Introduction

摘要

Since the original publication of this text in 1968 the succeeding four years have produced an extraordinary rate of change in the law relating to patent licensing. In the tax field, the Tax Reform Act of 1969 has had a substantial impact on the treatment of royalty income. In the licensing field, the Lear case abrogated the long established licensee estoppel doctrine, and granted to licensees the power to challenge the validity of patents under which they have been operating. Lear, especially when considered with the later Blonder-Tongue decision (wherein the court held that a determination of invalidity is in most instances an in rent judgment), serves in many cases to subvert the security of licensors. Not only has the eviction doctrine been affected, but settlement agreements and even consent judgments have been overturned.