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 ›
Tag Archive for ‘Patents’
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 ›
Victory! Federal Circuit Enables Public to Hear Arguments In Important Patent Case
Just like us, federal judges are continuing to grapple with the challenges of COVID-19 and its impact on their ability to do their jobs. Less than two weeks ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington,… Read More ›
The Feds Can Stop Patent Trolls from Endangering COVID-19 Testing and Treatment
It’s unthinkable that bad actors could take advantage of patent law and keep the public from getting access to COVID-19 tests and treatment, but they can and will—it already happened this month. Fortunately, an often-overlooked section of U.S. patent law… Read More ›
Design Patents Are Useless. So Why Are They Getting a Boost in DC?
When we talk about patents, we’re usually talking about “utility” patents. Utility patents protect inventions that claim to have some practical application or use. (A lot of them still claim things that are actually useless, but they’re supposed to be… Read More ›
Time to Save Alice: 2019 in Review
All too often, software patents stop more innovation than they promote. Patents are legal instruments that can be used to sue people and companies for creating, selling, or using software. Very often, the entities wielding software patents are “patent trolls”—companies… Read More ›
Seizing Products for Design Patent Owners Isn't CBP's Job
Uh oh, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have teamed up again to introduce legislation that would promote the interests of patent owners at the public’s expense. This is the same duo that earlier this year sought to… Read More ›