1. A Primer for Nonlawyers on Intellectual Property
Alice Pecorari
Piero Cordenos Jacopo Fella Valentina Basso Simone Davi

2. 3.5 Disclosure problem Patented technology must be disclosed:
to know what is protected (court and rivals)
so that knowledge becomes public when patent expires
Traditional copyright → no need to disclose; written expression is already self-disclosing
2 uses: to end users (through products) and for future discoveries. (--> consumption and research)
right to control knowledge if patented

3. 3.5 Disclosure problem
Design invention: rather protected by trade secret (even if difficult) → try to avoid patents, because difficult to protect disclosed knowledge
Exception of computer softwares: can be protected by copyright, patent and trade secrecy →
PROBLEM: copyright requires secrecy (ex. of the code) rather than disclosure, patent the opposite (ex. disclosure of program structure)

4. 3.6 Breadth and the required inventive step
Two kinds of policy levers
1) Required inventiveness
2) Breadth of the right
governs innovation, which has to be enough innovative to be protected
How different a product should be in order to avoid infringements

5. 3.6 Breadth and the required inventive step
Patent requirements:
Inventive step
The invention must not be obvious
Breadth
Doctrine of equivalents
Wider range of protection
Copyright requirements:
Inventive step
Any creative activity is already protected
Breadth
Doctrine of equivalent
Longer duration

6. 3.6 Breadth and the required inventive step
Two types of patent protection cases
Infringing due to equivalence
(Patent’s breadth)
Infringing but patentable
(so-called blocking patents)
Unpatentable area
(Prior art)
Unpatentable area
(lack of inventiveness)

7. 3.7 IPRs and unfair market practices
Patents and Monopolies
US Antitrust Section 1 and Section 2 prohibit unfair use market power BUT do not directly hinder the use of said market power
Targeted practices: horizontal price deals, geographical market division deals, oligopolistic cartels
ALL OF WHICH CAN BE DONE THROUGH THE USE OF LICENSES

8. 3.7 Key elements Exclusive Licensing Patent Pools
Nonexclusive licensing between major competitors
Licensing agreement with unfair side-obligations

9. Thank you