Editing AME 44590 Homework, Summer 2011 (section)

=Due Thursday 16 June 2011=
We have covered three areas of patent law so far:
# obviousness
# statutory subject matter
# novelty

* Select one of the three areas and review the cases.  Pay particular attention to the reasoning behind the decisions and also on how the reasoning for different options may (or may not) have changed through time.  Also be sure to notice which court said what, because the Supreme Court rulings have authority over the CAFC and other lower courts.
* Write a one-page paper (handwritten is fine) arguing that the '''last''' case we read on that topic was decided incorrectly.  The last case is the one that occurred most recently in time.  Generally the cases have been assigned in temporal order so it's probably the last one we read in that area too.
* Generally, courts are concerned with the following:
** precedent: cases are decided consistently and the body of law is relatively uniform over time
** statutory interpretations: cases should be decided in a manner that are consistent with a clear reading of any relevant statutes
** Constitutional mandates: regardless of precedent or statutes, nothing can be contrary to the Constitution; however, if it's a matter of degree, courts generally defer to the legislature
** general policy concerns: if things are right on the border and can really go either way, then the decision should be the one that is simply the best overall in terms of simplicity of implementation, clarity for people to interpret and follow, giving people the right incentives, etc.
* If there is a dissenting opinion, your paper must be more than a summary of the arguments in the dissent.
* Anyone that has an argument that is so well-reasoned and makes so much sense that I can not articulate a counter-argument to it within 30 seconds will receive double credit.
* Be prepared to summarize your paper in class (1 minute max).  The summary can present the best of several arguments that you have or, alternatively, summarize them like a list of bullet points.