How Courts Adjudicate Patent Definiteness and Disclosure

Section 112 of the Patent Act requires patentees to clearly explain what their invention is (a requirement known as claim definiteness), as well as how to make and use it (the disclosure requirements of enablement and written description). Many concerns about the modern patent system stem from these requirements. But despite the critical importance of § 112 to the functioning of the patent system, there is surprisingly little empirical data about how it has been applied in practice. To remedy the reliance on anecdotes, we have created a hand-coded dataset of 1144 reported court decisions from 1982 to 2012 in which U.S. district courts or the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rendered a decision on the enablement, written-description, or claim-definiteness requirements of § 112. We coded validity outcomes under these three doctrines on a novel five-level scale so as to capture significant subtlety in the strength of each decision, and we also classified patents by technology and industry categories. We also coded for a number of litigation characteristics that could arguably influence outcomes. Although one must be cautious about generalizing from reported decisions due to selection effects, our results show some statistically significant disparities in § 112 outcomes for different technologies and industries—although fewer than the conventional wisdom suggests, and not always in the direction that many have believed. Just as importantly, our analysis reveals significant relationships between other variables and § 112 litigation outcomes, including whether a district court or the Federal Circuit made the last decision in a case, whether a patent claim was drafted in means-plus-function format, and whether a case was decided before or after Markman v. Westview Instruments. Our results showing how § 112 has been applied in practice will be helpful in evaluating current proposals for reform, and our rich dataset will enable more systematic studies of these critical doctrines in the future

Peer2Peer Support and Information Sharing Among After-School Staff: Promoting Emotional Well-Being via Effectiveness and Connectedness

This study launches a program of research applying a social-ecological approach to understanding and promoting work-related well-being for after-school providers serving diverse youth in resource-restricted and urban communities. We build on evidence indicating capacity to meet job demands and resources (e.g., social support) as two prominent predictors of work-related well-being in schools; combined with previous research highlighting effective relationships with youth and fellow colleagues as critical work experiences for after-school staff. The current study examines effectiveness building close and positive adult-youth relationships and connectedness with colleagues as potential predictors of work-related well-being, including increased work engagement and decreased stress and burnout, among after-school providers in a collaborating multi-site middle-school age after-school program. Using a mixed method design, participating staff (n=34) completed a survey examining different aspects of effectiveness (i.e., comfort promoting youth social-emotional outcomes, closeness with youth, and conflict with youth), connectedness (i.e., social support and social capital measured via social network analysis), and work-related well-being (i.e., work engagement, burnout, and stress). A subset of staff (n=11) also completed a follow-up interview to gain a deeper understanding of providers’ experience of effectiveness, connectedness, and work-related well-being in after-school. Results highlighted mixed and nuanced associations between all three constructs. Effectiveness served as the most consistent predictor of work-related well-being across qualitative and quantitative data, but highlighted the emotional strain that can also come with close relationships with youth. Connectedness presented as a stressor in its absence, but also a buffer against stress in its presence. Effective communication, instrumental support, and bonding social capital presented the most salient aspects of connectedness in predicting both work-related well-being and effectiveness supporting youth. Thus, the current study provides preliminary evidence for the potential of effectiveness and connectedness as pathways for promoting work-related well-being for after-school providers

Intrinsic Fluctuations and Driven Response of Insect Swarms

Animals of all sizes form groups, as acting together can convey advantages over acting alone; thus, collective animal behavior has been identified as a promising template for designing engineered systems. However, models and observations have focused predominantly on characterizing the overall group morphology, and often focus on highly ordered groups such as bird flocks. We instead study a disorganized aggregation (an insect mating swarm), and compare its natural fluctuations with the group-level response to an external stimulus. We quantify the swarm’s frequency-dependent linear response and its spectrum of intrinsic fluctuations, and show that the ratio of these two quantities has a simple scaling with frequency. Our results provide a new way of comparing models of collective behavior with experimental data

Anomalies de croissance et dépérissement du tilleul au Québec : à prévenir dès la production des plants en pépinière

Cet article présente des résultats d'analyse d'échantillons de quelque 30 disques de tilleuls (principalement de lignées ou cultivars issus du Tilia cordata Mill.) atteints de dépérissement prononcé, dans la ville de Québec (Québec) Canada, et ayant dû être coupés récemment. Depuis 1993, près de 5 % de la population de tilleuls situés dans cette ville ont été abattus pour la même raison. Parmi les anomalies observées sur ces arbres, la formation de nombreuses excroissances tumescentes sur le tronc et la présence de gros renflements à leur base dans certains cas ont paru prépondérantes vis-à-vis l'apparition de ce mal. Ces anomalies semblent avoir conduit à la venue de plusieurs autres agents, supposément secondaires, soit des insectes et des micro-organismes, et à d'autres conditions dommageables, telles la formation de crevasses et anfractuosités prononcées de l'écorce, le décollement en plaques de celle-ci, etc. Les dissections ont montré que l'origine de ces anomalies pouvait remonter au tout jeune âge de l'arbre; celles-ci s'étaient graduellement amplifiées, devenant ouvertement nuisibles il y a plusieurs années. Les résultats d'inventaires conduits à Québec et ailleurs, comprenant plus de 900 jeunes arbres plantés ces dernières années, ont montré que de telles anomalies commençaient à se développer sur un très grand nombre de ceux-ci, mais avec des différences notables selon les variétés. Ces données montrent l'importance de développer et d'appliquer des méthodes de prévention susceptibles de contrer l'emballement de ces anomalies de croissance dès les stades de production et de plantation de l'arbre.Since 1993, a pronounced decline in the health condition of linden trees (mainly from Tilia cordata Mill. lineage) has been responsible for the removal of 5% of the total planted linden trees in Quebec City (Quebec, Canada). Among the various growth anomalies observed on these trees, numerous gall-like outgrowths developing on the trunks and pronounced swellings at the base have appeared to be preponderant factors leading to decline. These anomalies have favoured the action of secondary agents such as opportunistic insects and microorganisms, and of damaging disturbances, such as a pronounced fissuring and cracking of the bark, bark peeling, and so on. Analysis of disks eut from 30 felled trees has shown that the anomalies had originated at the centre of the tree, and that their growth and effect had started to increase rapidly several years ago. The results of surveys conducted on more than 900 recently planted linden trees in Quebec City and elsewhere indicate that such outgrowths on the stem as well as the swellings at the tree base were present on a large number of the trees and were starting to expand, but with marked differences between varieties. These data point to the necessity of developing preventive measures and applying them early in the tree life to prevent such anomalies

Behavioral Analysis of Entrapped Condensate in a Vehicle Charge-Air-Cooler

The effect of the Weber number and inclination angle on the fraction carryover of the condensation found in a vehicle charge-air-cooler were experimentally investigated under steady state conditions. The validity of describing the fraction carryover in terms of the Weber number, using the heat exchanger fin spacing as the significant length, was explored. Condensate entrainment testing was performed at multiple heat exchanger face velocities and the fraction of condensate that is blown through with respect to the total amount was recorded for angles ranging between 0 and 50 degrees. A positive agreement between the results obtained and those from literature was found for the use of the Weber number as the governing parameter for heat exchanger condensate entrainment. A predictive equation valid between charge-air-cooler angles of 0 and 40 degrees was obtained to describe the expected entrainment that uses the Weber number, and a critical Weber number as input. Supplementary testing was also performed to observe the physical effects of a shearing air flow on a liquid bridge suspended between two plates. The observational testing showed that a liquid bridge may react in four different ways to the airflow, depending on the velocity