The Berkeley Technology Law Journal is a top place for deep talks on law and tech. What does the latest volume tell us, and how does it affect the future of this fast-changing field? Looking into Volume 31, Page 1137, we ask: How are courts handling the digital era’s challenges, and what can we learn to keep law up with tech?
Key Takeaways
- The Berkeley Technology Law Journal offers deep analysis of key legal changes at the law and tech crossroads.
- The journal’s Annual Review covers many topics, like patent law, copyright law, antitrust, and data privacy.
- The foreword explains the Annual Review’s goal: to be a go-to resource for judges, policymakers, practitioners, students, and scholars.
- The volume looks at important Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions. It talks about new legal issues in FRAND licensing and patent eligibility for molecular diagnostics.
- The journal also looks at changing standards for willful infringement and finality of district court judgments. This shows how tech is changing legal challenges.
Overview of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal is a top academic journal. It looks at the latest in law and technology every year. The Annual Review is great for judges, policymakers, and students. It gives a full look at the big legal issues in this fast-changing field.
Foreword and Aim of the Annual Review
This year’s foreword talks about how technology law is always changing. The journal covers many topics. These include patent, copyright, and trademark law, and new areas like cyberlaw, venture law, and privacy.
Coverage of Diverse Topics in Law and Technology
This Berkeley Technology Law Journal volume has twenty-six Notes. They cover a wide range of legal issues. Topics include Supreme Court decisions, FRAND licensing practices, patent eligibility for molecular diagnostics, and the evolution of music licensing under U.S. copyright law.
The Berkeley Law Journal Annual Review gives a full look at the latest in technology law topics. It helps readers understand the changing legal landscape at the intersection of law and technology.
Patent Law Developments
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review gives a deep look into the latest in patent law. It talks about big changes, like the Supreme Court’s decisions in Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment and Teva v. Sandoz. These decisions changed how we look at claim construction.
Supreme Court’s Decision in Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment
In Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC, the Supreme Court kept the Brulotte rule alive. This rule says you can’t collect patent royalties after a patent has ended. It shows that patent owners can’t keep their rights longer than the law allows.
Teva v. Sandoz and Claim Construction Standard of Review
The Supreme Court’s decision in Teva v. Sandoz changed how we review claim construction. Now, district court findings are checked for clear errors, but the final claim construction gets a full review. This has changed how courts handle Markman hearings and raised questions about reviewing appeals.
| Case | Key Takeaway |
|---|---|
| Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment | Upheld the Brulotte rule, prohibiting post-expiration patent royalties |
| Teva v. Sandoz | Established a hybrid standard of review for claim construction, with factual findings reviewed for clear error |
FRAND Licensing Practices Across Jurisdictions
In recent years, the tech world has seen a big push for fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing. Standard-setting organizations (SSOs) now ask their members to agree to FRAND terms. Courts and regulators are figuring out what these agreements really mean.
A survey of SSO patent policies showed us a lot about FRAND worldwide. Most SSOs make their members promise to license standard-essential patents on FRAND terms. But, some parts of the FRAND system are unclear, making it hard to follow these promises, especially in tech.
Big FRAND disputes have popped up all over the world. This has led to legal actions from groups like the Federal Trade Commission to make sure these promises are kept. Courts in many countries are trying to understand what FRAND really means. This shows how complex these agreements are.
| Jurisdiction | Notable FRAND Disputes |
|---|---|
| United States | Apple vs. Qualcomm, TCL vs. Ericsson |
| China | Samsung vs. Huawei |
| Multiple Countries | Apple vs. Qualcomm (5 countries), TCL vs. Ericsson (7 countries) |
As FRAND licensing gets more legal attention, courts and regulators are starting to agree on how to handle issues like hold-up and royalty pricing. They suggest that patent owners should license their patents on FRAND terms. If there’s a disagreement, they should use binding arbitration to figure out the royalty rate.
For SSOs, following best practices for enforcing FRAND can help. It promotes standards and makes sure inventors get fair pay for their patented tech.
Akamai Technologies v. Limelight Networks on Divided Infringement
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review looks at a big decision by the Federal Circuit in Akamai Technologies, Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc.. This decision changed how we see direct infringement under § 271(a) of the Patent Act. It dealt with the tricky topic of “divided infringement,” where many people do parts of a patented process but none are fully liable.
The Akamai decision set a new rule. It says direct infringement can happen if someone makes another do part of a patented process for a reward. This rule helps fix a problem that had let some avoid responsibility in divided infringement cases. It gives patent owners better protection.
But, the Annual Review points out a possible issue, especially in medical diagnostics. It says we might still have a problem with divided infringement in medicine. The need for more work is clear to make sure patents keep up with new technology and innovation.
The Akamai decision is a big deal for patent law. It shows how the law is adapting to new tech and business ways. With more use of shared systems and teamwork, this ruling will keep affecting how we talk about divided and direct patent infringement.
Patent Eligibility for Molecular Diagnostics
The rules for patenting molecular diagnostics have changed a lot in recent years. This is thanks to big decisions from the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit. The case of Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc. is key. It shows how hard it is to get patents for new uses of scientific discoveries in this area.
The Supreme Court set a two-part test in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International. This test checks if an invention is about a “law of nature” or a “natural phenomenon.” It also looks at if the invention is more than just that. If it is, it might be eligible for a patent.
In Europe, patent law is different. It doesn’t allow some things to be patented but lets them be used in practical ways. The USPTO has given patents to things that seem like they should be natural, like genomic sequences. This has caused some debate.
But, the USPTO has changed its stance. It now follows more of the European way, listing things that can’t be patented and how they can be used practically. This change might mean new laws to make patent rules clearer and more predictable for molecular diagnostics.
Impact of Supreme Court and Federal Circuit Decisions
From 2010 to 2014, the Supreme Court made some big decisions. These decisions aimed to limit what can be patented. This has affected the molecular diagnostics field a lot. Gene patents have been questioned and faced challenges because of these rules.
The Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc. case shows how hard it is to get patents for new scientific discoveries. Scholars have debated why these restrictions are in place. They look at how they affect patents and the fairness of these rules.
Commil v. Cisco and Willful Patent Infringement Standard
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review has a note that looks at how the Supreme Court’s decision in Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc. changed the rules for willful patent infringement. This note says the Commil decision makes us rethink the current rules for willfulness. It also talks about how inducement liability and the scienter standard for willful infringement work together.
The Commil case from 2015 dealt with if a defendant’s belief that a patent is invalid can protect them from being accused of inducing infringement. The Supreme Court said this belief doesn’t protect them, making it harder to prove willful infringement.
This decision has changed how patent lawsuits work. It means the Court wants a higher level of intent to prove willful infringement. This has made people rethink how to decide if someone is willfully infringing on a patent, leading to a more detailed approach.
| Case | Impact |
|---|---|
| Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc. | Rejected good-faith belief in patent invalidity as a defense to induced infringement, raising the bar for proving willful infringement. |
The note looks at how inducement liability and the scienter standard for willful infringement work together. It shows how the Commil decision has changed patent law. This gives important insights to those who work with intellectual property and scholars.
In conclusion, the Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review gives a deep look at the legal effects of the Supreme Court’s Commil v. Cisco ruling. It adds to the discussion on willful infringement standards and how patent law is changing.
Finality of District Court Judgments and Preclusive Effect
The finality of district court judgments and their impact is key in patent law. Critics say the Federal Circuit’s strict rules on when a judgment can be final are wrong. This makes patent cases more strategic, pushing alleged infringers to wait for a PTO decision that might change the district court’s ruling.
Many patent cases end with the patent being declared invalid. Before 2013, there were no clear rules on how the PTO’s invalidation affects ongoing infringement cases. In recent years, the Federal Circuit has ruled that infringement damages awards can be overturned if the PTO later invalidates the patent.
Thanks to the America Invents Act, there’s been a surge in patent reviews at the PTO. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has canceled between 64% and 98% of patents under review. This has led to concerns about strategic abuse and a less reliable patent system.
Dealing with the mix of district court judgments and PTO reviews is now very complex. It has big implications for patent preclusive effect and the whole patent system.
Reasonable Expectation of Success in Chemical Inventions
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal reviews a key topic each year. It looks at “reasonable expectation of success,” or RES, in chemical and pharmaceutical inventions. This idea is crucial for deciding if a new chemical or formula can get a patent.
Courts should think more carefully about RES, the note says. This would encourage real innovation. It would reward only those inventions that wouldn’t have happened without a lot of effort.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals
The case of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. is looked at closely. The authors believe the court missed an important point about RES. They think it’s key to judge RES correctly to balance new discoveries with patent rules.
This review tries to make the RES doctrine clearer for chemical and pharmaceutical innovations. By asking for a stricter RES standard, it wants to motivate innovators. It also wants to protect the public and the innovation world.
“In view of the complexity and unpredictability of the chemical arts, courts should narrowly define ‘reasonable expectation of success’ to incentivize innovation while rewarding only inventions that would not have arisen in the normal course of research.”
Noerr-Pennington Doctrine and Patent Demand Letters
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal looks into the noerr-pennington doctrine and its effects on immunity. It talks about how these rules can protect against state-law suits for false claims in patent demand letters. The idea is that changing the current Federal Circuit rule could make state laws against patent trolls unnecessary. This is because patent owners could face state lawsuits for unfair business practices or harming consumers.
The noerr-pennington doctrine protects people and companies from antitrust lawsuits for asking the government for help. This rule also covers patent owners who send out demand letters, seen as asking the courts for action. But, the note says this protection shouldn’t cover false or misleading claims in these letters. Such claims aren’t real requests for help.
Changing the Federal Circuit’s current rule, the note suggests, would make patent owners responsible under state laws for any deceitful actions in their letters. This could be a better way to stop bad patent litigation tactics. It might not require new state laws against patent trolls.
“Reforming the current Federal Circuit precedent would negate the perceived need for state anti-patent troll statutes, as patent owners making such statements would be liable under state unfair competition or consumer protection laws.”
berkeley technology law journal volume 31 pg 1137
Mandatory “Patent Dance” in Biologics Price Competition Act
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review looks at a big ruling from the Federal Circuit in Amgen Inc. v. Sandoz Inc.. This ruling was about the “patent dance” in the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) for approving biosimilar drugs. The court said the patent dance isn’t required, which goes against what many thought Congress wanted.
The BPCIA was made in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act. It aimed to make it easier to get biosimilar versions of biologic drugs approved. The “patent dance” is a process where the biosimilar maker and the original drug’s maker share information to settle patent issues before the new drug hits the market.
| Key Aspects of the BPCIA “Patent Dance” | Description |
|---|---|
| Information Exchange | The biosimilar applicant must give the original drug’s maker a copy of its application and how it makes the drug. |
| Patent Identification | The original drug’s maker lists the patents they think the new drug would break. |
| Negotiation and Litigation | Then, both sides negotiate and go to court to settle these patent issues. |
The Amgen v. Sandoz note in the berkeley law journal volume 31 says Congress meant for the patent dance to be a must-do. This was to keep the process of solving patent disputes smooth and quick for biologics price competition act and patent dance.
This note gives deep insights into the legal fights over the biologics price competition act and the “patent dance” in approving biosimilars. As the berkeley technology law journal volume 31 keeps looking into law and tech, this look at the BPCIA’s patent dance is key to the debate.
Functional Claiming and Williamson v. Citrix Online
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal’s Annual Review looks at functional claiming. This topic is getting more attention lately. It starts with a strong rule against using § 112(f) on claims without “means” in Lighting World v. Birchwood Lighting. But, this rule was changed in Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC (Williamson II). The Federal Circuit then decided how to know if a claim limitation uses § 112(f).
The note talks about the unclear parts in the law after Williamson II. It suggests a way to figure out if a claim should follow § 112(f). This method aims to make functional claiming clearer and more consistent. It’s important for patent law and how it affects new ideas and free speech.
| Key Developments in Functional Claiming | Impact |
|---|---|
| Lighting World v. Birchwood Lighting established a strong presumption against invoking § 112(f) on claim limitations lacking the term “means”. | This rule made it hard to say a claim limitation is under § 112(f), possibly limiting functional claiming. |
| Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC (Williamson II) overruled the Lighting World presumption, adopting a more flexible approach to determining § 112(f) applicability. | Williamson II made functional claiming wider, but left some questions. The note tries to answer these questions. |
The note suggests a way to handle functional claiming under § 112(f). It wants to make the rules clear and fair. By looking at the tricky parts of patent law, the Annual Review helps talk about functional claiming and free speech.
Conclusion
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal Volume 31 offers a deep dive into the latest legal trends at the tech-law crossroads. It covers patent law, copyright, trademarks, cybersecurity, antitrust, and data privacy. This makes it a key resource for judges, policymakers, lawyers, students, and scholars.
This volume highlights important Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions. It also looks into emerging legal issues and the changing standards in patent law. Topics like patent eligibility, FRAND licensing, divided infringement, and functional claiming are covered. These insights help shape legal strategies and guide the future of tech law.
The Berkeley Technology Law Journal Volume 31 showcases the evolving legal scene in the tech world. Its wide-ranging coverage and in-depth analysis are crucial for grasping the complex relationship between law and technology today.