Plagues, Pandemics And Patents: Legality And Morality[1] And Even Movies[2]

A. Samuel Oddi is a professor of Intellectual Property at the University of Akron School of Law. In prior articles,[3] I have tried to point out that developing countries, and particularly the least developed countries (LDCs), are not the intended or even incidental beneficiaries of the intellectual property system--particularly its internationalization under TRIPS.  I have primarily […]

America Invents Act: Most Significant Patent Reforms Since 1952

Nora Sleeth is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. On September 16, 2011, President Obama signed the America Invents Act, initiating the most significant development in American patent law since 1952. The reforms are intended to aid inventors in bringing their inventions to market with the aim of improving business and employment opportunities. […]

US Cybersource Decision Puts Mental Steps Back Into Business Methods Patents

Amelia Manera is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. On August 16, 2011, the US Court of Appeal released the decision of Cybersource Corporation v Retail Decisions Inc. reinforcing that a process that can be done merely by a series of mental steps is not patentable subject matter under s.101 of Title 35 […]

Pet-Door Patent Dispute Over Jurisdiction Clarified By US Court of Appeals

Kalen Lumsden is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Radio Systems Corp. v. Accession, Inc., No. 10-1390 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 25, 2011) overrules a 2003 decision that sending a cease-and-desist letter to an infringing party in another state was sufficient to grant the addressee’s state jurisdiction over the owner in future patent enforcement.

Election Drum Beats the Life Out of Access to Medicines Bill

Dan Whalen is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Among the nearly 500 bills that died with the end of the 40th Canadian Parliament last Friday was Bill C-393, Canada’s Act to amend the Patent Act. The bill proposes to modify Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR), itself an amendment to the Patent […]

The U.S. Patent Litigation Process

Irfan Lateef and Marko Zoretic are Partners at Knobbe Martens in Irvine, California.  Mr. Zoretic is also an Osgoode Hall Law School graduate (2003) and is the founder and President of the Canadian American Bar Association. Canadian companies of all sizes can find themselves embroiled in patent infringement lawsuits south of the border, as a […]

Google Plans on Translating European Patents

Dan Whalen is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School In an interesting turn of events since my post last month, the European Patent Office has recently inked a deal with Google to have the Internet titan do some of its much-debated translation work. Each side will benefit from the arrangement. It takes some […]

Europeans Tongue-Tied Up In Debate Over Patent Reform

Dan Whalen is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School At a meeting held in Brussels last week, EU delegates came no closer to reaching consensus on a unified European patent system. After years of proposals, the monumental task formally began last year after EU members agreed to create a single European patent and a […]

US Government Takes A Side In Gene Patent Debate

Dan Whalen is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School In a recent amicus brief, the US Department of Justice has suggested that patents for “isolated human genomic DNA” be invalidated, a significant change to the longstanding practice of gene patenting. The surprising proposition comes in response to an appeal by Myriad Genetics of […]

Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge: Challenges Ahead

Rachel Migicovsky is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, Traditional Knowledge (TK) is  “knowledge which has a traditional link with a certain community: it is … developed, sustained and passed on within a traditional community, and…between generations”. The introduction of TRIPS in 1994, a WTO agreement […]