<br />
Ipls Proceedings<br />
State Bar of Michigan<br />
Volume 28 • Issue 1 • 2017<br />
In ThIs Issue<br />
The Uncertain State of Patent Law<br />
10 Years into the Roberts Court....1<br />
View from the Chair ............................2<br />
Michigan Patent Pro Bono Project<br />
2016 Annual Report ....................10<br />
Darmok and Jalad in District Court:<br />
The Battle over the Linguistic<br />
Use of Trademarks......................12<br />
The Uncertain State of Patent Law<br />
10 Years into the Roberts Court<br />
By Paul R. Michel and Matthew J. Dowd<br />
Since John Roberts was appointed chief justice over 10 years ago, the U.S. Su-<br />
preme Court has fundamentally depressed the economic value of patents and the<br />
investment incentives created by patent protection. Beginning with eBay, Inc. v<br />
MercExchange, LLC, the court has repeatedly rejected the Court of Appeals for the<br />
Fe<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 1" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=1"> Ipls Proceedings State Bar of Mi</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 2" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=2"> View from the Chair Members: Over 1,000 </a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 3" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=3"> The Uncertain State ... Continued from page 1 </a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 4" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=4"> laid to rest an overly lenient “insolubly ambiguo</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 5" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=5"> by law of nature or something more. This is an ex</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 6" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=6"> Some 30 years after Chakrabarty – and after </a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 7" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=7"> and ‘abstract intellectual concepts,’ is not easy</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 8" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=8"> claims in America Invents Act proceedings. Obviou</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 9" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=9"> than others. However, U.S. patent law has long re</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 10" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=10"> Michigan Patent Pro Bono Project A Service Projec</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 11" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=11"> Since launch of the Project in 2014, 77 ap</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 12" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=12"> Darmok and Jalad in District Court The Battle Ove</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 13" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=13"> to the medium (such as the player’s interaction w</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 14" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=14"> the title “American Dairy Queen” for a mock docum</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 15" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=15"> Use B</a>
<a title="IP Proceedings Vol.28 No.1 page 16" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9964d078?page=16"> 3 TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Mar</a>