ABSTRACT
… Setting the stage of the statutory interpretive battle, this article examines the historical and statutory bases of equitable limits on patent law, with a particular focus on the substantive equitable defenses of unclean hands and patent misuse. It contrasts the history of equitable defenses such as estoppel, which crossed fully into courts of law well before the merger of law and equity and the Patent Act, with equitable defenses such as laches, unclean hands, and misuse. It also explores inequitable conduct. The article walks through these defenses’ pre-codification roots and potential statutory interpretations and presents normative and constitutional considerations under the competing interpretive approaches. It also presents a surprising approach to inequitable conduct. This article is the first to provide a comprehensive framework for the analysis of equitable defenses in patent law.
Laser, Christa, Patent Law’s Equitable Defenses (September 3, 2020). University of Miami Law Review, 2020.
First posted 2020-10-25 07:02:19
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