Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Outsourcing The Fire Of Genius: The Effects Of Patent Infringement Jurisprudence On Pharmaceutical Drug Development, Katherine A. Helm

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

My Patent, Your Patent, Or Our Patent? Inventorship Disputes Within Academic Research Groups, Sean B. Seymore

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The statutory requirement of identifying the first and true inventor is often muddled by the mores and practices of academic science. Unfortunately, and despite claims of scientists and attorneys to the contrary, I contend that the inventive entity is not discovered but rather determined in and through social relationships. Although universities should always strive to promulgate policies which fully comport with the law, the biggest incentive for universities to insist on correct inventorship is financial. I argue that the rise in mentee claims for sole or joint inventorship, as well as the ever-present threat of an inequitable conduct defense in …

Is The Eli Lilly Written Description Requirement A Paper Tiger?: A Comprehensive Assessment Of The Impact Of Eli Lilly And Its Progeny In The Courts And Pto, Christopher M. Holman

ExpressO

In University of California v. Eli Lilly, decided by the Federal Circuit in 1997, the court established for the first time a new form of patent law’s written description requirement, apparently targeted specifically at biotechnology. To this day, the conventional wisdom is that the so-called Lilly written description requirement (“LWD”) exists as a biotechnology-specific “super-enablement” requirement, substantially more stringent than the enablement requirement (the conventional standard for patentability), and standing as an impediment to effective patent protection for biotechnology inventions. My objective in writing this article was to test this conventional wisdom, by conducting a comprehensive search for all LWD …

Law And The Science Of Networks: An Overview And An Application To The "Patent Explosion", Katherine J. Strandburg

ExpressO

The network may be the metaphor of the present era. A network, consisting of “nodes” and “links,” may be a group of individuals linked by friendship; a group of computers linked by network cables; a system of roads or airline flights -- or another of a virtually limitless variety of systems of connected “things.” The past few years have seen an explosion of interest in “network science,” which seeks to move beyond metaphor to analysis in fields from physics to sociology. Network science highlights the role of relationship patterns in determining collective behavior. It underscores and begins to address the …

Patent Reform And Differential Impact, Matthew J. Sag, Kurt Rohde

ExpressO

This article presents a new method of analyzing patent reform proposals through the use of differential impact analysis.

Congressional efforts to address the crisis of confidence in the U.S. patent system have failed up to the present day. If Congress is to have any hope of passing much needed legislative reform to the Patent Act, the supporters of patent reform will have to unite behind a streamlined set of proposals that directly address the most pressing and unambiguous defects of the current patent system. To that end, we have proposed applying a test of differential impact to enable Congress to …

Risk Aversion And Rights Accretion In Intellectual Property Law, James Gibson

ExpressO

Intellectual property’s road to hell is paved with good intentions. Because liability is difficult to predict, intellectual property users often seek licenses even when proceeding without one might be permissible. Yet because the existence (vel non) of licensing markets plays a key role in determining the breadth of rights, these seemingly sensible licensing decisions eventually feed back into doctrine; the licensing itself becomes proof that the entitlement covers the use. Over time, then, public privilege recedes and rights expand, moving intellectual property’s ubiquitous gray areas into what used to be virgin territory--where risk aversion again creates licensing markets, which cause …

Post-Sale Restrainst Via Patent Licensing: A "Seedcentric" Perspective, Peter Carstensen

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Panel I: Monsanto V. Scruggs: The Scope Of Downstream Licensing Restrictions, Mark R. Patterson, Richard B. Ulmer Jr., Peter Castensen, Jay P. Kesan

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Licensing Restrictions And Appropriating Market Benefits From Plant Innovation, Jay P. Kesan

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Patents On Human Genes: An Analysis Of Scope And Claims, Lori B. Andrews, Jordan K. Paradise, Timothy R. Holbrooke

All Faculty Scholarship

There is significant domestic and international opposition to gene patents based on the fact that gene patents deter medical research and health care, as well as the policy position that genes are an inherent product of nature. Yet, equally troubling is the fact that gene patents have been issued by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that are problematic with respect to existing federal patent law. The authors of this Policy Forum describe their study, which examined issued gene patents covering a variety of genetic diseases and described ways in which many claims fell short of USPTO patentability requirements.

Trips And Traditional Knowledge: Local Communities, Local Knowledge, And Global Intellectual Property Frameworks, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

Intellectual property treatment of traditional or local knowledge is a major issue of contention today, particularly since the implementation of the TRIPs Agreement, which establishes minimum levels of intellectual property protection for members of the World Trade Organization. Discourse surrounding local knowledge is highly charged with accusations of "piracy" from Western countries countered with allegations of "biopiracy" from Third World countries. Flowing beneath the surface of this dialogue are multiple levels of historical experience. Intellectual property frameworks were formed in the nineteenth century during a period when evolutionary views of the development of human societies were paramount. Local knowledge was …

The Role Of Patents In Fostering Open Innovation, John Dubiansky

ExpressO

The patent system is at an inherent tension with contemporary practices of innovation. American patent doctrine reveres the lone inventor who, through the marshalling of extraordinary insight and experimental toil, conceives a novel invention. As a reward, the inventor is given the right to profit from his contribution through personal commercial exploitation. While this perspective may have reflected the practice of the mechanical arts at the time of the nation’s founding, it no longer reflects contemporary industrial research and development, where innovation is an increasingly networked process.

This disconnect is evidenced by the fact that contemporary patent doctrine has failed …

The Expressive Impact Of Patents, Timothy R. Holbrook

ExpressO

Patents represent a quid pro quo between the public and the inventor: in exchange for disclosing the invention, the inventor receives the right to exclude others from practicing her invention. They therefore serve as a source technical information. Patents also communicate information to markets and companies that serve to reduce various transaction costs, allowing more efficient transactions and investment. Patents consequently communicate various types of information beyond the technical.

There is no reason, however, that such messages must be limited to the technical or the pecuniary. This Article explores whether patents, like other governmental acts such as legislation, can create …

Possession In Patent Law, Timothy R. Holbrook

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Every patent system in the world requires an inventor to disclose his invention in the patent document. The courts rationalize this obligation as part of the quid pro quo of the patent system: the patentee must disclose the invention to the public in exchange for the patent's exclusive rights. The patent thus teaches the world about this new creation and enhances the storehouse of knowledge. The quid pro quo view of the patent system, however, is inconsistent with the theoretical justifications for patent law. Patents are meant to combat free-riding, yet this view of the patent as "teaching" the invention …

The Expressive Impact Of Patents, Timothy R. Holbrook

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Patents represent a quid pro quo between the public and the inventor: in exchange for disclosing the invention, the inventor receives the right to exclude others from practicing her invention. They therefore serve as a source technical information. Patents also communicate information to markets and companies that serve to reduce various transaction costs, allowing more efficient transactions and investment. Patents consequently communicate various types of information beyond the technical.

There is no reason, however, that such messages must be limited to the technical or the pecuniary. This Article explores whether patents, like other governmental acts such as legislation, can create …

The Intent Element Of Induced Infringement, Timothy R. Holbrook

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The Federal Circuit is currently split on what the requisite intent for induced infringement should be: an intent to induce infringement or an intent to induce the acts that constitute infringement. I argue that the former is the correct standard, given the exceptional nature of this infringement provision. As a result, a good faith belief that there is no direct infringement would insulate the inducer from liability, although such a belief would only preclude pre-suit damages and not prospective relief, such as an injunction, in a manner similar to a laches defense.

Unravelling The Myth Around Open Source Licences - An Analysis From A Dutch And European Law Perspective, Lucie Guibault, Ot Van Daalen

Books

Open source software licences are based on two fundamental principles: the possibility for users to use the software for any purpose and the possibility to modify and redistribute it without prior authorisation from the initial developer. Some open source software licences, like the General Public Licence (GPL), also impose a corollary obligation on the licensee: to make the source code available to other developers. The idea behind this form of licensing is that when programmers can read, redistribute and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. A number of legal challenges need to be addressed …

Accepting Exceptions?: A Comparative Approach To Experimental Use In U.S. And German Patent Law, Peter Ruess

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

Experimental use is a keystone of research and innovation for some and obstacle in using a patent for others. In a genuine international field such as patent law, monitoring recent developments is best done in a comparative way. Particularly, the decision Merck v. Integra of the US Supreme Court and the new EU law, give reason to explore this field in more detail.

Soft-Science Examiners At The Uspto: A Non-Obvious Solution To Reduce Erroneous Patent Grants, Mandy Barbara Seuffert

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

Soft science graduates can participate in patent application review, or secondary review, at the USPTO when there exists a question as to a patent's validity or obviousness. Four reasons militate in favor of including soft science patent application reviews: (1) the PTO can increase the number of examiners at a relatively low cost; (2) more time can be devoted to each questionable patent application review; (3) soft science examiners use complimentary skills and insights that might promote fewer erroneous patent approvals; and, (4) fewer parties will be forced to litigate over patent validity. This paper examines the rising problems associated …

Corporate Patents: Optimizing Organizational Responses To Innovation Opportunities And Invention Discoveries, Richard Gruner

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This article examines the interplay between patent incentives and corporate innovation. It argues that innovation concerning today's complex technologies often requires efforts on a corporate organizational scale and that changes in patent and corporate laws are needed to fully promote effective and efficient innovation in corporate environments. The prevalence of patent ownership and exploitation by corporations reflects a fundamental but poorly appreciated truth about modern technological innovation. Patent incentives influencing individuals don't bring most new inventions to the public. Rather, in many recently developed technology areas, corporate-initiated efforts are the primary sources of publicly valuable innovation and, hence, the main …

Of The Inequals Of The Uruguay Round, Srividhya Ragavan, Srividhya Ragavan

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

Ten years ago, the TRIPs Agreement set a distinct tone in international law by requiring Members to prioritize international trade obligations as a means to achieve national goals. Within the next five years, the AIDS crisis highlighted that compromising pressing national responsibilities-like a looming public health crisis-to fulfill international obligations may, in fact, detrimentally affect international trade. Meanwhile, access to medication continues to be an unresolved issue even as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of TRIPs and the end of the transitional period. This Article suggests that the success of TRIPs depends on its ability to address national responsibilities that …

Why Sell What You Can License?, Contracting Around Statutory Protection Of Intellectual Property, Elizabeth I. Winston

Scholarly Articles

Historically, the transfer of goods has been through sale, a model regulated by public legislation. Increasingly, however, the transfer of goods is occurring through licensing, a model regulated by private legislation. Privately-legislated licenses - for such chattels as musical and written works and agricultural goods - are being used to circumvent publicly-legislated restrictions on intellectual property. Private legislation should not circumvent public legislation, and intellectual property owners should not be allowed to circumvent the statutory scheme for protection of intellectual property. Licenses that augment publicly-legislated protection of intellectual property support the traditional role of contracts and should be enforced. Licenses …

Easing The Claim Construction Blow With Early-Discovery Markman Hearings That Are Appealable To The Federal Circuit On An Interlocutory Basis, Srikanth K. Reddy

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Patent Buy-Outs For Global Disease Innovations For Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

Drug prices are uniquely susceptible to radical price reductions through generic competition. Patented pharmaceuticals may be priced at more than 30 times the marginal cost of production; the excess is the patent rent collected by the drug company while the patent and exclusive marketing periods remain. Patent rents are significant. AIDS drugs which sell for US$10,000 per person per year in the US are sold generically for less than US$200. If patented drugs could be sold at the marginal cost of production, cost effective treatments would become even more attractive, and other interventions would become affordable.

This Article proposes marginal …

“One For All: The Problem Of Uniformity Cost In Intellectual Property Law.” American University Law Review 55, No.4 (May 2006): 845-900., Michael W. Carroll

American University Law Review

Intellectual property law protects the owner of each patented invention or copyrighted work of authorship with a largely uniform set of exclusive rights. In the modern context, it is clear that innovators' needs for intellectual property protection vary substantially across industries and among types of innovation. Applying a socially costly, uniform solution to problems of differing magnitudes means that the law necessarily imposes uniformity cost by underprotecting those who invest in certain costly innovations and overprotecting those with low innovation costs or access to alternative appropriability mechanisms. This Article argues that reducing uniformity cost is the central problem for intellectual …

Steam Shovels And Lipstick: Trademarks, Greed, And The Public Domain, Mary Lafrance

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Refusals To Deal With Competitors By Owners Of Patents And Copyrights: Reflections On The Image Technical And Xerox Decisions, Joseph P. Bauer

Journal Articles

Under the patent and copyright laws, the owner of a patent for an invention or of a copyright for a work has the right to sell, license or transfer it, to exploit it individually and exclusively, or even to decide to withhold it from the public. By contrast, under the antitrust laws, a unilateral refusal to deal may constitute an element of a violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and the courts may then impose a duty on the violator to deal with others, including possibly with its actual or would-be competitors.

The central question addressed by this …

One For All: The Problem Of Uniformity Cost In Intellectual Property Law, Michael W. Carroll

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Intellectual property law protects the owner of each patented invention or copyrighted work of authorship with a largely uniform set of exclusive rights. In the modern context, it is clear that innovators' needs for intellectual property protection vary substantially across industries and among types of innovation. Applying a socially costly, uniform solution to problems of differing magnitudes means that the law necessarily imposes uniformity cost by underprotecting those who invest in certain costly innovations and overprotecting those with low innovation costs or access to alternative appropriability mechanisms.

This Article argues that reducing uniformity cost is the central problem for intellectual …

Peer To Patent: Collective Intelligence And Intellectual Property Reform, Beth Simone Noveck

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Patents And Business Models For Software Firms, John R. Allison, Abe Dunn, Ronald J. Mann

Faculty Scholarship

We analyze the relation between patents and the different business models available to firms in the software industry. The paper builds on Cusumano's work defining the differences among firms that sell products, those that provide services, and the hybrid firms that fall between those polar categories. Combining data from five years of Software Magazine's Software 500 with data about the patenting practices of those software firms, we analyze the relation between the share of revenues derived from product sales and the firm's patenting practices. Accounting for size, R&D intensity, and sector-specific effects, the paper finds a robust positive correlation between …