Patents as Genre: A Prospectus

Law & Literature, Vol. 26, No.2, 2014, pp.163-190

UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-126

29 Pages Posted: 26 Jul 2013 Last revised: 6 Oct 2015

See all articles by Dan L. Burk

Dan L. Burk

University of California, Irvine School of Law

Jessica Reyman

Northern Illinois University

Date Written: July 25, 2013

Abstract

Like other forms of intellectual property, patents have increasingly been the subject of controversy regarding their successes and failures in promoting and channeling innovation. But unlike other forms of intellectual property, patents are constituted and defined in terms of officially sanctioned texts. As a consequence, patents are deeply embedded in communities of composition, interpretation, and practice. In this paper we outline how genre analysis can be applied to interrogate the "typified rhetorical action" of the patent system and its constituent communities. We argue and demonstrate that understanding the rhetorical work of patents is key to addressing current criticisms of the patent system.

Keywords: patent, intellectual property, genre, composition studies, rhetoric

JEL Classification: O31, O33, O34

Suggested Citation

Burk, Dan L. and Reyman, Jessica, Patents as Genre: A Prospectus (July 25, 2013). Law & Literature, Vol. 26, No.2, 2014, pp.163-190, UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2013-126, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2298433

Dan L. Burk (Contact Author)

University of California, Irvine School of Law ( email )

4500 Berkeley Place
Irvine, CA 92697-1000
United States
949-824-9325 (Phone)

Jessica Reyman

Northern Illinois University ( email )

1425 W. Lincoln Hwy
Dekalb, IL 60115-2828
United States

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