Since the STRONGER Patents Act was introduced last year, it’s basically been a dead topic. Maybe that’s because the bill would gut the extremely successful inter partes review procedure and overturn more than a decade of Supreme Court precedent, crippling the ability of small and medium enterprises to develop products without fear. It would even make…
Tag Archive for patent reform
A New § 101 Trio Shows That We Don’t Need § 101 Legislation
by Josh Landau • • 3 Comments
The Bilski, Alice, Mayo, and Myriad cases are sometimes referred to as a § 101 quartet because they set forth the Supreme Court’s test for patentable subject matter under § 101. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a new trio of § 101 cases emerge from Federal Circuit panels—Berkheimer, Aatrix, and Automated Tracking. The…
Innovation Is Alive And Well—Patenting Activity
by Josh Landau • • 2 Comments
After examining the evidence for U.S. innovation as shown by startups and venture capital, and by R&D spending, I want to look at patenting activity—new patent applications and new patent grants. Particularly given accusations that the U.S. patent system has fallen behind other systems worldwide—accusations based on extremely questionable analysis—it’s worth looking at what patent…
Chamber of Commerce Patent System Ranking Is Built On A Shaky Foundation
by Josh Landau • • 4 Comments
The Chamber of Commerce produces a yearly ranking of intellectual property systems around the world. This year, they dropped the U.S. patent system to 12th. If I thought their rankings had any merit, I might be concerned by this change. Unfortunately, their analysis is flawed and based on complete misrepresentations of reality. So, What Happened?…
Dear Director Iancu
by Josh Landau • • 5 Comments
So, you’re Andrei Iancu, about to be the newly confirmed Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. What are the first things you put on your agenda? I have some suggestions. Eliminate Contingent Amendments As an initial matter, the PTAB’s practice of allowing contingent amendments needs to end. Essentially, this allows patent owners…
Patent Links and Articles To Read By The Fire
by Josh Landau •
With the weather as cold as it’s been in DC lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading by the fire. And what better way to use that time than to read about patents! For those of you, like me, for whom that sounds like fun—here’s a few things I’ve run across lately that…
Misleading Stats Lead To Misleading Testimony In Front Of Congress
by Josh Landau •
Yesterday afternoon, the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held a hearing on “Sovereign Immunity and the Intellectual Property System.” A fascinating topic, and one I’ve written on right here in the past. [1] [2] But I was struck by some testimony given by Philip Johnson, testimony he stood by…
Tribal Immunity May Not Be Wonder Drug For Allergan
by Josh Landau •
This article was originally published on Law360 and is reprinted here. You’ve probably already heard the story. Allergan PLC owns patents related to relieving dry eyes. These patents allegedly read on their drug Restasis. They expired in 2014, leading to a group of generic manufacturers getting ready to enter the market with generic versions of the drug. In…
Big Tech vs. Big Pharma: An Article Filled With Big Errors
by Josh Landau •
On Monday, the Financial Times published an article by Rana Foroohar. While there are a lot of flaws in the article, one particularly pernicious myth shows up—the myth that patent trolls aren’t really a problem. Purporting to look at patent reform as a battle between the tech industry and pharmaceutical manufacturers, the FT article gives…
IPR Successes: The Next Five Years
by Josh Landau •
Over the past month, I’ve shown just how successful the inter partes review (IPR) program has been in its first five years. IPR has saved billions of dollars and helped everyone from city governments to realtors to the targets of patent trolls funded by foreign countries. Those stories are listed below: IPR Successes: Trolls and…