Footnote:
In: 2 New York University Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 73 2012
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments 2012 erstellt
Description:
This article clears up the befuddled and self-contradictory doctrine of joint inventorship by analyzing how restoring the concept of invention in patent law, and de-emphasizing the claims, should guide the way. It argues that a doctrinally sound test for joint inventorship that serves the policy of encouraging innovation must be based on a broader concept of invention, for which the claims serve as a limitation rather than, as courts frequently repeat, a 'definition.' The article demonstrates how such a broader conception accords with congressional intent in adopting the current Section 116 of the Patent Act. Along the way, the article debunks the current Federal Circuit and Supreme Court jurisprudence regarding the standard of proof in matters unexamined by the Patent & Trademark Office, analyzing how the misguided jurisprudence on this point compounds the doctrinal errors caused by fixating on the claims. It concludes by explaining how incorporating a broader conception of invention into the patent law would rectify the current joint inventorship doctrine and encourage collaborative innovation, which is a key policy purpose of patent law