Stephen Weed interviewed by Tech Transfer Tactics for an article about the University of California defending their patent for a lightbulb filament

Tech Transfer Tactics recently interviewed Culhane Meadows’ Philadelphia partner Stephen Weed to discuss what University of California is doing to protect its lightbulb filament patent.

Here are some excerpts from Stephen’s interview:

The University of California’s aggressive campaign to protect its patent on so-called “Edison” filament light bulbs has entered a new stage with a complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), seeking an investigation into the unauthorized importation of the patented technology.

UC is smart to use the ITC in this way, says Stephen J. Weed, JD, partner with the Culhane Meadows law firm in Philadelphia. It’s an uncommon approach but he expects other universities to consider it if UC continues to see success.

“Being able to stop them at the border through the ITC procedures is a pretty strong tool in your arsenal for stopping infringers,” Weed says. “I think this will be an effective strategy for them because in this case you’re talking about a product that is being brought to the country in great quantities, and it’s a fairly simple product to identify. You ought to be able to look at it and say whether these are infringing products.”

The utility of going to the ITC will depend on the same factors that have make the move right for UC, Weed says. If the infringed products are made in the United States and/or they are not easily recognized as using the disputed patent, the ITC strategy may not be as useful, he comments.

The complete article can be found here.


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