Patent Law Weblog
Category: Media Commentary
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By Donald Zuhn — Reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its seventh annual list of top biotech/pharma patent stories. For 2013, we identified fourteen stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year that we believe had (or are likely to have) the greatest impact on biotech/pharma patent practitioners…
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By Andrew Williams — In May of this year, the NPR podcast "Planet Money" released an episode entitled "When Patents Hit the Podcast." At that time, we reported on this podcast, and the misconceptions of the patent system that the show perpetuated (see "When NPR Podcasters Hit the Patent System"). NPR rebroadcast the episode last…
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By Edward Reines — Edward Reines (at right), a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, frequently argues before the Federal Circuit and is chair of the court's Advisory Council. Prepared remarks for Judge Wood's Sept. 26 talk at the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law can be downloaded here. The Chief Judge of the U.S.…
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By Andrew Williams — In case it was not clear that Congress is serious about combatting the perceived problem of "patent trolls," Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vermont) and Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) published an opinion piece this week on the POLITICO.com website, which is now entitled "America's Patent Problem." Both Senators are members of the Senate…
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Editor's Note: Yesterday, we reported on a perspective, entitled "Patents, Profits, and the American People — The Bayh–Dole Act of 1980," that was published in the August 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier today, we received an e-mail from Joseph Allen, who noted that he had authored a reply to the…
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By Donald Zuhn — In a perspective published in the August 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Howard Markel outlines the events leading up to the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act and states that "a review of [the Act's] origins and consequences supports the idea that policies governing the fast-changing worlds…
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By Donald Zuhn — Two Op-Eds appearing in The Scientist over the summer present competing views on the impact of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. In an article published in July, Dr. George Lewis, the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of ZetrOz, a biotech company based in Connecticut, argued that "[t]he controversial law . .…
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By Andrew Williams — The mainstream media continues its attack on the patent system. This problem has become significant, because the average American does not appear to understand the purpose (and benefits) of the patent system. With all of the misinformation being reported, it is no wonder that lay people have the perception that the…
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By Andrew Williams — There has been a lot of discussion recently in the mainstream press regarding the U.S. patent system and its perceived failings. The current outcries stem from the apparent proliferation of "Patent Trolls," also known by the less derogatory term Patent Assertion Entities (or PAEs). Prompted by this apparent threat, President Obama…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — One of the most compelling arguments in the gene patenting debate with the public has been the cost of the Myriad BRCA gene test: $3,000 per test, a price that many without insurance coverage cannot afford. The argument rarely is embedded within a comparison with other tests, and is presented…
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