In a new CPIP policy brief entitled The End of Patent Groupthink, CPIP Senior Fellow for Innovation Policy Jonathan Barnett highlights some cracks that have emerged in the recent policy consensus that the U.S. patent system is “broken” and it is necessary to “fix” it. Read more
Tag: patents
Empirical Study Confirms Positive Relationship Among Patents, Technological Progress, and Societal Benefit
We “stand on the shoulder of giants,” goes the famous adage. In a groundbreaking new law review article, Does Patented Information Promote the Progress of Technology?, Cardozo Law’s Jonathan H. Ashtor examines the relationship among patents, information theory, and their corresponding benefits to society and technology. Read more
A Cure Worse Than the Disease? Proposed Changes to European Patent Law are Threatening Pharmaceutical Innovation
Innovation is all around us. We love and appreciate the latest video games, software apps, and smartphones. We await the integration of self-driving cars and other forms of artificial intelligence. Beyond the gadgets and luxuries we think we can’t live without, there are even more essential products that affect the lives of millions around the world on a daily basis. Read more
Proposed Misuse of Section 1498 Relies on the False Claim that Patents Are Not Property
By Kathleen Wills*
The question whether patents are property rights is a continuing and hotly debated topic in IP law. Despite an abundance of scholarship (see here, here, here, here, and here) detailing how intellectual property (“IP”) rights have long been equated with property rights in land and other tangible assets, critics often claim that this “propertarian” view of IP is a recent development. Read more
Department of Justice Recognizes Importance of Reliable Patent Rights in Innovation Economy
It is undeniable that the patent system has been under stress for the past decade, as courts, regulators, and even the Patent Office itself (as the newly confirmed Director Andrei Iancu has acknowledged) have sowed legal uncertainty, weakened patent rights, and even outright eliminated patent rights. Read more
Innovate4Health: SaTo Pan Delivers a Sustainable Solution to the Sanitation Crisis in Developing Nations
This post is one of a series in the #Innovate4Health policy research initiative.
By Michael O’Keefe
Poor sanitation poses an ongoing threat to the health and well-being of people in the developing world. Severe health problems, death, and disease can be directly linked to unsafe hygiene practices that continue to plague many countries. Read more
Innovate4Health: Daktari Diagnostics Takes on Africa’s Healthcare Challenges One Diagnostic Device at a Time
This post is one of a series in the #Innovate4Health policy research initiative.
By Alex Summerton & Nick Churchill
Africa’s predominantly rural characteristic and limited medical infrastructure are among the region’s greatest challenges to implementing effective healthcare programs and policies for its residents. Read more
CPIP Founder Adam Mossoff Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of 27 Law Professors in Oil States
CPIP Founder Adam Mossoff filed an amicus brief today on behalf of 27 law professors in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, a patent case pending in the Supreme Court. Oil States is challenging the constitutionality of proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to determine the validity of an issued patent. Read more
In Defense of an Inclusive IP Conversation
In a recent essay responding to a divisive critique of his book, Justifying Intellectual Property, Robert Merges makes clear from the start that he won’t be pulling any punches. He explains that the purpose of his essay, Against Utilitarian Fundamentalism, is to address the misleading and polarizing conclusions of Mark Lemley’s 2015 article, Faith-Based Intellectual Property, recapitulate the arguments he makes in Justifying IP, and show that those who approach intellectual property theory through a nonstrict empirical lens can still make meaningful contributions to the debate. Read more
Proposed CREATES Act Threatens Patent Owners’ Rights
By Erika Lietzan, Kevin Madigan, & Mark Schultz
Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act (or CREATES Act). The proposed bill is aimed at deterring what the bill’s author, Sen. Read more