By Kevin Madigan & Sean O’Connor This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee was to mark up a bill limiting patent eligibility for combination drug patents—new forms, uses, and administrations of FDA approved medicines. While the impetus was to curb so-called “evergreening” of drug patents, the effect would have been to stifle life-saving therapeutic innovations. Though […]
Sean O’Connor Joins George Mason University’s Scalia Law Faculty O’Connor will lead the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property and expand innovation and entrepreneurship programs. Professor Sean O’Connor, noted innovation law scholar, is joining George Mason University’s Scalia Law faculty as a tenured full professor and Executive Director of the Center for Protection of […]
With Section 512 of the DMCA, Congress sought to “preserve[] strong incentives for service providers and copyright owners to cooperate to detect and deal with copyright infringements that take place in the digital networked environment.”[1] Given the symbiotic relationship between copyright owners and service providers, Congress meant to establish an online ecosystem where both would […]
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. His study applies economic theory to empirical patent data, […]
Spotlight on Scholarship There has been some excellent, recently-published scholarship from the growing network of scholars participating in our various programs and events. Here are five law review articles that you should check out! Adam MacLeod, Public Rights After Oil States Energy, 95 Notre Dame L. Rev. ___ (2019). In this paper from our Thomas […]
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com, a case examining the registration precondition to filing a suit for copyright infringement in the federal district courts. While I agree with the Court’s exegesis of the statute at issue, it’s worth noting how the Court’s construction leaves many, if […]
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a decision holding that the “full costs” available to a prevailing party in a copyright dispute are limited to those litigation expenses specified as taxable under federal law. The opinion by Justice Kavanaugh reverses a Ninth Circuit interpretation of 17 USC § 505, which held that any costs incurred […]
By Chris Katopis & Devlin Hartline This week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an important case concerning patent law procedures and the American legal system in general. In Iancu v. NantKwest, the Court asks, “Does all really mean all?” Specifically, the Court will examine whether Section 145 of the Patent Act, which provides […]
Last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) released the seventh edition of the International IP Index for 2019, Inspiring Tomorrow. The report provides some long sought good news for the innovation community, as the U.S. rose from 12th to 2nd in the patent system rankings. But while the move signals […]
The Federal Trade Commission’s unfair competition case against Qualcomm, Inc., has now concluded. The parties gave their closing arguments on Tuesday, January 29, and all that remains is Judge Lucy Koh’s ruling. To prevail, the FTC needed to demonstrate actual, quantifiable harm. It completely failed to do so. The FTC’s complaint charged Qualcomm with using […]