The Patent Crisis and How the Courts Can Solve It

Abstract

Patent law is crucial to encourage technological innovation. But as the patent system currently stands, diverse industries from pharmaceuticals to software to semiconductors are all governed by the same rules even though they innovate very differently. The result is a crisis in the patent system, where patents calibrated to the needs of prescription drugs wreak havoc on information technologies and vice versa. According to Dan L. Burk and Mark A. Lemley in The Patent Crisis and How the Courts Can Solve It, courts should use the tools the patent system already gives them to treat patents in different industries differently. Industry tailoring is the only way to provide an appropriate level of incentive for each industry. Burk and Lemley illustrate the barriers to innovation created by the catch-all standards in the current system. Legal tools already present in the patent statute, they contend, offer a solution-courts can tailor patent law, through interpretations and applications, to suit the needs of various types of businesses. The Patent Crisis and How the Courts Can Solve It will be essential reading for those seeking to understand the nexus of economics, business, and law in the twenty-first century.

Patent Licensing, Technology Transfer, and Innovation

“…Lawyers at many companies discourage their engineers from reading patents for fear of increasing liability. The quality of patent disclosure is poor, particularly in computer-related fields (Burk and Lemley 2009;Feldman 2012). And, most important, there are simply too many patents.…”

Turning Patent Swords into Shares

“…Rather than statutory reform, judicial law-making may assist in shaping patent law to the particularities of the genetic diagnostics' sector ( 27). Navigating the landscape in genetic diagnostics may even be achieved more adequately and rapidly through private, collaborative efforts.…”

Patents as Genre: A Prospectus

“…Unlike most forms of intellectual property, which typically attach to creative works via use or at creation, patents require a formal act of government to come into existence. 18 Patents are obtained via an administrative review conducted by a governmental agency; in the United States these procedures are situated in the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or even PTO). Since patent rights are limited to their jurisdiction of origin, each nation typically has its own patents through its own patent office.…”