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

35 J. Pat. Off. Soc'y 476 (1953)
Infringement under Section 271 of the Patent Act of 1952

handle is hein.journals/jpatos35 and id is 508 raw text is: 476 Journal of the Patent Office Society Infringement Under Section 271 of the Patent Act of 1952 By GI Ls S. RICHa INTRODUCTION The Patent Act of 1952, which became effective Janu- ary 1, 1953, contains a section which finds no counterpart in any of the earlier patent statutes. This section 1 deals with infringement of patents. Heretofore the legislative branch of the government has been content with the creation of the patent right, leaving it to the judicial branch to settle the question of infringement when requested to do so by patent owners. Under these circumstances the courts evolved their own ideas, their own rules of interpretation, their own law on infringement, with no legislative guidance. The reason why Section 271 appears in the new law is that the 162-year experiment of getting along without a statute covering this matter has not worked out very well. It has not worked out because twice during that period the courts have departed from the fundamental * Member of the New York Bar and of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. S. B. Harvard 1926, LL.B. Columbia 1929. Lecturer on Patent Law, Columbia University. Author of the following articles related to the above topic: The Relation between Patent Practices and the Anti-Monopoly Laws, 24 J. PAT. OFF. Soc'x 85, 159, 241, 328 and 422 (1942); Stufi and Nonsense in the Government s Mercoid Brief, 27 J. PAT. OFF. Soc'Y 331 (1945); Contributory Infringement, 31 J. PAT. OFF. Soc'Y 449 (1949); and Misuse, A New Frontier?, 34 J. PAT. OFF. Soc'Y 391 (1952). Member of Drafting Committee of the Coordinating Committee of the National Council of Patent Law Associations which assisted in the codifi- cation and revision of Title 35 U. S. Code, Patents (1952). ' A revised and augmented version of a speech delivered January 28, 1953 at the American Patent Law Association annual meeting in Washing- ton. D. C. Reprinted from The George Washington Law Review, April 1953. 135 U.S.C. § 271 (1952). The 1952 version of Title 35 was enacted into law by Pub. L. No. 593, 82d Cong., 2d Sess. c. 950 (July 19, 1952) also referred to as the Patent Act of 1952. The enacted bill, H. R. 7794, 82d Cong., 2d Sess. (1952) was a slightly revised version of H. R. 3760, 82d Cong., 1st Sess. (1951) upon which hearings were held. Hearings before Subcommittee No. 3 of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Represen- tatives on H. R. 3760, 82d Cong., 1st Sess. (1951). It should be noted that present Section 271 of Title 35 appeared as Section 231 in H. R. 3760. See appendix to this article for the text of Section 271.

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