About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

73 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc'y 878 (1991)
A Brief Note on Blocking Patents and Reverse Equivalents: Biotechnology as an Example

handle is hein.journals/jpatos73 and id is 904 raw text is: A Brief Note on Blocking Patents and Reverse Equivalents: Biotechnology as an Example* Robert P. Merges1 T he doctrine of equivalents helps the patentee by expanding the scope of her claims beyond its literal boundaries. In a roughly symmetrical way, two similar devices are available to the accused infringer: blocking patents and the reverse doctrine of equivalents. Recent cases on biotechnology, as well as recently-issued patents in this field, illustrate the relationship between these two legal devices, and the way they might be applied in particular cases. The recent case of Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation v. Genentech is a good example; this is discussed below. Two patents are said to block each other when one patentee has a broad patent on an invention and another has a narrower patent on some improved feature of that invention. The broad patent is said to dominate the narrower one. In such a situation, the holder of the narrower (subservient) patent cannot practice her invention with- out a license from the holder of the dominant patent. At the same * This article is adapted from a longer article that touches on some of the same issues, Merges & Nelson, On the Complex Economics of Patent Scope, 90 Columbia Law Review 839 (1990). 1 Associate Professor, Boston University School of Law

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most