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How Much Damage?
The recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in EZ Dock Inc. v. Schafer Systems Inc., 276 F.3d 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2002) may well have an impact on the development of biotechnological and pharmaceutical inventions. In EZ Dock, the Federal Circuit adopted a 13-factor 'totality of the circumstances' test to determine whether an offer to sell an invention is primarily commercial or primarily experimental, and thus whether the on-sale bar under 35 U.S.C. 102(b) should apply.
The on-sale bar prevents a patentee from obtaining and enforcing a patent if the invention was the subject of a commercial sale or offer for sale in the United States more than 1 year before the inventor or company filed a patent application on the invention. The rationale behind the bar is four-fold. First, the bar discourages the removal of inventions from the public domain after the public has come to believe the invention is freely available as a result of the sale of products embodying it. Second, the bar favors widespread disclosure of inventions. Third, the bar provides the inventor a reasonable amount of time after sales have started to decide whether the invention is worth patenting. Finally, the bar prevents the inventor from unduly extending the period of his monopoly by delaying the filing of a patent application until he fears that he might start to experience competition. King Instrument Corp. v. Otari Corp., 767 F.2d 853 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.