Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

The Experimental Purpose Doctrine And Biomedical Research, Tao Huang

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The experimental use doctrine is a common law rule in patent law that until a few years ago excused accused infringers who made and used patented products or processes on the basis of an experimental, educational, or nonprofit purpose when there was de minimis economic injury to the patent owner and de minimis economic gain to the infringer. While the application of the experimental purpose doctrine was always narrow, two recent Federal Circuit decisions indicate that there is not much left under its aegis. In Madey v. Duke University, the Federal Circuit strictly limited the application of the experimental purpose …

2003 Patent Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Paul Devinsky, Mark G. Davis

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Infringing A Fantasy: Future Obstacles Arise For The United States Patent Office And Software Manufacturers Utilizing Artificial Intelligence, Eric J. Schaal

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal (1994 - )

No abstract provided.

C’Est What? Saisie! A Comparison Of Patent Infringement Remedies Among The G7 Economic Nations, Larry Coury

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Arising Under Jurisdiction And Uniformity In Patent Law, Christopher A. Cotropia

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The law governing the Federal Circuit's appellate jurisdiction was brought into question in Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Circulation Systems, Inc. The Federal Circuit's appellate jurisdiction over Vornado's appeal rested solely on Vornado's counterclaim alleging patent infringement by Holmes. Holmes's complaint sought a declaratory judgment of no trade dress infringement and did not include any patent law claims. While the Federal Circuit found appellate jurisdiction over Vornado's appeal based on the counterclaim of patent infringement, the Supreme Court disagreed. The Court focused on the language in 35 U.S.C. § 1338(a), which defines the Federal Circuit's appellate jurisdiction by the statute's …

Festering Questions After Festo, Harold C. Wegner

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Panel I: The End Of Equivalents? Examining The Fallout From Festo, J. Michael Jakes, Herbert Michael Schwartz, Harold C. Wegner

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Patents, Product Exclusivity, And Information Dissemination: How Law Directs Biopharmaceutical Research And Development, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Other Publications

It's a great honor for me to be invited to deliver the Levine Distinguished Lecture at Fordham, and a great opportunity to try out some new ideas before this audience. As some of you know, I've been studying the role of patents in biomedical research and product development ("R&D") for close to twenty years now, with a particular focus on how patents work in "upstream" research in universities and biotechnology companies that are working on research problems that arise prior to "downstream" product development. But, of course, the patent strategies of these institutions are designed around the profits that everyone …

Festo: A Case Contravening The Convergence Of Doctrine Of Equivalents Jurisprudence In Germany, The United Kingdom, And The United States, Katherine E. White

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Despite differences in patent law jurisprudence in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, the fundamental principles underlying each system serve the same basic purpose: to encourage technological innovation and dissemination of knowledge. In granting exclusive patent rights, it is important that the scope of patent protection not be so broad as to remove existing knowledge from the public domain. The scope of protection should strike a balance between granting adequate patent rights while preserving the public's ownership in the public domain or the prior art. To encourage innovation patentees must attain significant exclusive rights, while potential infringers receive …

Application Of Patent Law Damages Analysis To Trade Secret Misappropriation Claims: Apportionment, Alternatives, And Other Common Limitations On Damages, Douglas G. Smith

Seattle University Law Review

Part I of this article discusses the case law acknowledging the applicability of patent law precedents in the context of trade secret damage claims. Part II discusses the application of patent law precedents regarding lost profits as a measure of damages. Part III analyzes the applicability of patent law damages principles in the context of unjust enrichment as a measure of damages. Part IV then proceeds to examine how patent law principles are frequently applied in the context of royalty damages. Part V discusses the case law relating to disaggregation and apportionment of damages in the context of patent and …

Swallowing The Apple Whole: Improper Patent Use By Local Rule, Ellisen S. Turner

Michigan Law Review

During patent infringement litigation, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("FRCP") and the federal district court's local rules govern the parties' pretrial discovery and motion practice. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has adopted the most comprehensive local rules to date covering pretrial procedures in the patent litigation context. The Northern District of California Patent Local Rules ("Local Rules") may come to have a significant impact throughout the federal courts, as it appears that other jurisdictions and commentators are looking to the Local Rules for guidance. For instance, the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property …

Internet Business Model Patents: Obvious By Analogy, Margo A. Bagley

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

This Article contends that part of the problem of Internet business model patents is the narrow view of analogous art employed by judges and USPTO examiners which largely excludes relevant "real-world" prior art in the determination of non-obviousness under § 103 of the Patent Act. Consequently, part of the solution lies in helping courts and the USPTO properly to define analogous art for a particular invention. To do so, judges and examiners must recognize the interchangeability of computer programming (i.e. "e-world" activities) to perform a function, with human or mechanical performance of the same function (i.e. "real world" activities). Such …

Defining The Proper Scope Of Internet Patents: If We Don't Know Where We Want To Go, We're Unlikely To Get There, Vincent Chiappetta

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Part I of this Article addresses the appropriateness of protecting Internet innovations under the current patent regime. It concludes that the doctrinal, historical and policy arguments require different outcomes regarding computing (patentable subject matter) and competitive arts (at best a difficult fit) innovation. Part II argues that the new electronic economy has given rise to a particular kind of competitive arts "market failure" (interference with first-to-move lead-time incentives) which must be addressed. It concludes, however, that tinkering with the existing patent or copyright regimes is not only complex, but poses significant risks, and should be avoided. Part III sketches the …

E-Obviousness, Glynn S. Lunney Jr.

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

As patents expand into e-commerce and methods of doing business more generally, both the uncertainty and the risk of unjustified market power that the present approach generates suggest a need to rethink our approach to nonobviousness. If courts fail to enforce the nonobviousness requirement and allow an individual to obtain a patent for simply implementing existing methods of doing business through a computer, even where only trivial technical difficulties are presented, entire e-markets might be handed over to patent holders with no concomitant public benefit. If courts attempt to enforce the nonobviousness requirement, but leave undefined the extent of the …

Patent Infringement Damages In Japan And The United States: Will Increased Patent Infringement Damage Awards Revive The Japanese Economy?, Toshiko Takenaka

Articles

This Article will look at the impact of the new Japanese legislation on patent infringement damages and will discuss whether the increase in damage awards contributes to the creation of breakthrough technology. To understand this impact, Part I will discuss pre-1998 legislation damages and highlight the difference between damages awarded by United States courts and those awarded by Japanese courts, by comparing United States and Japanese case examples. In examining the general tort and patent law theories, Part I will also try to identify the source of the difference and discuss how this difference is reflected in current United States …

Analyze This: A Law And Economics Agenda For The Patent System, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

Legal scholars and economists might enhance the value and impact of their work by making more effective use of each other's knowledge and capabilities. Legal scholars can offer a more nuanced understanding of the legal rules that underlie the patent system and the doctrinal levers that might be manipulated in furtherance of public policy goals. Economists bring to bear a set of analytical and methodological tools that could shed considerable light on what these doctrinal levers are doing and which of them we ought to be manipulating. Together, we have a better chance of asking the right questions and thinking …

A Tale Of The Apocryphal Axe: Repair, Reconstruction, And The Implied License In Intellectual Property Law, Mark D. Janis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. V. Smith: Willful Infringement-Reliance On A Flawed Letter From Counsel, Brian David Bellamy

Mercer Law Review

In Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. v. Smith, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held that an infringer's reliance on patent counsel's letter is justified if the "opinion [is] thorough enough, as combined with other factors, to instill a belief in the infringer that a court might reasonably hold the patent is invalid, not infringed, or unenforceable."' In crafting this decision, the court focused on the intent and the reasonable beliefs of the infringer. By relying on a letter from patent counsel, Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation ("Ortho") had a reasonable basis for believing that it had not infringed the patent of American …

Expanding The Use Of Hypothetical Analysis When Evaluating Patent Infringement Under The Doctrine Of Equivalents, Brian E. Lewis

Seattle University Law Review

Accordingly, the purpose of this Comment is twofold: first, to bring the reader up-to-date on the doctrine of equivalents, and second, to suggest an improvement on the doctrine's application that is consistent with recent developments. This Comment proposes that the hypothetical technique should be expanded to evaluate more than prior art alone. Before exploring how this new use of the hypothetical would work, however, it is necessary to explain the doctrine of equivalents' history, the factors that affect the range of equivalents, and the methods to determine and apply equivalents.

The Adequacy Of Compensation For Patent Infringement-An Analysis Of Monetary Relief Under 35 U.S.C. § 284, Edward V. Filardi

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judge And Jury Roles In Equivalents Analysis: Commentary On Malta V. Schulmerich Carillons, Mark D. Janis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In Malta v. Schulmerich Carillons Inc. a divided panel of the Federal Circuit affirmed a JNOV granted on a jury verdict of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. In so doing, the panel majority confirmed the applicability of guidelines from previous cases for determining the threshold level of evidence necessary to get the equivalents issue to the jury. This paper argues that despite powerful criticism from the dissent, the common sense guidelines articulated in theMalta majority opinion are not only necessary, but are appropriate. Indeed, the paper argues that the Malta guidelines are fundamental to the equivalents analysis, and …

The Effect Of Lilly V. Medtronics On The Scope Of 35 Usc 271(E)(1): The Patent Infringement Exemption - Broad Or Narrow, Ajay S. Pathak

Journal of Law and Health

This article undertakes to examine, critically, the case history, legislative history, and the construction of sections 101, 201, and 202 of the Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 in an effort to analyze the Supreme Court's recent decision in Lilly v. Medtronics and to discern how the scope of section 271(e)(1) is likely to be treated in future cases in light of that recent Supreme Court decision.

Personal Jurisdiction Over Aliens In Patent Infringement Actions: A Uniform Approach Toward The Situs Of The Tort, David Wille

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines current approaches to the question of personal jurisdiction over alien patent infringers. Part I describes personal jurisdiction requirements in the context of patent infringement suits against aliens. The leading case addressing these requirements has been interpreted differently by several courts, thus resulting in conflicting outcomes. Part II explains the current controversy over the locus of the tort of patent infringement. The three different modes of reasoning currently used by courts to determine the locus of the tort would allow immunity from suit for the alien in at least two hypothetical cases. This Part concludes that in order …

Case Comment, John C. Herman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Section 337 of the recently amended Tariff Act of 1930 permits United States patent owners to bar from importation goods that infringe upon their patents. In Amgen, Inc. v. United States International Trade Commission, the Federal Circuit refused to grant relief to the patent owner because it had no claim on either the final product imported or the process to create the product. The alleged infringer, however, had to use the patented product to create the final product, which, if done in the United States, would infringe the patent.

This Comment argues for an extension of section 337 to cover …

The 1988 Revision Of 28 U.S.C. 1391(C): Corporate Venue Is Now Equivalent To In Personam Jurisdiction Effects On Civil Actions For Patent Infringement, Thomas W. Adams

Cleveland State Law Review

Venue in federal cases is controlled by the general venue statute unless there exists an applicable special venue statute that attaches to the particular cause of action under consideration. This note is concerned with the section of the general venue statute applicable to corporate defendants and its interaction with the special venue statute for civil actions in patent infringement cases ("patent venue statute"). As a first step in the discussion of venue, it is necessary to go back in history over 200 years. This note reviews the history of venue, both generally and in cases of patent infringement, the historical …

The 1988 Revision Of 28 U.S.C. 1391(C): Corporate Venue Is Now Equivalent To In Personam Jurisdiction Effects On Civil Actions For Patent Infringement, Thomas W. Adams

Cleveland State Law Review

Venue in federal cases is controlled by the general venue statute unless there exists an applicable special venue statute that attaches to the particular cause of action under consideration. This note is concerned with the section of the general venue statute applicable to corporate defendants and its interaction with the special venue statute for civil actions in patent infringement cases ("patent venue statute"). As a first step in the discussion of venue, it is necessary to go back in history over 200 years. This note reviews the history of venue, both generally and in cases of patent infringement, the historical …

Brunette Machine Works Ltd, V. Kockum Industries, Lewis F. Powell, Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Federal Civil Procedure-Venue-Effect Of 1948 Judicial Code Definition Of Corporate Residence On Venue Under The Jones Act, Mary Mandana Long

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff seaman, having been injured while serving on a vessel owned and operated by the defendant corporations, brought a civil action in federal district court alleging claims for negligence under the Jones Act, for unseaworthiness, and for maintenance and cure. The venue provision of the Jones Act requires that actions under it be brought in the district in which the defendant employer resides or in which his principal office is located. Plaintiff filed his complaint in the Western District of Pennsylvania although defendants were incorporated and maintained their principal offices in Louisiana. Defendants' motions to dismiss on the ground of …

Patents-Adjudication Of Validity In Infringement Cases Where Alternative Grounds For Dismissal Exist, Walter A. Urick

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner's complaint alleging validity and infringement of his patent was dismissed by the trial court on the ground that petitioner had granted to respondent an implied license or "shop right." On appeal, petitioner claimed, among other things, error in the refusal of the trial court to rule on the questions of validity and infringement of the patent. Respondent moved to strike these claims from petitioner's statement of points on appeal. Held, motion denied. Failure of the trial court to pass on the questions of validity and infringement does not preclude the petitioner from arguing these issues on appeal. Kierulff …

Federal Procedure - Venue - Application Of Special Venue Provision To Change Of Venue In Patent Infringement Action, Dean L. Berry S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner brought a patent infringement action in the northern district of Texas, wherein the alleged infringement occurred and the named defendants resided and had a regular place of business. On motion by the named defendants under 28 U.S.C. §1404(a), authorizing the transfer of certain actions to a district in which the action "might have been brought," the court ordered transfer to the northern district of Illinois where litigation on the same patent was already in progress between the plaintiff and other alleged infringers. Petitioner's motion for mandamus to require the Texas district court to set aside this transfer order was …