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Intellectual Property Law: A Brief Introduction
This report provides a brief overview of each form of federal intellectual property (IP) protection, including patent law, copyright law, and trademarks.
Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade
This report provides background on intellectual property rights (IPR) and discusses the roles of U.S. international trade policy in enhancing IPR protection and enforcement abroad.
Patent Law: A Primer and Overview of Emerging Issues
This report begins with an overview of patent law. It then discusses the Supreme Court's role in the development of patent law generally before examining the Court's recent decisions in detail. Finally, the report closes with a preview of developments in patent law that are on the horizon, such as the continued viability of certain administrative proceedings related to the validity of patents, which is the subject of two cases scheduled to be heard during the Court's upcoming term, as well as patent reform activity in the legislative and executive arenas.
The Google Library Project: Is Digitization for Purposes of Online Indexing Fair Use Under Copyright Law?
In December 2004, Google announced its Library Project, which was to entail digitizing, indexing, and displaying "snippets" of print books in the collections of five major libraries, among other things. The Library Project was not limited to books in the public domain (e.g., books whose terms of copyright protection had expired), and Google did not seek the permission of copyright holders, in part, because it asserted that its proposed uses were fair uses. Many authors, publishers, and other rights holders disagreed. This report provides background on the Library Project, legal issues raised by digitization and indexing projects, and the status of the litigation over the Library Project.
Enforcing U.S. Trade Laws: Section 301 and China
This report discusses the Trump Administration's decision to proceed with a Section 301 case against China's intellectual property rights (IPR) policies and their intent to impose 25% ad valorem tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. It also looks at past use of Section 301 against China.
Enforcing U.S. Trade Laws: Section 301 and China
This report discusses the Trump Administration's decision to proceed with a Section 301 case against China's intellectual property rights (IPR) policies and their intent to impose 25% ad valorem tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. It also looks at past use of Section 301 against China.
Enforcing U.S. Trade Laws: Section 301 and China
This report discusses the Trump Administration's decision to proceed with a Section 301 case against China's intellectual property rights (IPR) policies and their intent to impose 25% ad valorem tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. It also looks at past use of Section 301 against China.
The Bayh-Dole Act: Selected Issues in Patent Policy and the Commercialization of Technology
Congressional interest in facilitating U.S. technological innovation led to the passage of P.L. 96-517, Amendments to the Patent and Trademark Act, commonly referred to as the "Bayh-Dole Act" after its two main sponsors former Senators Robert Dole and Birch Bayh. Under this 1980 law, as amended, title to inventions made with government support is provided to the contractor if that contractor is a small business, a university, or other non-profit institution. This report discusses the rationale behind the passage of P.L. 96-517, its provisions, and implementation of the law.
The Bayh-Dole Act: Selected Issues in Patent Policy and the Commercialization of Technology
Report that discusses the rationale behind the passage of P.L. 96-517, its provisions, and implementation of the law.
Drug Patent Expirations: Potential Effects on Pharmaceutical Innovation
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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Appropriations Process: A Brief Explanation
This report provides a brief explanation of the U.S. patent and trademark office appropriations process.
Follow-On Biologics: Intellectual Property and Innovation Issues
This report presents Intellectual Property and Innovation issues related to Follow-On Biologics.
Follow-On Biologics: The Law and Intellectual Property Issues
This report reviews the BPCIA within the context of intellectual property and innovation issues.
Follow-On Biologics: The Law and Intellectual Property Issues
This report presents the Law and Intellectual Property issues of Follow-On Biologics.
Gene Patents: A Brief Overview of Intellectual Property Issues
This report provides a brief overview of intellectual property issues on Gene patents. The myriad holding attempts to provide investors and firms with incentives to conduct R&D while recognizing that pattern might obtain too much control in future research
What's on Television? The Intersection of Communications and Copyright Policies
This report discusses how the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congress, and the courts have overseen the rise of the internet by applying a combination of communications and copyright laws to regulate the distribution of television programming.
Deferred Examination of Patent Applications: Implications for Innovation Policy
This report provides an overview of deferred patent examination. It begins by offering a brief review of patent acquisition proceedings as well as challenges faced by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The report then introduces the concept of deferred examination. The potential positive and negative consequences of deferred examination upon the environment for innovation within the United States are then explored. The report closes by identifying salient design parameters for deferred examination systems and reviewing congressional options.
Follow-On Biologics: The Law and Intellectual Property Issues
This report reviews the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA), within the context of intellectual property and innovation issues. It provides an introduction to the biologics industry, introduces the regulatory and intellectual property provisions of the BPCIA, considers the potential market for biosimilars and possible industry responses that may arise in the wake of this legislation, and closes with concluding observations.
Gene Patents: A Brief Overview of Intellectual Property Issues
This report provides a brief overview of intellectual property issues on Gene patents. The myriad holding attempts to provide investors and firms with incentives to conduct R&D while recognizing that pattern might obtain too much control in future research
Intellectual Property in Industrial Designs: Issues in Innovation and Competition
Report that identifies several current issues relating to intellectual property in industrial designs. It describes the different sorts of intellectual property protection that apply to industrial designs, and identifies current issues at the interface between intellectual property and industrial designs.
Mayo v. Prometheus: Implications for Patents, Biotechnology, and Personalized Medicine
Report that reviews the Supreme Court's 2012 Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories decision (wherein the court held that a patent claiming a method of optimizing therapies for autoimmune disease was invalid) and briefly consider its implications for innovation and public health.
Patent Reform: Judicial Developments in Areas of Legislative Interest
This report reviews the relationship between Congress and the courts in patent reform. It begins by offering a summary of the patent system. The report then discusses a number of topics that have been the subject of both judicial and legislative consideration. The current state of the law is then contrasted with legislative reform proposals before previous Congresses. The report closes with observations concerning the subtle interaction between legislative, administrative, and judicial actors within the patent system and their impact upon the U.S. innovation environment.
Patentable Subject Matter Reform
This report reviews the current law governing patentable subject matter and recent proposals for legislative reform. It begins by providing a basic overview of the patent system and introducing the principles of patentable subject matter. It then considers the leading Supreme Court decisions construing section 101 of the Patent Act. The report then considers the implications of these decisions within the information technology and life sciences industries. The report closes with a review of legislative reform options.
Pharmaceutical Patent-Antitrust: Reverse Payment Settlements and Product Hopping
This report introduces and analyzes innovation and competition policy issues associated with the pharmaceutical industry. It begins with a review of the Hatch-Waxman Act and its implications upon the availability of generic substitutes for brand-name medications. The report then turns to a basic review of the antitrust law. It then addresses judicial developments with respect to reverse payment settlements and product hopping. The report closes with a summary of congressional issues and possible alternatives.
Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation Settlements: Implications for Competition and Innovation
This report introduces and analyzes innovation policy issues concerning pharmaceutical patent litigation settlements, including pharmaceutical patent litigation procedures under the Hatch-Waxman Act, the concept of reverse payment settlements, the status of reverse payment settlements under the antitrust laws, and congressional issues and alternatives.
Availability of Injunctive Relief for Standard-Essential Patent Holders
This report provides an overview of the current debate over whether a holder of a patent essential to an industry standard, who has promised to license such patented technology on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, may nevertheless obtain an injunction from a federal court or an exclusion order from the International Trade Commission against infringing products that implement the industry standard. The report first summarizes several fundamental principles of patent law, then discusses the relationship between standard-setting organizations and FRAND licensing.
The Copyright Registration Requirement and Federal Court Jurisdiction: A Legal Analysis of Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick
In New York Times Co. v. Tasini, six freelance authors who had contributed articles to several publications, including The New York Times, Newsday, and Time, sued when the publishers licensed rights to copy and sell the articles to electronic databases such as Lexis/Nexis. Shortly after the Court decided Tasini, three preexisting class action infringement suits, which had been suspended pending the decision, were activated and consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A fourth, nearly identical action was coordinated with that consolidated action. Together, these claims comprise the litigation discussed in this report.
CRS Issue Statement on Intellectual Property Rights
This report contains intellectual property rights and different law such as: Patent Law, copyright law, and International IPR Protection.
False Patent Marking: Litigation and Legislation
This report will describe and analyze the Federal Circuit's 2009 decision that requires a per-article penalty for false marking, as well as two subsequent Federal Circuit decisions in 2010 that answer several questions that have arisen during the recent false patent marking litigation. It also identifies and discusses legislation in the 111th Congress that would amend § 292 in order to retroactively end qui tam false marking suits and with the intent of reducing the number of false marking suits filed in the future.
False Patent Marking: Litigation and Legislation
This report will describe and analyze the Federal Circuit's 2009 decision that requires a per-article penalty for false marking, as well as two subsequent Federal Circuit decisions in 2010 that answer several questions that have arisen during the recent false patent marking litigation. It also identifies and discusses legislation in the 111th Congress that would amend § 292 in order to retroactively end qui tam false marking suits and with the intent of reducing the number of false marking suits filed in the future.
Illegal Internet Streaming of Copyrighted Content: Legislation in the 112th Congress
This report describes streaming technology, explains the disparity in criminal penalties for different forms of infringement committed by electronic means, analyzes legislation in the 112th Congress that would harmonize penalties for illegal streaming with those available for other forms of online copyright infringement, and summarizes arguments for and against such a legislative change.
Intellectual Property Rights Violations: Federal Civil Remedies and Criminal Penalties Related to Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents
This report provides information describing the federal civil remedies and criminal penalties that may be available as a consequence of violations of the federal intellectual property laws: the Copyright Act of 1976, the Patent Act of 1952, and the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act).
Intellectual Property Rights Violations: Federal Civil Remedies and Criminal Penalties Related to Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents, and Trade Secrets
This report provides background information and issues for Congress on multiyear procurement (MYP) and block buy contracting (BBC), which are special contracting mechanisms that Congress permits the Department of Defense (DOD) to use for a limited number of defense acquisition programs.
The Jurisprudence of Justice John Paul Stevens: Selected Opinions on Intellectual Property Law
This report briefly surveys decisions of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens in intellectual property cases. An examination of Justice Stevens' written opinions relating to intellectual property law reveals a strong desire to ensure that the rights of intellectual property creators are balanced with the rights of the public to access creative and innovative works.
Online Copyright Infringement and Counterfeiting: Legislation in the 112th Congress
The global nature of the Internet offers expanded commercial opportunities for intellectual property (IP) rights holders but also increases the potential for copyright and trademark infringement. This report discusses legislation regarding this topic: the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
Online Copyright Infringement and Counterfeiting: Legislation in the 112th Congress
The global nature of the Internet offers expanded commercial opportunities for intellectual property (IP) rights holders but also increases the potential for copyright and trademark infringement. This report discusses the following recent draconian legislation in regard to this topic: the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act); the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA); and the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN Act).
An Overview of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Jurisprudence in Patent Law
This report provides a brief summary of the Supreme Court's patent law jurisprudence in the following nine cases that have been decided since 2005: Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Unitherm Food Systems v. Swift-Eckrich, Illinois Tool Works v. Independent Ink, eBay v. MercExchange, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Metabolite Labs., MedImmune v. Genentech, KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., Microsoft v. AT&T, Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., and Bilski v. Kappos.
An Overview of the "Patent Trolls" Debate
This report reviews the current debate and controversy surrounding "patent assertion entities" (PAEs) and their effect on innovation, examines the reasons for the rise in PAE litigation, and explores the legislative options available to Congress if it decides that these are issues that should be addressed.
An Overview of the "Patent Trolls" Debate
This report reviews the current debate and controversy surrounding "patent assertion entities" (PAEs) and their effect on innovation, examines the reasons for the rise in PAE litigation, and explores the legislative options available to Congress if it decides that these are issues that should be addressed.
Repair, Modification, or Resale of Software-Enabled Consumer Electronic Devices: Copyright Law Issues
This report provides a discussion and analysis of copyright law issues that may be implicated by the repair, modification, or resale of software-enabled consumer electronic devices. These issues include software licensing, fair use, the first sale doctrine, and the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Use of Trademarks as Keywords to Trigger Internet Search Engine Advertisements
This report provides a summary and analysis of judicial opinions that have developed the current state of trademark law governing keyword-triggered advertising. It discusses background of the issue, keyword advertising, and litigation related to keyword advertising.
A Legal Analysis of S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act
This report discusses the legality of S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act). It is related to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but not enacted by the full Senate before the end of the 111th Congress.
The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute
This legal sidebar examines cases involving the revocation of the Washington Redskins' federally-registered trademarks (Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse) and the refusal to grant registration for a rock band's name (In re Tam). These cases raise questions about the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act), which denies trademark registration to certain offensive content.
Still Fair Use for Google Books: Second Circuit Ruling in Authors Guild v. Google
This legal sidebar discusses the decision in Authors Guild v. Google case, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court's ruling and held that Google's copying and distribution of books as part of its Google Books Project qualifies as fair use under the Copyright Act, and thus Google is not liable for infringement of the authors' copyright in these books.
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