to which it was entitled, but also to perpetuate those monopolies by disadvantaging rival chip-makers and raising entry barriers. …

Intellectual Property For Breakfast: Market Power And Informative Symbols In The Marketplace, P. Sean Morris

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article continues to examine an important question: are trademarks a source of market power, or, put differently, when are trademarks an antitrust problem? This fundamental question is a cause of division among antitrust and intellectual property law scholars. However, by raising the question and presenting some scenarios that can provide answers, my hope is that contemporary antitrust and intellectual property scholars can explore some of its implications. As part of my own quest to address this question, I explore the proposition that creative deception and the wealth-generating capacity of trademarks are unorthodox elements that actually contribute to allegations of …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Brand-Name Drug Company May Violate Section Two Of The Sherman Act By Mislabeling A Submitted Patent In The Orange Book: An Implication From In Re Actos End-Payor Antitrust Litigation, 848 F.3d 89 (2d Cir. 2017), Ping-Hsun Chen

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The Hatch-Waxman Act encourages generic drug companies to submit an abbreviated new drug application (“ANDA”) for a generic version of a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Nevertheless, a mechanism exists for a brand-name drug company to adjudicate a patent infringement dispute before the FDA approves an ANDA. The mechanism includes the regulatory scheme of patent information submission implemented by the FDA. 21 U.S.C. § 355(b)(1) requires that patent information be correct. False patent information destroys the objectives of the Hatch-Waxman Act. In re Actos End-Payor Antitrust Litigation, 848 F.3d 89 (2d Cir. 2017), may demonstrate …

Compensation Is All-American: Former College Football Star Chris Spielman’S Case Against His Alma Mater And How It Could Affect The Ncaa’S Amateurism Rules, Jason Mcintyre

Pace Law Review

The lawsuit, Spielman v. IMG College, arose when Ohio State University (“OSU”) entered into a marketing deal through their marketing agency, IMG College (“IMG”), with corporations Honda Motor Co. (“Honda”) and Nike USA Inc. (“Nike”), to hang banners depicting images of former college athletes at school sporting events. Charles “Chris” Spielman, the named Plaintiff and former NCAA football player at OSU, brought this lawsuit because he claims that OSU and IMG unreasonably and illegally restrained trade by denying him the right to profit from his name, image, and likeness.

This case plays a role in the ongoing conversation of whether …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

World Trade, Imperial Fantasies And Protectionism: Can You Really Have Your Cake And Eat It Too?, Csongor I. Nagy

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Populism is telling voters what they want to hear, knowing that it is neither true, nor feasible. Lately, trade and economic integration has seen the spread of untrue and unfeasible tenets, which have proved to be highly popular and have received a warm welcome. Fueled by imperial fantasies and nostalgia for the long-gone era of protectionism, the tectonic movements of world trade have generated a good deal of populist resistance based on the self-delusion that the Gordian knot of world trade needs not to be disentangled but can be simply cut. Unfortunately, however popular and appealing these allegations are, they …

Has Regulation Affected The High Frequency Trading Market?, Kevin O'Connell

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

As technology rapidly advances society, there are a few industries that have not been drastically impacted by disruptive technology. The financial markets are no different. Over the past ten years, algorithmic trading has quickly revolutionized the financial markets and continues to dominate an industry that for many years remained largely uninfluenced by society’s technological advances. Algorithmic trading is “a type of trading done with the use of mathematical formulas” and market data “run by powerful computers” to execute trades. One of the most commonly used platforms of algorithmic trading is high frequency trading. High frequency trading (“HFT”) uses a computerized …

The Tethered Economy, Aaron K. Perzanowski, Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Aniket Kesari

Faculty Publications

Imagine a future in which every purchase decision is as complex as choosing a mobile phone. What will ongoing service cost? Is it compatible with other devices you use? Can you move data and applications across de- vices? Can you switch providers? These are just some of the questions one must consider when a product is “tethered” or persistently linked to the seller. The Internet of Things, but more broadly, consumer products with embedded software, are already tethered. While tethered products bring the benefits of connection, they also carry its pathologies. As sellers blend hardware and software—as well as product …

Tribal Sovereign Immunity As A Defense At The Patent Trial And Appeal Board? Or A Violation Of U.S. Antitrust Laws?, Samantha Roth

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This Comment will address two primary issues. First, it will analyze the basis of sovereign immunity rights of tribes, with a focus on the relationship between intellectual property rights and sovereignty. Second, it will discuss whether this arrangement violates the antitrust laws of the United States. This Comment concludes that even if a claim of tribal sovereign immunity is legitimate, it is likely that such an arrangement still violates the relevant antitrust claims.

Finding A Forest Through The Trees: Georgia-Pacific As Guidance For Arbitration Of International Compulsory Licensing Disputes, Karen Mckenzie

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This paper will examine the challenges of international compulsory licensing by examining the issue historically and legally as well as offer possible solutions. Thus, this paper will explore the challenge of balancing corporate interests against the affordability and availability of pharmaceuticals by focusing on discrete situations in developing countries, the history of compulsory licensing, and how the World Health Organization (the “WHO”) and the WTO have attempted to tackle these challenges through compulsory licensing, and it will suggest a possible framework for use in arbitration, which balances equities through a Georgia-Pacific analysis.

Protecting Wisconsinites From Trolls: The Federal Circuit's "Bad Faith" Preemption And Its Restrictive Effect, Andrew Salomone

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

In this comment, I use Wis. Stat. Ann. § 100.197 (“Wisconsin’s anti-PAE statute”) to demonstrate the significant degree to which the Federal Circuit’s current preemption regime restricts states’ abilities to regulate the behavior of PAEs. In Part II, I summarize Wisconsin’s legislative response to PAEs. In Part III, I contrast the Federal Circuit’s preemption doctrine and the Supreme Court’s doctrine as it relates to state laws similar to anti-PAE statutes. Paying particular attention to Wisconsin’s patent notification statute, I provide a brief preemption analysis in Part IV. Finally, in Part V, I conclude by arguing that the severe consequences of …

One Chuck, Two Chuck: Analyzing Whether Federally Registered Trademarks Should Be Distinguished From Unregistered, Common-Law Trademarks In The Context Of Converse, Inc. V. International Trade Commission, Mckenzie Subart

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This Comment analyzes which trademark model (the pyramid model or the box model) is a better representation and characterization of trademarks and trademark rights. Under the pyramid model, there is one trademark: both common law rights and federal registration rights attach to this single trademark. For the pyramid model, trademark rights resemble a pyramid because federal registration rights build upon the foundation created by common law rights. Common law rights and federal registration rights are interdependent. Under the box model, there is a common-law trademark and a federal trademark: common law rights attach to the common-law trademark, and federal registration …

Predictive Analytics, Daryl Lim

Faculty Scholarly Works

“Predictive Analytics” blends the latest research in behavioral economics with artificial intelligence to address one of the most important legal questions at the heart of intellectual property law and antitrust law – how do courts and agencies make judgments about innovation and competition policies? How can they better predict the consequences of intervention or non-intervention?

The premise of this Article is that we should not continue to build doctrine at the IP-antitrust on theoretical neoclassical assumptions alone but also on the reality of markets using all that AI has to offer us. Behavioral economics and AI do not replace traditional …

Nationalizing Trips: An Examination Through Exceptions, 18 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 285 (2019), Evan Tallmadge

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

What should not be patentable? The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”) codifies certain categories of subject matter that nations can exclude from patent protection. This Article examines how nations have interpreted these exclusions through an analysis of their national manuals of patent examining procedure and more importantly what explicit exceptions to patentability these countries have listed. The Article proceeds to analyze both the similarities and differences in approaches towards exclusions that attempt to ban the same subject matter from patentability and differences in what countries have chosen to bar from patenting. The Article concludes with an …

A History Of Competition: The Impact Of Antitrust On Hong Kong’S Telecommunications Markets, Sandra Marco Colino

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Hong Kong has only had cross-sector competition law since 2015, but the city’s telecommunications markets have been subject to sector-specific antitrust provisions for over two decades. The importance of nurturing an efficient, innovative, and competitive telecoms industry for Hong Kong’s economic prosperity was acknowledged already at the time the sector was liberalized in the 1990s. Yet until the late 2000s, the government vehemently opposed the adoption of competition law in virtually all other sectors of the economy. This paper examines the effectiveness of the regulatory framework set up to guarantee the protection of competition in the telecommunications sector in Hong …

Worldwide Frand Licensing Standard, Garry A. Gabison

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Looking For Venue In The Patently Right Places: A Parallel Study Of The Venue Act And Venue In Anda Litigation, Mengke Xing

San Diego Law Review

Like any other type of litigation, venue is often an important strategic decision for patent infringement litigants. Under the traditional nation-wide venue rule, a patent owner was able to sue a corporate defendant almost in every district in the country, giving rise to abusive forum shopping and the popularity of the Eastern District of Texas. Last year, the Supreme Court in TC Heartland dramatically changed the legal framework of venue in patent litigation, while leaving some issues unaddressed. After a discussion of the evolvement of venue laws and the significance of TC Heartland, this Comment focuses on the Venue Equity …

Update On Antitrust And Pay-For-Delay: Evaluating “No Authorized Generic” And “Exclusive License” Provisions In Hatch-Waxman Settlements, Saami Zain

San Diego Law Review

In Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, the United States Supreme Court held that a patent litigation settlement where a branded drug company pays a generic drug company to end the litigation and delay launching its generic may violate the antitrust laws. Although the decision ended years of controversy over whether such settlements were subject to antitrust scrutiny, many issues remain unresolved concerning the lawfulness of these settlements. In particular, courts have struggled in assessing the legality of patent settlements between branded and generic drug manufacturers involving non-cash compensation or benefits. This article discusses one type of non-cash compensation that is …

Confidentiality In Patent Dispute Resolution: Antitrust Implications, Mark R. Patterson

Washington Law Review

Information is crucial to the functioning of the patent system, as it is for other markets. Nevertheless, patent licensing terms are often subject to confidentiality agreements. On the one hand, this is not surprising: sellers and buyers do not normally publicize the details of their transactions. On the other hand, explicit confidentiality agreements are not common in other markets, and they may be particularly problematic for patents. Several United States Supreme Court cases have condemned agreements that suppress market information, and those cases could be applied to confidentiality agreements in the patent context. Of course, confidentiality may sometimes be pro-competitive, …

Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Human Rights And Regulatory Lessons From "Lilly V. Canada", Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The triangular interface between trade, intellectual property (IP) and human rights has yet to be fully formed, both doctrinally and normatively. Adding investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) to the mix increases the complexity of the equations to solve. Two resultant issues are explored in this Article. First, the Article considers ways in which broader public policy objectives—in particular the protection of human rights—can and should be factored into determinations of whether a state’s action is compatible with its trade obligations and commitments in the state-to-state dispute settlement context. Second, the Article examines whether doctrinal tools used in state-to-state, trade-dispute settlement to …

The Mystery Of Section 253(B), Matthew Gagnier

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

In 2014, Elon Musk, the renowned and socially-minded CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., posted a blog on Tesla’s website that stated the company would be freeing up many of its patents involved in the creation of the company’s electric cars to any interested party. Yet again, Musk astounded the public by choosing the betterment of society over corporate profits—stirring up a more positive image than any other corporate personality. But there are numerous questions that Musk’s positive PR have drowned out: Where can you access the patents?; How did freeing up the patents get past the other executive officers and …

The New Separability, Lili Levi

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, the Supreme Court recently unveiled a new approach to separability. Because copyright law protects expression, not function, aesthetic features of useful articles are eligible for copyright protection only if they are separable from the functional work in which they are incorporated. But the Copyright Act does not define separability, and Star Athletica is the latest judicial effort to try to fill that void. Unfortunately, the new separability is open to a wide range of critiques. Relatively low-hanging fruit are the vagueness and indeterminacy of the new test, the Court's unsatisfactory attempts to avoid defining …

2017 Annual Survey: Recent Developments In Sports Law, Jordan Lysiak, Katherine Hampel

Marquette Sports Law Review

None

Index: Sports Law In Law Reviews And Journals, Jordan Lysiak

Marquette Sports Law Review

None

The Erie/Sears/Compco Squeeze: Erie’S Effects On Unfair Competition And Trade Secret Law, Sharon Sandeen

Faculty Scholarship

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Supreme Court's famous decision in Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, this article explores the consequences of that decision on the development of unfair competition law in the United States. It details efforts by lawyers and legislators to grapple with those consequences and provides an overview of the evolution of unfair competition law in the U.S. since Erie, with a particular focus on trade secret law.