NER: Nanotechnology and Intellectual Property

该提案是响应纳米尺度科学与工程计划，NSF 04-043， NER类别而收到的。它解决了涉及纳米技术的专利所引起的社会问题和法律问题。获得专利权的可能性为学术研究人员、政府研究人员和公司在纳米技术方面的创新提供了一种激励，正如药物的开发是由于类似的激励一样。然而，纳米技术给美国专利和商标局（PTO）及其国际同行提出了一些问题，这个项目将探讨这些问题。其中一些问题类似于任何寻求专利保护的新技术所遇到的问题。然而，由于纳米技术的非凡特性，其他问题是独一无二的。正如一项技术的科学发展可能存在问题一样，法律体系对这项技术的反应也可能存在问题。这个项目的目的是确定专利制度对纳米技术的反应中存在的问题，预测未来的问题，并提供政策解决方案。该项目将包括：(1)对适用于纳米技术的专利法规、条约和法院判决的法律分析；(2)对专利政策在其他新技术（如计算机程序和基因技术专利）应用中出现的问题进行法律和社会分析，并预测这些问题是否可能在纳米技术中出现；(3)确定纳米技术将给专利制度带来的独特问题（例如现有物质的纳米版本是否满足新颖性的专利要求）；(4)潜在的政策解决方案分析。这项为期一年的研究计划将首次全面分析专利政策在纳米技术方面的应用。因此，它将比现有文献提供一个重大的进步，其结果将对科学研究人员、企业、律师、学者、法官、政策制定者、立法者和其他参与该领域的人具有兴趣和教育价值。一名高级法律学者和一名初级法律学者，以及两名研究生将承担研究并发表研究结果。因此，这个提议的项目符合“纳米科技进步对社会和教育的影响”计划的目标。

This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 04-043, category NER. It addresses the societal concerns and legal concerns raised by patents involving nanotechnology. The possibility of obtaining patent rights provides an incentive for academic researchers, government researchers, and companies for innovation in nanotechnology, just as pharmaceuticals have been developed because of a similar incentive. Yet nanotechnologies raise issues for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and its international counterparts, which this project will explore. Some of those issues are analogous to those encountered by any dramatically new technology for which patent protection is sought. Other issues are unique, however, because of the extraordinary characteristics of nanotechnology. Just as there may be problems in the scientific development of a technology, there may be problems in the legal system's response to that technology. The purpose of this project is to identify existing problems with the patent system's response to nanotechnology, predict future problems, and offer policy solutions. The project will consist of (1) legal analyses of patent statutes, treaties, and court decisions that apply to nanotechnologies; (2) legal and social analyses of problems that have previously occurred in the application of patent policies to other new technologies (such as computer programs and patents on genetic technologies) and predictions of whether those problems are likely to occur with nanotechnologies; (3) identification of unique problems that nanotechnology will create for the patent system (such as whether a nano-version of an existing substance satisfies the patent requirement of novelty); and (4) analyses of potential policy solutions. This year-long project will be the first comprehensive analysis of the application of patent policy to nanotechnology. Thus, it will provide a significant advance over the existing literature and its results will be of interest and educational value to scientific researchers, businesses, lawyers, academics, judges, policymakers, legislators, and others involved in this field. A senior and junior legal scholar, and two graduate students will undertake the research and present the findings. Thus, this proposed project meets the goals of the program involving "Societal and Educational Implications of Scientific and Technological Advances on the Nanoscale."