Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Patents And The Progress Of Science: Exclusive Rights And Experimental Use, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

In this article I analyze the proper scope of an experimental use exemption from patent infringement liability by comparing the rationales behind promoting technological progress through granting exclusive patent rights in inventions with competing arguments for promoting scientific progress by allowing all investigators to enjoy free access to the discoveries of other scientists. I begin by reviewing key features of the patent laws and theoretical justifications for granting patent monopolies in order to clarify the implications of existing patent doctrine and theory for an experimental use exemption. I then look to the literature in the sociology, history, and philosophy of …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Agency for International Development's Adoption of Policy Placing Abortion-Related Restrictions on Grants to Nongovernmental Organizations Upheld DKT Memorial Fund Ltd. v. Agency for International Development 887 F.2d 275 (D.C. Cir.1989)

Federal Long-Arm Statute Authorizes Assertion of Personal Jurisdiction over Foreign Holder of United States Patent in Patent Ownership Suit National Patent Development Corporation v. T.J. Smith & Nephew Ltd. 877 F.2d 1003 (D.C. Cir.1989) (en banc)

Venue over Alien Defendants in Antitrust Suit Proper in any United States Federal District Court under Alien Venue AcT-Go-Video, Inc. v. Akai Electric Co., Ltd. 885 F.2d 1406(9th Cir. 1989)

INS Oral Notice to …

Proprietary Rights And The Norms Of Science In Biotechnology Research, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

As basic research in biotechnology yields increasing commercial applications, scientists and their research sponsors have become more eager to protect the commercial value of research discoveries through intellectual property law. Some scientists fear that these commercial incentives will weaken or even undermine the norms that have traditionally governed scientific research. In this Article, Professor Eisenberg examines the interaction of proprietary rights in inventions with these traditional scientific norms. Trade secrecy, she argues, is an undesirable strategy for protection of basic research discoveries because it impedes dissemination of new knowledge to the scientific community. She finds that patent law is in …

The New World Of Patents Created By The Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit, Martin J. Adelman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The purpose of this Article is to outline the creation of this new circuit and to analyze its position on several substantive issues. Part I discusses the origin and power of the Federal Circuit. Part II analyzes the court's recent decisions on the issues of nonobviousness, infringement, inequitable conduct, patent misuse, and jury trials. This Article concludes that the Federal Circuit has in general performed well, but there are areas of patent law that must be refined for the court to further its intended goals.

A Proposal To View Patent Claim Nonobviousness From The Policy Perspective Of Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 52(A), Bradley G. Lane

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note analyzes the scope of appellate review that should be accorded to a trial judge's determination of nonobviousness. Part I details the condition of nonobviousness and how it has evolved into the principal obstacle to patentability. Part II analyzes the Supreme Court and appellate precedents on the scope of review on this issue. Part III evaluates the policy underpinnings of Rule 52(a) and applies a two-pronged analysis to the nonobviousness requirement to determine whether the clearly erroneous standard of review is appropriate. This Note concludes that the treatment of the nonobviousness determination as a question of law cannot be …

Recognition Of Proprietary Interests In Software In Korea: Programming For Comprehensive Reform, Byoung Kook Min, Gary Sullivan

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article will review the legal environment and major issues concerning software protection in the Republic of Korea, and will describe the existing applicable laws and regulations and the trend towards software protection in the region. In addition, the implications of Korea's pending accession to the Universal Copyright Convention will be analyzed. Finally, this article will conclude with a discussion of the current reforms and their implications for Korean international trade law.

Some Problems Of Legal Regulation Of The Use Of Computer Technology In Czechoslovakia, Viktor Knapp

Michigan Journal of International Law

Technical progress is one of the most important elements of social development which necessarily causes change in the law. In the past few decades computer technology has become very important. As a component of technical progress, computer technology has given rise to new social relations which require legal regulation. Such regulation, however, is not provided adequately by existing legal rules in the contemporary Czechoslovak legal system.

Book Review, Joel Davidow

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Book Review

Antitrust and American Business Abroad James Atwood and Kingman Brewster 2d ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1981. Two-volume text. Pp. 359 and 355.

Reviewed by Joel Davidow

International antitrust is one of the gourmet specialties on the menu of United States law. The combination of competition law, international law, and patent law, spiced with complex diplomatic and trade issues as well as a dash of foreign flavor, is irresistible to the connoisseur. The proof: even though few law schools offer a separate course in international antitrust law and few lawyers deal with the subject regularly, articles, hornbooks, …

Bibliography: The Extraterritorial Application Of United States Antitrust Laws: A Selective Bibliography, Howard A. Hood

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Those who have commented on the Webb-Pomerene Act can be divided into two groups: (1) those who support the Act and would retain it or even expand its scope; and (2) those who oppose the Act and would repeal or weaken it. The first group believes that application of the antitrust laws to the foreign activities of United States companies impairs their ability to compete in the world market. The second group rejects this contention and considers the Webb-Pomerene Act to be unjustifiably inconsistent with the legal framework of free competition...

This bibliography presents selected citations to the literature of …

Patents—Contributory Infringement And Patent Misuse Under 35 U.S.C. § 271—Dawson Chemical Co. V. Rohn & Haas Co., 448 U.S. 176 (1980), Carlyn Joan Steiner

Washington Law Review

This casenote will discuss as background: (1) the judicial doctrines of contributory infringement and patent misuse as they developed before 1952; (2) section 271 of the Patent Act of 1952; and (3) the impact of this section on the contributory infringement/patent misuse doctrines in post-1952 Supreme Court cases. An analysis section will contrast the majority and minority interpretations of: (1) 35 U.S.C. §§ 271(c) and (d); (2) the legislative history of the Patent Act of 1952; and (3) post-1952 Supreme Court decisions as each impacts the result in Dawson. The final section will discuss patent policy considerations absent from the …

The European Patent System, Friedrich - Karl Beier

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The formation of the European patent system, which I have presented here only in part and which is still missing one essential element, the Common Market patent, constitutes a milestone in the development of international patent law. No event since the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 has so drastically changed the system of protection of inventions as the European patent system will. I do not except the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) signed in Washington in 1970 and entered into force over two years ago. It certainly overcomes the territorial approach of the Paris Convention in …

Chemical Compounds Related As Genus And Species And The Patentability Requirement Of Novelty, Patricia E. Roberts

Washington Law Review

The patentability of chemical compounds related as genus and species presents a problem in deciding the proper scope of patent protection granted to an inventor. Should the inventor of a genus be granted a patent covering all of the often numerous compounds which the genus might include? Should disclosure of the genus automatically eliminate a later inventor's ability to patent individual members of the genus, or should a court consider genus size and similarity of structure and properties in deciding patentability of the individual species? The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals has examined some of these issues.This comment will …

Total-Sales Royalties Under The Patent-Misuse Doctrine: A Critique Of Zenith, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note criticizes the Supreme Court's treatment of total-sales royalties. Part I outlines the scope of the patent-misuse doctrine, and Part II describes the development of the Zenith conditioning test. Part III analyzes that test; it suggests that the Zenith opinion is not internally consistent and that courts may not be able to apply the conditioning test satisfactorily. Finally, in response to Justice Harlan's dissenting opinion in Zenith, in which he notes the dearth of literature on the economic consequences of total-sales royalty provisions, 14 Part III undertakes an analysis of those consequences. The analysis demonstrates that total-sales royalty …

Recent Decisions, Robert S. Patterson, George M. Taylor, Iii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The instant decision is an evolutionary step in the development of extraterritorial antitrust but it falls short of establishing a workable standard. What the decision does point out is that the courts lack the experience and expertise necessary to deal effectively with the application of antitrust laws abroad. This inexperience will further erode the consistent application of United States antitrust laws abroad as the courts begin to hear cases involving less obvious offenses and less significant effects on United States commerce." If, as Sabbatino suggests,' the primary competency of the Executive in foreign affairs is to be the major factor …

Sources Of Prior Art In Patent Law, Donald S. Chisum

Washington Law Review

The question of what is prior art involves at least four different dimensions. The first is the dimension of time. When does art become "prior"? When, if ever, is it too old and forgotten to be considered prior art? The second is the dimension of place. The patent statutes make both United States and foreign patents and publications prior art, but limit knowledge, use, and invention to "in this country." When is something "in this country," and why is this distinction made? The third is the dimension of scope. What is the pertinent art to which the invention pertains? How …

The Patentee's Gains From Royalty Differentiation Under Exclusive Territorial Licensing, William G. Snead

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Royalty differentiation under exclusive territorial grants is a device which a patent owner, given proper conditions, can use to maximize his profits from licensing the patent rights to an invention. The patentee creates exclusive territories by granting only one license per territory, and then sets different royalties for each territory in accordance with the differing price elasticities of demand for the patented end product. Commentators have taken various stands on how the interests of the patentee and the public should be balanced in determining the desirability of permitting such exclusive territorial grants. One analysis purports to show that permitting a …

Patents And Antitrust Law, Merrill N. Johnson

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Patents and Antitrust Law by Ward S. Bowman, Jr.

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Antitrust--Horizontal Territorial Restraint--Allocation of Territories Among Members of Cooperative Purchasing Association Is Per Se Violative of Section 1 of the Sherman Act

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Antitrust--Robinson--Patman Price Discrimination Act--Complaint Charging That Profits Derived from Interstate Sales Were Used To Underwrite Allegedly Discriminatory Intrastate Price-Cutting Practices States a Cause of Action Under Section 2(a)

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Bankruptcy--Corporate Reorganization-Trustee in Reorganization Lacks Standing To Sue Indenture Trustee on Behalf of Debenture Holders

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Constitutional Law--Commerce Clause--Exactions on Airport Users by Local Governments Measured by Number of Enplaning Passengers Are Constitutionally Valid

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Constitutional Law--Right to Speedy Trial--State-Imposed Five-Year Delay Does Not Abridge Right to Speedy …

Unreduced Royalty Arrangements And Packaged Patents: An Improper Extension Of The Patent Monopoly?, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Comment will examine the merits of Brulotte and the propriety of extending its rule to the package licensing context. In order to do this it is necessary to consider the Brulotte and Rocform decisions in somewhat greater detail.

Jurisdiction--Foreign Patents--Jurisdiction Over Foreign Patent Claims, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The territorial limitations of sovereignty have been held to preclude a country from giving extraterritorial effect to its patent laws, and, therefore, a patent confers rights which are protected only within the boundaries of the issuing country. Thus, United States and foreign patents, even when granted for the same invention, create separate and distinct rights which may differ in scope and effect in the respective countries. Concomitantly, courts have also held that a foreign patent confers upon its owner no rights or protection with respect to acts done in the United States.

A New Look At The European Patent: Limited Availability, Harold G. Maier

Vanderbilt Law Review

The promulgation of the Proposed Draft Convention relating to a European Patent Law in December 1962,' by the member states of the European Economic Community, and the continuing controversy surrounding it since that time have raised important questions for European and American businessmen. One of the most controversial is the extent to which the new patent should be made "available" to nationals of states not parties to the proposed Convention. This article examines the question of "availability" from the standpoint of the interests of the EEC and its member states. Its objective is to demonstrate that although the legal arguments …

Copyright And Design Patents - The Common Zone Between, Albert P. Sharpe Iii

Cleveland State Law Review

The overlapping of our present-day Copyright and Design Patent Laws, apparently initially created by random legislative development and recently aggravated by the decision of the Supreme Court in Mazar v. Stein, has resulted in a legal morass of substantial proportions. The purpose of this paper is to explore briefly the influence which gave rise to this situation, to discuss the present state of the law and its practical impact upon the practicing patent advocate, and finally to review and evaluate proposed legislation, past and present, in an effort to determine the possible course of future developments.

Government Recognition And Acquisition Of Patent Rights, Charles W. Small

Cleveland State Law Review

The status and value of patent rights owned by private enterprise may be materially affected by the procurement policies and practices of the Federal Government. The most publicized and controversial policies are found in the rules and regulations of the Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commission and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is the purpose of this article to delineate the major differences being promulgated by these three governmental agencies.

Ball: Dynamics Of The Patent System, Robert A. Choate

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Dynamics of the Patent System. Edited by William B. Ball.

Malpractice Of Patent Attorneys, B. Joan Holdridge

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will consider briefly the general nature of patent practice, and will indicate those areas where negligence on the part of the attorney could prevent a person from obtaining a patent or from having as full coverage of his invention as that to which he is entitled.

Vaughan: The United States Patent System. Legal And Economic Conflicts In American Patent History, Bernard F. Garvey

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The United States Patent System. Legal and Economic Conflicts in American Patent History. By Floyd L. Vaughan.

Book Reviews, Edward S. Rogers, John Barker Waite

Michigan Law Review

Patent Law. by John Barker Waite, Professor of Law in the University of Michigan Law School. Princeton University Press, x92o.

Patent Law, John Barker Waite

Books

The comparatively small size of the book is not due to any conscious superficiality of treatment nor omission of pertinent subject matter. It purports to cover only the substantive law of patents, their nature, validity, effect, and their characteristics as property. Matters of procedure in securing patents or suing on them, and the difficult subject of the amount of compensation recoverable by suit, would require a volume for themselves and are not included here. But of the matter which is included, it has been my desire to present every issue which has come before the courts....

This book is intended …

Patent Law: Secret Use As Affecting Right To A Patent, John B. Waite

Articles

An unusually obvious piece of judicial legislation, of practical importance to the manufacturing world, was promulgated in the case of Macbeth-Evans Glass Co. v. General Electric Co., 246 Fed. 695. The facts were that in 1903 Macbeth had invented a process for making glass. Since that time the plaintiff company, of which Macbeth was president, had been using that process. This use had, however, been "secret". In 1910 an employee of the plaintiff revealed the process to the Jefferson Glass Co., which at once began to use it, but on application of the Macbeth Co. the state court enjoined the …

The Patentability Of A Mental Process, John B. Waite

Articles

The fact of possession has been so correlated with the theory of property that it is difficult to dissociate ownership from the possibility of physical possession. One finds that the average lawyer, even though he may defind a right in rem as a right enforcible against any person, is extremely apt, unless after especial thought, to explain that it is enforcible against anyone because it pertains to a thing capable of physical possession and control, a thing that could be actually sequestered, from all other persons. Not at all infrequently the term property has been judicially stripped even of its …