Book by:Â Dan L. Burk & Mark A. Lemley
Reviewed by: Victoria E. Munian
Abstract: The patent system is in a crisis. Bad patents being passed and patents being abused in court have currently made patents become ineffective. Congress has tried to find a unitary system for patents, but because different industries need patents for certain needs, this unitary system is ineffective. Burk and Lemley propose that the system needs to address each individual industry in order for the system to be more effective. The authors also propose that courts should take matters into their own hands and judge on a case-by-case basis. By doing so, each industry will fully benefit from patent systems. Issues that arise from this new approach include the courts’ role, how courts can begin to change the process through using certain policy levers and the issues of seemingly judicial activism.