Litigation support

Parts of this chapter discuss legal issues such as copyright and litigation support. Because this is a technical book, the information provided here should not be used for legal purposes. Legal advice must always be sought from a qualified attorney. 

Deformulation Analytical Physical Testing f Failure Analysis Contaminant Identification 0 e Litigation Support... 

As a result of a lot of thinking by a lot of people, there has emerged an alternative proposal that attempts to consolidate the best of the opposition and reexamination procedures to achieve the beneficial effects and yet to reduce the costs of not only oppositions but also patent litigation. This alternative proposal has provided the focus for attempts to improve S.2255. This proposal has come to be known as "Chapter 31 because that was its place in a bill introduced in the Senate by Senator Fong. It had broad support from industry and bar associations, but it didn t carry in the Senate in its original form. 

Research into the impact of the spills has been aided by the passage of the US Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which included a provision establishing the Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI). OSRI provides funding to support oil-spill related research as well as education and technology development for dealing with oil spills in the Arctic environment. The results of research it supported and other research, such as that funded as part of litigation activities, has been summarized in the 2002 National Research Council report Oil and the Sea Inputs, Fates and Effects. This report also puts into perspective the small contribution of tanker and pipeline spills as compared to other sources of ocean oil such as land-based runoff, polluted rivers, small boats and water craft, as well natural seeps from the sea floor. 

Instances of "self-serving conceptions of impartiality" are numerous. Some turn upon outcome-oriented considerations, others on considerations of fairness. In conflicts over child custody, each parent is often convinced that he or she will be the better custodial parent, that is, will bring about the best outcome for the child whose welfare is supposed to be the impartial value promoted by society. "I only want what is best for the child, and it just so happens that it will be best for the child to stay with me." It follows that each parent will tend to think, at least under the "best-interest" standard, that he or she is more likely to be granted custody by the court in case of litigation hence more litigation will be undertaken than if the parents had non-self-serving conceptions of what the interest of the child requires. Below I cite experimental evidence that supports these implications. 

For patent license agreements, the licensee should determine (in advance) the nature and custodian of the scientific records which are available to support the conception and reduction to practice of the patented invention. The information in these records may become important later on if the resulting patent must be litigated. 

EPI supports the view that new legislation is needed to clarify the present situation legally, to protect the environment, and to insure a level playing field for all participants. This is in industry s interest too, because it will streamline the review process. For both environmentalists and businessmen, there is a need to straighten out this convoluted framework in order to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and litigation in the years ahead. 

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