Patent Law, the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court, A Quiet Revolution

Authors

Glynn S. Lunney Jr, Texas A&M University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2004

Journal Title

Supreme Court Economic Review

ISSN

0736-9921

Abstract

Over the last twenty years, a quiet revolution has taken place in patent law. Traditionally, patents were rarely valid, but if valid, broadly enforced. Since Congress created the Federal Circuit in 1982 and vested it with exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over patent appeals, patents have become routinely valid, but narrowly enforced. This article evaluates the economic consequences of this revolution. Focusing on the reasons for, and the costs of, uniformity in patent protection, this article shows that the revolution will tend to limit the patent system's ability to ensure the expected profitability, and hence the existence, of desirable, but high cost innovation.

First Page

1

Last Page

80

Volume Number

11

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Recommended Citation

Glynn S. Lunney Jr, Patent Law, the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court, A Quiet Revolution, 11 Sup. Ct. Econ. Rev. 1 (2004).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/433