The Research Exemption to Patent Infringement: The Delicate Balance between Current and Future Technical Progress

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INFORMATION WEALTH, Peter Yu, ed., Praeger, 2006

52 Pages Posted: 23 May 2008

Abstract

This Chapter reviews current United States law regarding research exemptions to patent infringement liability and explores proposals for broader research exemptions. The research exemption comes in two flavors - a statutory exemption for research reasonably related to regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration and a traditional exemption for noncommercial research based on judicial interpretation of the scope of infringing use. The statutory exemption was the subject of a 2005 decision by the United States Supreme Court, while concern about judicial narrowing of the traditional exemption has been reflected in two major national reports and numerous scholarly articles. An important controversy exists as to whether either exemptions should be applied differently depending upon whether the research is aimed at understanding or improving upon the patented invention or uses the patented invention as a research tool. This Chapter summarizes arguments in favor of a categorical exemption for experimenting on a patented invention. It then addresses the more difficult issue of an exemption for research tool use. Finally, this Chapter briefly considers the impact on the research exemption issue of paying more attention to motivations for innovation - in particular the motives of user innovators - that do not stem from a desire for commercial compensation.

Keywords: patent, research exemption, experimental use exception

Suggested Citation

Strandburg, Katherine J., The Research Exemption to Patent Infringement: The Delicate Balance between Current and Future Technical Progress. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INFORMATION WEALTH, Peter Yu, ed., Praeger, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1124465

Katherine J. Strandburg (Contact Author)

New York University School of Law ( email )

40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012-1099
United States

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