Patent Law, the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court, A Quiet Revolution

Over the last twenty years, a quiet revolution has taken place in patent law. Traditionally, patents were rarely valid, but if valid, broadly enforced. Since Congress created the Federal Circuit in 1982 and vested it with exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over patent appeals, patents have become routinely valid, but narrowly enforced. This article evaluates the economic consequences of this revolution. Focusing on the reasons for, and the costs of, uniformity in patent protection, this article shows that the revolution will tend to limit the patent system\u27s ability to ensure the expected profitability, and hence the existence, of desirable, but high cost innovation

Patent Law, the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court, A Quiet Revolution

Over the last twenty years, a quiet revolution has taken place in patent law. Traditionally, patents were rarely valid, but if valid, broadly enforced. Since Congress created the Federal Circuit in 1982 and vested it with exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over patent appeals, patents have become routinely valid, but narrowly enforced. This article evaluates the economic consequences of this revolution. Focusing on the reasons for, and the costs of, uniformity in patent protection, this article shows that the revolution will tend to limit the patent system\u27s ability to ensure the expected profitability, and hence the existence, of desirable, but high cost innovation

Examining Distinctive Jurisprudence in the Federal Circuit: Consequences of a Specialized Court

After reviewing jurisprudence that is consistent with the predicted behavior of specialized courts, this paper will discuss some recent Supreme Court cases which address some of the Circuit\u27s distinctive jurisprudence. In addition to examining evidence of characteristics consistent with specialization-caused effects, this paper will highlight several examples suggesting that the perception is growing at the Supreme Court that the Circuit is behaving as a specialized court developing distinctive jargon and rules, and unduly tending to its constituency. That perception may or may not be justified, but there are signs that the CAFC is responding to the perception in its early cases implementing the Supreme Court rulings

Thinking Comparative Engineering Education: India and the Rest

Engineering education in the globalized perspective undergoing metamorphic changes in changing paradigms. In the context, as a developing nation, India has an opportunity to share the experience of the advanced nations and thereby, through juxtaposition, can adopt appropriate policies for strengthening the existing system of engineering education, best suits for national situations. Perception about the profession and problem context of engineering education needs ramification. Shortcomings in engineering practice need to be identified in the areas of innovation, research and development, design and technical improvisation. System related and profession oriented issues need to be addressed through the global experiences. Contrasting values of employer organizations and profession for an engineer need a clear synthesis for the development in different perception-context. The paper present a snap views on the stated issues which believed to be contributing factors for strengthening the Indian engineering education

Theoretical analysis of the philosophy and practice of disciplined inquiry

2015 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.This dissertation theoretically examined the process of disciplined inquiry in the social sciences from its philosophical foundations to its extensions into practice. Key to conceptualization of disciplined inquiry were two regulative ideals: the commitment to the concepts that define the possibility of experience and the commitment to processes for combining the concepts of experience. The paradigm theory of Lincoln, Lynham, and Guba (e.g., Lincoln & Lynham, 2011; Lincoln, Lynham, & Guba, 2011) provided a sophisticated explanation of the possibility of experience that inquirers can commit to when engaging in disciplined inquires. Review of literature revealed an inadequacy in the state of theoretical understanding of processes for combining the concepts of experience. To develop a theoretical agenda of research for disciplined inquiry, the literature on paradigm theory and theory building was analyzed. A historical analysis of paradigm theory revealed milestones in more than 40 years of inquiry focused on conceptualization of the theory. A reverse engineering analysis theoretically examined paradigm theory and its milestones identified from the historical analysis for key features of the theoretical process. A revised conceptualization of disciplined inquiry was presented and a theoretical agenda for developing the underlying theoretical framework for the processes of combining the concepts of experience was outlined

The Historical Impact Of Philosophical Naturalism On American Aesthetic Education: Bennett Reimer’s Philosophy Of Music Education As Aesthetic Education

Philosophical naturalism is the view that all of reality reduces to natural explanation. The resulting so-called fact-value split biases language against universal, objective values—where empirical observation is said to determine truth, while values are reduced to private emoting or socio-cultural human construction. This research questioned the definition of aesthetic value as determined by the music education as aesthetic education (MEAE) movement in the United States, and the justification of aesthetic education as a universally applicable and comprehensive approach to a course in general music/music appreciation. As the MEAE movement seems to have been largely defined by Bennett Reimer, his philosophy was assessed critically. This study investigated the historical impact of philosophical naturalism on aesthetic philosophy in general, and the potential impact of a fact-value-bias upon the value language of Bennett Reimer’s philosophy of aesthetic education in particular. It was determined that there was a noteworthy historical shift following the Enlightenment—i.e., the rise of aestheticism curiously coincided with the rise of philosophical naturalism. It was further determined that philosophical naturalism indeed seems to have influenced Bennett Reimer’s view of aesthetic value. It was concluded that non-naturalist positions must be alloto vie in the classroom, if aesthetic education is to speak comprehensively of value. Some contemporary alternatives are suggested concerning the possibilities of what a more holistic approach to aesthetic education might look like, and it is posited that the most comprehensive and inclusive approach will be a dialogical approach that uses the arts to encourage students to think critically concerning questions at the heart of inquiry into the very nature of goodness and the meaning of beauty