Madey v. Duke
Until very recently, it had been unquestioned that an experimental use exemption exists for purely scientific research to study and understand a patented invention, including its limited use to make new innovations that may or may not be outside the scope of the original patent.
In Madey v. Duke, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, effectively eliminated any practical application of an experimental use defense to patent infringement by both commercial and non-profit entities.
In its decision the court stated that:
“… regardless of whether a particular institution or entity is engaged in an endeavor for commercial gain, so long as the act is in furtherance of the alleged infringer's legitimate business and is not solely for amusement, to satisfy idle curiosity, or for strictly philosophical inquiry, the act does not qualify for the very narrow and strictly limited experimental use defense. Moreover, the profit or non-profit status of the user is not determinative.”
The scientific and academic communities are very concerned about the potential chilling effect this ruling may have on their ability to perform research. According to a statement by the AAMC, universities may be forced to bear substantial administrative and financial costs to cover patent searches, infringement opinions, licensing agreements, and the inevitable litigation that will be engendered by the Federal Circuit’s new interpretation of patent law. The money diverted into such uses will no longer be available for actual research.
| Court: | | First District |
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| Last Status: | | 3 Oct 2002
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