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This paper delves into the proliferation of non-practicing entities (NPEs), a hot topic in academia and public policy, especially in the United States. The common belief is that Europe is less exposed to NPEs due to a robust patent system, higher enforcement costs, and smaller damage awards. Yet, using a new database of NPE patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO), the study uncovers that NPEs activity in Europe is arising: they own nearly 20,000 EPO patents, primarily in Electrical Engineering. Moreover, we contribute the literature investigating the heterogeneity of the NPE business model and its relationship with the characteristics and use of the patents they target. Our econometric analysis provides threefold original evidence. First, NPEs with higher propensity for litigation (i.e. "Litigation" NPEs) acquire patents with higher infringement risk but similar technological quality than practicing entities. Second, patent aggregators (i.e. "Portfolio" NPEs) and technology companies (i.e. "Technology" NPEs) acquire higher-quality patents compared to those acquired by practicing entities. Third, patent acquisitions by "Litigation" NPEs and "Portfolio" NPEs reduce the subsequent use of protected technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important driver of economic growth and innovation. With rapid advances in AI, firms have a strategic opportunity to re-envision the cognitive reapportionment of tasks between humans, AI, and non-AI technologies. In doing so, firms can transform and dramatically elevate value creation through their business models, processes, and market offerings. We focus on a key risk, patent infringement litigation (PIL), that can adversely impact a firm's value creation with AI. We posit and demonstrate that firms facing AI-PILs would have more negative short term abnormal returns compared to firms facing non-AI PILs. We further suggest that the abnormal returns are moderated by the types of plaintiffs and AI patents in which the abnormal returns are more negative when the plaintiffs are non-practicing entities (versus practicing entities) and when the AI patents at suit concern expertise-driven (versus data-driven) AI. Exploring the moderators jointly, we find evidence that for data-driven AI patents, the negative abnormal returns are stronger when the plaintiffs are practicing entities, but for expertise-driven AI patents, the negative abnormal returns are stronger when the plaintiffs are non-practicing entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

07.24.24 Rank: #1 (Last year: #2) $32.36 Billion Prior Fiscal: $31.23 Billion Percentage Change: +3.6% R&D Expenditure: $2.73B Best FY24 Quarter: Q4 $8.59B Latest Quarter: Q4 $8.59B No. of Employees: [...]

I study the effect of patent-infringement claims by patent trolls on acquisitions of small firms. Exploiting staggered adoption of state anti-patent troll laws, I find that the laws have two effects. First, the number of acquisitions of small firms declines after these laws are adopted. Second, the anti-troll laws increase the acquisition price for acquirers. The market reflects the increased cost of acquisition as measured by lower acquisition announcement returns. Large firms increase R&D after the adoption of state laws, replacing external innovation. Using a sample of acquisitions that are plausibly unaffected by the laws, I disentangle alternative explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid a patent boom and increase in patent infringement cases, China is a fast-growing catch-up country in the intellectual property (IP) regime, with arguments on effectiveness and standardization. In 2014, China installed three intellectual property courts (IPCs) in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. This reform represents a crucial step in a series of reforms and actions that seek to establish a uniform and standardized judicial IP regime in China. Based on interviews, statistical reports, and an analysis of judicial documents, this study argues that the interpretation and execution of IP law vary across the three locations due to the embeddedness of those courts and their judges in the regions. Indications that the regional setting and presence of international firms affect the efficient proceedings of IP tribunals and courts were found as a result. Given that IP law is the same all over a country, it can be concluded that courts balance national regulation and regional realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Iraq, plants and biological processes for their production and plant varieties are patentable Under Order (81/2004) in Iraq and later its amendment Law (58/2015). This paper attempts to critically review patent rules related to agricultural biotechnology. It specifically questions the extent to which Iraq's developmental needs were considered when far‐reaching plant related patent protection was granted, The motivation for this study lies in its aim to examine the shift to restrictive exclusionary rights over plant genetic resources, and the implications this shift could have on sustainable agriculture and food security in the country, particularly Iraq lacks technological, institutional and financial capacities that can be directed towards the development of the biotechnology industry in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into the process of determining SEP license fees and infringement compensation in China, particularly focusing on negotiations between patent holders and implementers. The recent ruling by the Supreme People’s Court in the case between ACT and OPPO established a Chinese model for resolving SEP disputes, emphasizing factors like negotiation behaviors, market value considerations, and good faith negotiations. The court's guidelines address issues such as the application of different approaches in determining compensation, the obligation of implementers to provide sales data, and the importance of a favorable judicial environment for all parties involved in the SEP industry. The ongoing resolution of SEP disputes is viewed as a step towards developing a comprehensive adjudicative system in China. [Extracted from the article]

The document discusses a legal case involving the infringement of European and National Utility Model Patents in Italy. The case involves Coiro S. r. l. and Termomeccanica G. L. S. r. l. over a spray booth patent. The court ruled on the validity of the patents, infringement claims, and the application of damages. The document provides detailed legal analysis and interpretations of patent law in Italy. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb is the property of Fachmedien Otto Schmidt KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb is the property of Fachmedien Otto Schmidt KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Patents are essential for transferring scientific discoveries tomeaningful products that benefit societies. While the academic community focuses on the number of citations to rank scholarly works according to their "scientific merit," the number of citations is unrelated to the relevance for patentable innovation. To explore associations between patents and scholarly works in publicly available patent data, we propose to utilize statistical methods that are commonly used in biology to determine gene-disease associations. We illustrate their usage on patents related to biotechnological trends of high relevance for food safety and ecology, namely the CRISPR-based gene editing technology (>60,000 patents) and cyanobacterial biotechnology (>33,000 patents). Innovation trends are found through their unexpected large changes of patent numbers in a time-series analysis. From the total set of scholarly works referenced by all investigated patents (~254,000 publications), we identified ~1,000 scholarly works that are statistical significantly over-represented in the references of patents from changing innovation trends that concern immunology, agricultural plant genomics, and biotechnological engineering methods. The detected associations are consistent with the technical requirements of the respective innovations. In summary, the presented data-driven analysis workflow can identify scholarly works that were required for changes in innovation trends, and, therefore, is of interest for researches that would like to evaluate the relevance of publications beyond the number of citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the Hungarian Parliament passed legislation prohibiting the dissemination of information on diverse sexual and gender identities to minors, the Commission launched infringement proceedings pleading a breach of the common values under Article 2 TEU, amongst others. The dispute constitutes the occasion to explore the meaning of toleration in the EU and its scope, i.e., whether alleged intolerance of national minorities does or should lead to transnational intolerance of the EU vis-à-vis its Member States. Putting the work of the political philosopher Rainer Forst into dialogue with EU constitutional theories, this article identifies three justifications for transnational toleration: (1) functional; (2) liberal multicultural; and (3) liberal constitutional. By reference to the Hungarian case study, the article shows that these justifications are liable to legitimise transnational toleration on ethical rather than moral grounds. The dense structure of EU constitutionalism impairs a moral justification by way of Article 2 TEU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In design patent law, we have created a monster—a chimera, a hybrid that sometimes looks and acts like a patent regime and then, unexpectedly, doesn’t. Courts in design patent cases sometimes apply the rules as they would in utility patent cases, sometimes modify those rules for the design context, and sometimes ignore the utility patent rules altogether. The consequences of that incomplete adoption of utility patent rules are grossly underappreciated. Among other things, it has wreaked havoc on the law of novelty and nonobviouness—doctrines that are supposed to ensure that we grant design patent protection only to new and meaningfully different designs. And it has too often resulted in rules that ignore how designers actually work. In this Article, we suggest that the problem stems from trying to fit design into a framework that was intended for the very different context of inventions. There are good reasons not to use the utility patent infringement rules for design, even if we are skeptical of the particular design patent infringement rule the Federal Circuit has settled on. And there are good reasons not to allow a design patent to have a different scope when it comes to infringement than for validity; doing so allows patent owners (and infringers) to game the system in litigation. The Federal Circuit has recognized some—but not all—of these necessary differences. But if there are good reasons to depart from utility patent rules in some cases, why insist on symmetry with utility patent in other respects? We think design patent law’s strange hybridity is largely a historical accident. In 1842, when design patents were first created, the utility patent system looked fundamentally different than it does today—and a lot more like an ideal design patent system would. Most significant, it used central rather than peripheral claiming. But as utility patent law changed, design patent law tagged along to its detriment. Courts (and ultimately Congress) should recognize the fundamental divergence between utility and design patents. Perhaps we should get rid of design patents altogether and adopt a sui generis regime for design, as virtually every other country has done. But if we are stuck with design patents, courts should apply design patent law with sensitivity to the differences between design and invention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the availability of injunctions and the award of damages for patent infringement under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA), in light of the principle of proportionality. Part I, published in the previous issue, focused on injunctive relief and analysed the application of the principle of proportionality to injunctions, outlining key factors and scenarios. Part II discusses the principles and methods applicable to the calculation of damages, assessing their suitability in light of the principle of proportionality, as defined in European Union law and in the case law of select contracting states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the recent complex intertwining of firms in fierce intellectual property disputes, the formation mechanisms of patent infringement litigation relationships between firms have been little studied from a network science perspective. We construct an inter-firm patent litigation network using longitudinal data on patent infringement litigation and the firms involved in the US, and examine its structural characteristics and the mechanisms of tie formation through network motif analysis, linking it to existing knowledge on negative ties. The results reveal the significant influence of mechanisms such as homophily, popularity, and activity on network formation, with reciprocity emerging as a pivotal factor. The absence of triadic closure is also observed. This distinct structural pattern is consistent across different technological fields and throughout the 20-year period. Furthermore, our analysis delves into the rapid countersuit strategies common within this network and provides valuable insights into patent litigation strategies between firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the availability of injunctions and the award of damages for patent infringement under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, in light of the principle of proportionality. Part I focuses on the injunctive relief and analyses the application of the principle of proportionality to injunctions, outlining key factors and scenarios. Part II, which will be published in the next issue, discusses the principles and methods applicable to the calculation of damages, assessing their suitability in light of the principle of proportionality, as defined in European Union law and in the case law of select contracting states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While patent litigation is an important appropriability mechanism for protecting firms' proprietary knowledge, through the litigation process, valuable knowledge may unintentionally spill over from firms defending their patents to those they accuse of patent infringement. We examine whether such spillover subsequently enhances the innovation of accused firms by analyzing over 3,000 patent litigation cases from 1998 through 2015 in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. We find that firms accused of infringement have higher levels of innovation following litigation relative to other similar firms. Furthermore, litigation of patents that build on recent and heterogeneous knowledge and are characterized by greater scope more strongly enhance the accused firms' subsequent innovation. These findings support the argument that patent litigation can facilitate knowledge spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of rivalry is central to modern accounts of property. When one person's use of a resource is incompatible with another's, a system of rights to determine its use may be necessary. It is commonly asserted, however, that informational goods like inventions and expressive works are nonrivalrous and that intellectual property rights must therefore be subject to special limitation, if they should even exist at all. This Article examines the idea of rivalry more closely and makes a series of claims about the analysis of rivalrousness for purposes of such arguments. Within that framework, it argues that rivalry should be understood as a function of the extent that any one person's desires with respect to the disposition of a given resource are incompatible with the desires of others, and it criticizes the assumption that rivalrousness should only concern clashes between two people's desire to make active use of the same resource. In a range of contexts, such as land conservation or ideological disagreement, conflicts arise because one person wants to use a resource and another simply wants that person to refrain from doing so. This Article then applies this understanding to intellectual property. It shows that although the notion that information goods are nonrivalrous is treated as a statement of self-evident fact, the basic claim depends upon either unsubstantiated, and often improbable, empirical assumptions about individual preferences or, more likely, a substantial element of normative judgment about different motivations to restrict use. Ideas and information can generate the sort of conflicts property law exists to mediate, and if the law should generally favor rights to use over rights to withhold access, more than a reflexive invocation of nonrivalry is needed to explain why. The rivalrousness of informational goods is apparent in many contexts ranging from trademarks to privacy to digital assets like cryptocurrency, and the potential for rivalry remains for other objects of intellectual property protection like inventions and expressive works. In borrowing from the conceptual vocabulary of public goods economics, the literature on intellectual property has tended to mischaracterize and conflate different public goods issues, thereby obscuring the nature of the conditions that might justify or undermine rights in information goods. This Article concludes by looking at ways these insights bear upon several specific legal problems, such as copyright's fair-use doctrine, remedies for IP infringement, and the question of whether copying information constitutes a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the impact of intellectual property protection on innovation should include multiple perspectives, of which the impact of patent infringement remedies is an indispensable perspective. The two options for resolving patent infringement disputes in China include civil litigation (CL) and administrative adjudication (AA). Despite the fact that the judicial system has been emphasized as playing the leading role in intellectual property protection, patentees have shown a strong preference for AA since 2015. The general application of AA had been criticized by scholars. Does the patentee’s preference bring inappropriate protection and stifled innovation? This study used regression models and 2008–2020 data on the choice of patent dispute resolution mode in China. The number of invention patent applications was the dependent variable, and choices for CL or AA were the independent variables. The choice of AA and the invention patent application were found to have a significant and positive association, implying that AA provides an appropriate level of intellectual property protection to incentivize innovation. Characteristics derived from AA should be valued and used as a reference to improve innovation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into the crucial role of patent marking in providing notice to the public and facilitating proper enforcement of patent rights. It discusses how the marking requirement, outlined in 35 U.S.C. § 287(a), ensures that patent owners can claim damages for infringement only after providing notice that a product is patented. It argues for a shift in the application of the marking requirement from a claim-by-claim basis to a patent-by-patent basis to address this loophole.

Copyright of Direito e Práxis is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the period of political repression up to the revolution of 1848–1849, private societies (Vereine) functioned as a surrogate for public life. The Gustav-Adolf-Verein, created to support diaspora communities, united protestants of different convictions, including clergy and believers who considered the traditional structures of the Prussian church insufficient to answer the needs of modern society. Among them were rationalists deemed heretics by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. By means of his Patent of Toleration issued in 1847, the king attempted to squeeze the rationalists, called 'Lichtfreunde', out of his church, arguing that they were free to form new congregations (freie Gemeinden). Their training in public debate made several of the rationalist clergymen obvious candidates for the parliamentary bodies that came into life during the revolution of 1848–1849. Most of them were considered to be "democrats". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present article is to identify certain important issues in relation to which there have been divergences in the recent case-law of the General Court of the EU in the field of IP law and to examine the way the EU judicature has dealt with them. It is structured as follows. Its introductory part presents succinctly the main reasons for inconsistencies in the case-law of the General Court in the field of IP law and the existing mechanisms aimed at preventing, eliminating or minimizing them. Its main part examines the following four questions of EU IP procedural and substantive law, reflecting diverging opinions of the General Court: (i) admissibility of an intervention before the General Court submitted by the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO); (ii) admissibility of evidence presented for the first time before the General Court in proceedings concerning EU trade marks; (iii) effect of the termination of protection of earlier rights while proceedings are pending before EUIPO; and (iv) likelihood of confusion in the context of the comparison of goods in cases involving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The article concludes by stressing that, while the occurrence of divergences in the case-law of the General Court may be unavoidable, swift detection of the existence and the exact content of such issues is an important step towards resolving them effectively, in the interest of legal certainty and equality in the application of law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-form videos have recently gained popularity thanks to social media platforms like TikTok. Some of the videos created by users go 'viral' and are 'reproduced' by others as they become trends on this platform. This article examines whether viral social media trends can warrant copyright protection and whether, by recreating such trends without permission, a potential infringement takes place. The idea–expression dichotomy will form the basis of the analysis so that the question is whether the infringer merely borrows an unprotected idea or rather copies a protectable expression. Additionally, as hinted in the pending referral in Mio (C-580/23), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is yet to determine how the assessment of similarity, when examining an alleged infringement, must be conducted—is this one of recognizability or rather overall impression? Exceptions and limitations—most pertinently, pastiche—also form part of the discussion as questions are raised on the application of this undefined concept, pending the judgment in Pelham II (C-590/23). A balancing approach shall be taken between the interests of the different stakeholders at hand, including having regard to freedom of expression and protection of IP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicts and contradictions within the legal system may affect the effectiveness of law enforcement, but scholars have not conducted sufficient empirical research on the mechanism. Based on three periods of mixed cross-sectional data in 2015 and 2019 when the reform of patent transaction system in colleges and universities, which represents a quasi-natural experiment, has been carried out, this study adopted a difference-in-difference (DID) model to empirically analyze the efficiency of patent transactions. It was found that if the lower level system was not removed or revised in time when the higher level law had been revised, it would have a blocking effect on the implementation of the higher level law and thus make patent transaction less efficient. Furthermore, when the lower level system was revised accordingly, it would have a transmission effect on the implementation of the higher level law, which could promote its implementation. This basic conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests and can provide useful lessons for the systemic revision and organizing of laws, as well as the reform of the economic and social systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides information on the process of challenging a patent through a scope confirmation trial in Korea. It explains that materials published between the filing of the patent application and the infringement can be considered when determining the convenience of composition change. The scope confirmation trial is an expedited civil action aimed at quickly confirming whether the invention subject to confirmation falls within the objective scope of the patent right. The article also discusses the concept of equivalent infringement and the purpose of a scope confirmation trial. It concludes that the lower court made a reasonable judgment in a specific case and dismisses the appeal. [Extracted from the article]

A psychedelic “renaissance” has led to renewed interest in the medical uses of psychedelics, particularly to assist in treatment of substance use disorders. This “renaissance” has included attempts to patent methods of using or synthesizing psychedelics. Long before this “renaissance,” however, indigenous peoples of the Americas used psychedelic plants in their religious rites, including using psychedelic plants to treat substance abuse disorders such as alcoholism. Therefore, indigenous peoples have raised concerns that the recent trend of patenting psychedelics will lead to the patenting of their traditional knowledge and impede their free exercise of religion. A current proposed solution to address such concerns is to create traditional knowledge repositories. Such repositories prevent the patenting of traditional knowledge that qualifies as “prior art” under the patent laws. However, due to the secret nature of religious ceremonies and oral transmission of religious instruction, prior indigenous uses of psychedelics may not qualify as “prior art.” Moreover, market forces may compel indigenous communities to substitute patented varieties of psychedelics for traditional varieties. Accordingly, a “ceremonial use” defense should also be recognized to provide a defense to patent infringement claims for indigenous communities and their members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the rivalry in infringement-litigation dynamics is critical for firms in the telecommunication industry. While the number of cross-border patent disputes in these years has surged owing to the globalized economy, the existing literature primarily focuses on patent disputes among telecommunication companies in the national jurisdiction. Hence, to capture the rivalry in the telecommunication industry more comprehensively, we utilize the evolutionary social network to explore the patent dispute data in the International Trade Commission (ITC), which is a crucial legal battleground for enterprises with international business. Through developing a dynamic litigation network and discussing the possible role of the positions in compliance with their interacting relationship, we illustrated that companies involved in ITC investigations can be segmented into key players, frequent respondents, strategic applicants, as well as peripheral enterprises, and the litigation strategies implicated behind four groups of firms stress the strategic nature of ITC investigations. According to the findings, this study contributes to the literature on patent litigation in the telecommunication field and social network relationships. In addition, this paper suggests that telecommunication companies should develop litigation strategies based on their positions and roles in the competition network, and policymakers need to have a deeper understanding of the competition practices in the global legal context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid maxillary expansion (RME) is used in patients presenting transverse maxillary deficiency. However, RME may be unpredictable after late adolescence if the midpalatal sutural maturation stage (MPMS) is in late stage. Since MPMS evaluation is influenced by the expertise of the operator and image quality, this classification method could be complemented. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the morphology of the midpalatal suture (MPS) and its surrounding bone in the coronal plane using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of adolescents and young adults and to correlate the findings with their respective MPMS status. CBCT scans of 200 patients aged 15–35 years of both sexes were evaluated. MPS and surrounding bone tissue characteristics in the coronal and axial sections were analyzed, and MPMS was evaluated (A to E). Six categories were identified for the coronal evaluation, analyzing it in 2 standardized locations. Sutural morphology: I, hypodense sutural line limited by 2 hyper-dense para-sutural lines; II, hypodense sutural line; and III, suture not visible. The presence of para-sutural cancellous bone: CB0, compact bone; CB1, dense cancellous tissue; CB2, spaced cancellous bone. Midpalatal bone thickness (MBTh) was also measured. ANOVA–Bonferroni, chi-square, logistic regression and t-tests were used. MPMS increased with age. Sutural morphology I and CB0 bone were the most prevalent. Here we show that sutural morphology, para-sutural bone characteristics, and MPSM were significantly associated. The coronal evaluation of the MPS can complement the information from the MPSM assessment, allowing the identification of patent MPS even in the presence of late MPSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of science and technology has spurned an expansion in patent entitlements, particularly evident in the extension of the object, content, and term of these rights. Currently, the world's criminal legislation is in the trend of criminalization, the expansion of patent rights further promotes the criminalization of patent protection and is embodied in the change process of the patent legal system. To comply with the trend of criminalization of patent protection, it is necessary to establish the offense of patent infringement. This is not only an effective way for criminal law to play its role as the ultimate safeguard, but also an important system for encouraging market competition and promoting economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of industry routinely attend trade shows for their respective businesses. For medical device professionals, these events are important venues for displaying new products, networking with industry colleagues, and promoting [...]