International Upheaval: Patent Independence Protectionists and the Hague Conference

International lawmakers presently are negotiating a treaty that would not only allow U.S. courts to grant summary judgment in patent infringement suits if a court in Canada or Europe previously found patent infringement, but would actually require it. This paper examines whether courts in the United States should be allowed to find patent infringement based solely upon the fact that foreign courts had previously found patent infringement. The author concludes that changing the law to allow this practice is not sound policy

A Victory for the Student Researcher: Chou v. University of Chicago

For years, graduate and other student researchers at universities have alleged that the hierarchical system in academic research allows supervising PhDs to steal and patent inventions that were rightfully discovered by students. In July 2001, the Federal Circuit finally addressed these concerns by interpreting the law in a way that strictly protects the rights of student researchers. This article examines this long-overdue change in the law and discusses its potential implications

Cybernetic Implications for the U.C.C.

In the following iBrief, the authors assess the impact of recent a recent decision from the 9th Circuit assessing whether the patent system\u27s filing mechanism preempts the U.C.C. Article 9 requirement that creditors perfect their security interests in patents offered as collateral by their debtors

Who’s Afraid of amazon.com v. barnesandnoble.com?

On October 2, 2000, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard the appeal in the case of Amazon.com, Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com, Inc. This appeal revolves around the alleged infringement by Barnesandnoble.com of a one-click web-shopping system patented by Amazon.com. The one-click system is among a series of recent controversial business method patents. According to some, business methods are legitimate inventions that deserve the protection of the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). According to others, business methods are unworthy of patent protection and may inhibit innovation in e-commerce. The outcome of this case has been widely anticipated by both sides of the business method patent debate as a signal that these patents will or will not be upheld by courts

Patent Amendments and Prosecution History Estoppel Under Festo

On November 29, 2000, the Federal Circuit retroactively reduced the value of nearly 1.2 million unexpired United States patents by announcing a new rule for the somewhat obscure doctrine of prosecution history estoppel. Designed to foster clarity in patent applications, this new pronouncement in Festo Corp v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co. allows for easy copying of some patented inventions and reduces patent owner\u27s ability to prove infringement. This article outlines the change in the law and discusses the positive and negative consequences of the decision

International Upheaval: Patent Independence Protectionists and the Hague Conference

International lawmakers presently are negotiating a treaty that would not only allow U.S. courts to grant summary judgment in patent infringement suits if a court in Canada or Europe previously found patent infringement, but would actually require it. This paper examines whether courts in the United States should be allowed to find patent infringement based solely upon the fact that foreign courts had previously found patent infringement. The author concludes that changing the law to allow this practice is not sound policy

Replication of Bedtime Music, Involuntary Musical Imagery, and Sleep at BYU-I Fall 2021

A replication of the Bedtime Music, Involuntary Musical Imagery, and Sleep examining the affect of music-listening habits on sleep quality