The International Trade Commission, or ITC, is a federal agency in Washington D.C. that investigates unfair trade practices. Unfortunately, in recent years, it has also become a magnet for some of the worst abusers of the U.S. patent system. Now,… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Patents’
Throwing Out the FTC's Suit Against Qualcomm Moves Antitrust Law in the Wrong Direction
The government bestows temporary monopolies in the form of patents to promote future innovation and economic growth. Antitrust law empowers the government to break up monopolies when their power is so great and their conduct is so corrosive of competition… Read More ›
Courts Shouldn’t Stifle Patent Troll Victims’ Speech
In the U.S., we don’t expect or allow government officials – including judges–to be speech police. Courts are allowed to restrain speech only in the rarest circumstances, subject to strict limitations. So we were troubled to learn that a judge… Read More ›
Guitar Villain? Ubisoft Patents Basic Teaching Techniques
In 2012, Ubisoft launched an educational video game called Rocksmith. The idea was simple: why get good at playing a toy guitar, as in games like “Guitar Hero,” when you can use—and learn to play—the real thing? Their game helps… Read More ›
Victory! EFF Defends Public’s Right to Access Court Records About Patent Ownership
The public’s right of access to court proceedings is well-established as a legal principle, but it needs constant defending. In part, that’s because private parties keep asking publicly-funded courts to resolve their disputes in secret. As we and others have… Read More ›
EFF Successfully Defends Users’ Right to Challenge Patents and Still Recover Legal Fees
When individuals and companies are wrongly accused of patent infringement, they should be encouraged to stand up and defend themselves. When they win, the public does too. While the patent owner loses revenue, the rest of society gets greater access… Read More ›
The Patent Office Is “Adjusting” to a Supreme Court Ruling by Ignoring It
In 2014, the Supreme Court decided the landmark Alice v. CLS Bank case. The Court held generic computers, performing generic computer functions, can’t make something eligible for patent protection. That shouldn’t be controversial, but it took Alice to make this… Read More ›
The “Inventor Rights Act” is an Attack on True Invention
Certain patent owners just can’t get enough of the monopoly power patents bestow. That’s why they keep trying to make it easier to get and sue over patents, despite Supreme Court rulings that point in the opposite direction. Their latest… Read More ›
Who’s A Patent Troll, and Who’s An Inventor?
Two Congressmen recently introduced a bill that would create a special type of patent called an “Inventor-Owned Patent.” Having classified a group of “inventors,” the Inventor Rights Act (H.R. 5478) goes on to give them a long list of special… Read More ›
Lengthening Patent Terms by 10 Years is Exactly the Wrong Response to COVID-19
Governments around the world are taking steps to make sure that private corporations don’t use the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to make unjustified monopoly profits. They’re doing that by ensuring that governments can override patents and issue compulsory licenses… Read More ›