A Little Overlap Never Hurt Anyone: Overlapping IP Rights and Oracle Am., Inc. v. Google LLC

Authors

Evan Weidner

Abstract

Intellectual property (“IP”) protections have traditionally been mutually exclusive; an innovator who obtains one type of protection could not obtain another on the same invention. Though the possibility of overlapping IP rights has changed substantially over the years, the general opinion remained one of disapproval until recently. In Oracle Am., Inc. v. Google LLC, the Federal Circuit voiced approval of overlapping IP rights. This article examines the history of overlapping IP rights and advocates that the Federal Circuit’s acceptance of such an overlap is the proper standard.

First Page

212

Recommended Citation

Evan Weidner, A Little Overlap Never Hurt Anyone: Overlapping IP Rights and Oracle Am., Inc. v. Google LLC, 4 Bus. Entrepreneurship & Tax L. Rev. 212 (2020).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/betr/vol4/iss1/50