Use of Benefit Corporations to Accelerate Access to Affordable Vaccines
Julie Bateman Low- and middle-income countries face the heaviest burden from vaccine-preventable diseases, yet many of these countries cannot afford critical vaccines. Vaccines are often protected by patents so that pharmaceutical companies can recoup development costs. Consequently, vaccine manufacturers in developing countries must wait until the patents expire to produce lower-cost generic vaccines. Additionally, when the development of new vaccines relies on existing patents, such development is hindered. Benefit corporations offer an opportunity for the private and public sectors to align interests in accelerating critical vaccine development. Vaccine developers, restructured as benefit corporations, could commit to both special licensing agreements...
Apple Bites Back: An Antitrust Analysis of Qualcomm’s Licensing Practices
Marie Weisfeiler Both Apple and the Federal Trade Commission filed lawsuits against Qualcomm alleging antitrust violations. Specifically, both alleged that Qualcomm used its monopoly power to engage in unfair licensing practices and create an exclusive deal with Apple, in violation of its industry commitment to use fair practices in licensing its patents. This essay compares Qualcomm’s practices to those of Microsoft in 1998, which, because of Microsoft’s restrictive licensing and exclusive deals, were deemed to have violated the Sherman Act. It then considers the implications for licensing, technology, and antitrust law if a similar case is litigated in the future....
Patent Law in Space
Marie Weisfeiler The potential for private technological expansion into space raises questions of how to protect intellectual property rights of inventions that are both brought into space and made in space. While there are international treaties governing space law, none of these treaties discuss how to designate or enforce patent rights in space. The International Space Station has implemented a solution of quasi-territoriality to establish patent rights. This essay suggests, however, that this solution will be deficient when private entities venture further into space exploration. This essay then explores the possibility of a universal approach to patent law in space...
Legislative and Non-Legislative Approaches to Deterring Product Counterfeiting
Alec Weinberg Product counterfeiting has been a fast-growing problem in the U.S. economy. As a solution, Congress enacted several statutes to deter illegal counterfeiting. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of Congress’ efforts is questionable. To strengthen the deterrence effect, legislators should consider amending current laws to punish consumers and implementing alternative measures such as track and trace technologies. This approach would better protect businesses and consumers by expanding oversight responsibilities, creating barriers against counterfeit products, and changing public perception of counterfeit goods. Read Full Text Here
Protect Your Own Data: Interactive Streaming Narratives and Data Privacy Concerns
Sabra Paige Hopkins Black Mirror: Bandersnatch exemplifies the value of data gathered from interactive streaming narratives. Netflix can utilize its wealth of subscriber data to push targeted product placements to subscribers based on their demographic data. Data on subscriber choices could also be used to increase the accuracy of Netflix’s recommendation algorithm. In the wake of data privacy regulations, companies must justify their data collection and processing practices. Read Full Text Here
Litigation Misconduct and the Inequitable Conduct Defense: An Argument for Limiting Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Merus N.V.
Connor Romm Inequitable conduct is a defense to a claim of patent infringement that can invalidate the underlying patent. At its inception, the defense was meant to encourage honest representations in the patent prosecution process. It later morphed into a source of troubling litigation tactics. In May 2011, in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, sought to address disturbing trends in the doctrine and raised the standard required to prevail on the defense. In July 2017, in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Merus N.V., the same court...