IP Speaker Series - Oskar Liivak

Please join the Intellectual Property Law program in person or virtually as they welcome their final 2022 IP Speaker guest, Professor Oskar Liivak. Professor Liivak is presenting his talk DON'T CITE FUNK at noon on Wednesday, November 9.

This article argues that the Supreme Court’s reliance on Funk Brothers Seed v. Kalo Inoculant as a precedent for patent eligibility is deeply misguided. While critics have long argued that, as an obvious case, it is improper to use Funk for purposes of analyzing subject matter eligibility, this criticism alone does not go far enough. Statutory interpretation of changes to the 1952 Patent Act provides the missing link, demonstrating that not only is Funk an obviousness case, but more importantly it is not a patentable subject matter case. Thus, as properly understood, the answer is clear: the Court should no longer cite Funk for patent eligibility.

Professor Liivak is a Professor of Law at Cornell Law School and holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University. In the past, he has conducted quantum computing research for IBM and worked as a patent agent for Fish and Richardson P.C.

This event will be in a hybrid format. For those who can join in person, there will be box lunches in the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room at the Law School.

Please note, a GW ID is required to access the H Street entrance. Visitors should enter from 20th Street. Visitors are asked to keep up-to-date on GW's current COVID-19 policies. To participate remotely, please register for a Zoom link.