Get rich quick! Sue for fun and profit! Sound like a hoax? Only time will tell. Several enterprising attorneys and other private parties are giving it a try by exploiting an arcane provision of the Patent Act known as the false marking statute. In this article, we briefly examine the history of the false marking statute and qui tam laws, the recent explosion in false marking actions (including several suits based on marking with expired patent numbers), and some constitutional problems posed by these actions...

Nashville, Tennessee, was once a struggling city in one of the poorest regions of the United States. Early 20th century policymakers pinned the city’s economic hopes on industrial development founded on access to raw materials and large, government-funded public works projects. These hopes were never fully realized, but Nashville found success another way—through its creative industries...

The Federalist Society's Intellectual Property Practice Group hosted this panel discussion on Intellectual Property and Economic Growth at the 2009 National Lawyers Convention on Thursday, November 12, 2009. Panelists included Prof. Richard A. Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School and New York University Law School; Prof. F. Scott Kieff of The George Washington University Law School; Prof. Michael J. Meurer of Boston University School of Law; Mr. Daniel B. Ravicher, President and Executive Director of the Public Patent Foundation; and Prof. Mark F. Schultz of Southern Illinois University School of Law as the moderator.

The November 2009 issue of Engage is now online (exclusively a digital issue). Engage provides original scholarship on current, important legal and policy issues. Through its publication, we aim to contribute to the marketplace of ideas in a way that is collegial, measured, and insightful—and hope to spark a higher level of debate and discussion than is all too often found in today’s legal community. [Read now!]