The opponents of the patent law might seem on safer ground when they claim that gene patents could hinder medical research.
But he foresees a "revolution" in the Indian industry, including an influx of foreign investment in research and clinical testing--if the Indian government implements the patent law.
Which may well have been something that would have been picked up under this older doctrine of passing off rather than the patent law that was actually used.
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If the patent law is being used for reasons far beyond its scope, then re-evaluate it and fix the actual problems that are responsible for the mess, not just the low-hanging fruit.
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This apparent inconsistency has been the subject of spirited debate in the patent law community, with some people claiming, not at all unreasonably, that the best mode requirement is effectively gone.
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"Bowman planted Monsanto's patented soybeans solely to make and market replicas of them thus depriving the company of the reward patent law provides for the sale of each article, " said Justice Elena Kagan.
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When the current patent law was passed in 1984, Congress couldn't have envisioned the creative thicket of patents with which drug firms could encircle their discoveries.
It may wind up disappointing blockbuster-ruling fans, however, as the court avoided making a definitive statement about the boundaries of patent law in the much-discussed Bilski case last year and may do so again.
More than 5 million patents have been issued in the U.S. since the first patent law of 1790.
Dr Ben Ngubane, The minister for arts, culture and technology in the South African government, said that a model for the new patent law was still under development.
As with the patent reform law now being considered, the decision was welcomed by technology companies who said they were too frequently targeted for patent infringement, and denounced by biotech firms who argued that investors would be discouraged from funding new products.
But as nonsensical as it might be, the plan to make drugs cheaper by taking them across the border and back highlights the degree to which patent law determines the profit margins of pharmaceutical companies.
The problems in patent law will not be solved by trying to do an artificial fix to encourage courts to short circuit the law.
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"History has shown there has yet to be a company that has won the hearts and minds of consumers and achieved continuous growth, when its primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation, " the memo said.
In its first two decades, the Federal Circuit gradually shifted patent law in the pro-patent direction favored by most patent attorneys.
The appeals court held that the agency had misinterpreted both the law governing patent term length and a clause barring the double-counting of overlapping prosecution delays.
That might be why the Supreme Court seems to have barely noticed that the Federal Circuit was dramatically reshaping patent law in the 1990s.
Experts tell me the landscape is shifting in patent law, with the American courts less friendly to this kind of tactic while in Europe it has become slightly easier to patent computer-based innovations.
The bounty hunter patent law provision has been challenged on constitutional grounds previously.
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The earlier version of Glivec did not have an Indian patent because its development far predated the country's 2005 patent law.
In Tuesday's 70-minute arguments, several justices disputed the claims of Bowman's lawyer that the so-called "exhaustion" doctrine of patent law limits the control the patent holder can exert after the first authorized sale of the item.
Sure, Apple might win in the end but a ban should really only apply while the system, the law, regards the patent as valid.
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Real reform of the US Patent Office and also of the law surrounding US patents is sorely needed.
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The fact is, both are in the same boat when it comes to patent law, though admittedly the seed issue is more troubling at the gut level.
So while the rest of the world of tech is dealing with the fallout, and possible implications of patent law, over here in the wild party that is Alt, we're fist pumping at all the awesome weekly sci-tech fodder.
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On September 16, President Obama signed into law the Smith-Leahy America Invests Act (AIA), the first significant change in patent law since 1952.
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This had the unintended consequence of dramatically increasing the influence of the patent bar over patent law.
Earlier on Monday, Samsung sent a memo to staff hitting out at what it called the "abuse of patent law".
Assuming the court upholds Bilski, the remaining question is how far it goes in defining the new boundaries of patent law.
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The first is that patent law has changed in recent years.
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