Modern Patent Litigation

This is a casebook designed for a three-credit course in advanced patent law. It addresses subjects that are not commonly taught in a basic patent law course due to time constraints, but which commonly arise in patent litigation. The focus is doctrinal rather than strategic or tactical. Each case is preceded by a brief one- or two-sentence statement of why the case is in the book. The cases are for the most part very recent in order to illustrate the current state of the law, although a few historically famous cases are also included. By design, there is virtually no overlap between the subject matter presented here and the content of a typical basic course in patent law. For example, there is no discussion of eligible subject matter, novelty, or nonobviousness. There is a strong emphasis on remedies, estoppels, and affirmative defenses.

To access the book's 2010 Statutory Supplement, click here. To access the book's 2011 case update, click here. Modern Patent Litigation was the first casebook to deal exclusively with the substantive issues that arise in patent litigation. Now, the original edition has been extensively updated to account for the very important case law developments over the last six years in patent litigation. Included are new cases on patent claim interpretation, the patent-antitrust interface, summary judgment standards, attorney-client privilege, and measures of damages. New notes have also been added to reflect newly emerging issues in the field, such as the revised thinking on convoyed sales as a damages element and the meaning of "acting in concert" with regard to injunctions. Designed for use in an advanced course on patent law, this book is written for students who have already completed a course in basic patent law. Janicke concentrates on patent claims as determinants of coverage and lays out the subject in terms of the power of patent litigation. A chapter on remedies of the accused infringer deals primarily with declaratory relief, attorneys' fees, and indemnity. Other chapters include jurisdictional and venue issues in patent cases, the various kinds of estoppels that may be operative, details of affirmative defenses, and the impact of a particular judgment on later proceedings involving the same patent.

It develops an extended historical and conceptual exploration of the invention in modern patent law.

Modern Intellectual Property Law combines coverage of each intellectual property right granted for creations of the mind into a thoughtful, unified textbook. Deconstructing the fundamental topics into short, clear sections separated by subheadings throughout, Colston and Galloway's text is the ideal student companion to this intriguing area of the law. This new edition has been completely revised to bring it up to date with the latest debate and changes to the law. All significant recent developments are covered including the continuing controversy over patents for computer-implemented inventions and biotechnological inventions, the House of Lords' developments of patent law, the ECJ jurisprudence relating to trade mark dilution and comparative advertising, as well as the database right, and international efforts to reconcile copyright with peer-to-peer file sharing. This text also discusses the ongoing effort to achieve an appropriate balance between intellectual property and competition law in order to protect market competition while retaining key incentives to drive the process of innovation. Written for students, this accessible and comprehensive textbook provides the perfect starting point for anyone studying intellectual property law in the UK.

Stiflers of innovation, patent trolls use overbroad patents based on dated technology to threaten litigation and bring infringement suits against inventors. Trolls, also known as nonpracticing entities (NPEs), typically do not produce products or services but are in the business of litigation. They lie in wait for someone to create a process or product that has some relationship to the patent held by the troll, and then they pounce with threats and lawsuits. The cost to the economy is staggering. In Patent Trolls: Predatory Litigation and the Smothering of Innovation, William J. Watkins, Jr., calls attention to this problem and the challenges it poses to maintaining a robust rate of technological progress. After describing recent trends and efforts to “tame the trolls,” Watkins focuses on ground zero in patent litigation—the Eastern District of Texas, where a combination of factors makes this the lawsuit venue of choice for strategically minded patent trolls. He also examines a more fundamental problem: an outmoded patent system that is wholly ill suited for the modern economy. Finally, he examines proposals for reforming the U.S. patent system, which was created to spur innovation but today is having the opposite effect. If legal reformers heed the analyses and proposals presented in this book, the prospects for crafting a legal environment that promotes innovation are favorable.