Category: Patents & Technology

By: Carmen J. McCutcheon Over twenty years have passed since the enactment of The Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act (Bayh-Dole Act) and universities continue to struggle with their technology transfer infrastructures. Lost in that struggle are those who could be considered the backbone of university research: the students. Graduate and undergraduate students remain baffled by the patent assignment and technology transfer processes within their various institutions. Efforts should be undertaken by universities to clarify the student’s position in the creative process. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2003 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0026

By: Campbell Chiang Inventorship is a required component of patents issued in the United States, and the penalty for filing a patent with incorrect inventorship is harsh: possible invalidation of the entire patent. This iBrief explores the background on inventorship in the United States patent system, and various remedies such as 35 U.S.C. §116, 35 U.S.C. §256, and interference proceedings in correcting errors in inventorship. This iBrief will then discuss the usefulness of these various remedies to a putative inventor who was left off the inventorship of a patent. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2003 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0020

By: Jennifer Miller In a petition for writ of certiorari, Duke University requests that the Supreme Court reverse a Federal Circuit holding that, in its view, “seals the coffin on the experimental use exception for private universities.” This iBrief discusses the Federal Circuit’s decision in Madey v. Duke University and its possible effects on the progress of science. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2003 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0012

By: Michael Guntersdorfer Software is a global business. Patents are increasingly the protection of choice; as a consequence, international software patent laws are of growing importance to software vendors. This article focuses on European patent law and how it differs from United States law in regards to software technology. Statutes and relevant case law of both unions are discussed and compared, providing an introductory secondary source for scholars and practitioners. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2003 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0006

By: Michael Koenig A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Scheiber v. Dolby Laboratories, Inc., called into question, yet dutifully applied, the somewhat disfavored Supreme Court patent case of Brulotte v. Thys Co. For thirty-eight years, Brulotte has served as an absolute prohibition on the collection of any patent royalties extending beyond the expiration date of the patent. As Justice Douglas stated in writing for the eight-Justice majority, “a patentee’s use of a royalty agreement that projects beyond the expiration date of the patent is unlawful per se.” Ostensibly, this concise and easily-applied exposition of the law seems sensible enough. But, the devil is in the details. This iBrief highlights the flawed reasoning underlying Brulotte as evidenced by its application in Scheiber, but ultimately concludes that overruling the case may be of little help to Mr. Scheiber in his suit against Dolby. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2003 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0005

By: Kristoffer Leftwich The statements, “The laws of nature,” “the principles of nature,” “the fundamental truths,” etc., are not patentable, have been oft repeated but seldom understandingly used. They have led to misunderstanding and much confusion, not limited to members of the bar. In fact, the words… are all words of broad and also elastic meaning and are frequently used carelessly and without any attempt at refined distinctions. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2002 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0027

By: Jennifer Miller The Supreme Court makes another attempt to strike a balance between protecting an inventor’s patent rights and ensuring adequate notice to the public of what constitutes patent infringement. This iBrief discusses the Supreme Court ruling in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd. and its foreseeable effects on the practice of patent law. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2002 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0017

By: Michael Guntersdorfer Have you ever sat in an airplane, typing on your laptop, when the darn thing crashes for the one-millionth time? Have you ever then thought about how the airplane you are sitting in is controlled by software, too–the technical term being “fly by wire”–and then started sweating uncontrollably? Software controls not only air traffic but plenty of other safety-critical technologies: the tightrope walk of controlling the chain reaction of radioactive elements in nuclear power plants; the navigation and activation of missiles;3 the moves and cutting-depth of a surgical laser when correcting eye-sights; the list goes on… With such reliance on software, malfunction due to errors in the program code becomes unacceptable. Software patents help heighten the standard by supporting the re-use of the code of established and tested systems. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2002 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0013

By: James Ottavio Castagnera, Cory R. Fine & Anthony Belfiore In recent years, intellectual property has become increasingly important to academic institutions throughout the United States. As universities rely more heavily on trademarks and patents for additional revenue, questions arise as to whether these institutions are sufficiently protected by their current intellectual property policies. This iBrief explores the policies promulgated by a variety of academic institutions and assesses whether these universities are adequately protected by their policies. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2002 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0010

By: Gillian N. Rattray Should traditional knowledge be patentable? As the number of patents filed by large corporations for native crops has increased, activists have become concerned about the economic effects of these patents on indigenous people. This iBrief discusses the attempts by one group of activists to test the validity of such patents in the United States and explores the issue of biopiracy in the Third World. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2002 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0008