Author: Ashley J. (Clever) Earle, Contributing Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review When thinking about patent protection, most individuals likely picture what patent attorneys describe as a “widget”—a physical, mechanical invention. Patent protection however, covers a much broader spectrum of inventions. It may seem natural to grant patents to protect new innovations such as chemical... Continue Reading →
Design Patents: How Close Is Too Close? Vacillating Court Decisions Provide Little Guidance, as Shown in Apple v. Samsung
Author: Ashley Clever, Contributing Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review When marketing a new product, a business will often need to protect both the functionality and the overall design of a product to prevent competitors from producing an identical copy. While a utility patent covers a product’s functional features—how it works and what it does,... Continue Reading →
Patent Privateering: Patents As Weapons
Author: Thibault Schrepel, LL.M., Antitrust Analyst In the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I of England commissioned Francis Drake to sail for America. The Queen asked him to plunder Spanish vessels on his way there. Francis Drake became a pirate commissioned by the crown. This type of “legal” pirate was called a “privateer.” They allowed... Continue Reading →
Alice Kills: Is Alice v. CLS the Destruction of Software and Business Method Patents as We Know Them?
Author: Ashley Clever, Contributing Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review This is a question many practicing patent attorneys are wondering in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Alice Corporation PTY. LTD. v. CLS Bank International on June 19, 2014.[1] In Alice v. CLS, the Supreme Court invalidated four patents owned by... Continue Reading →