Introduction to Administrative Process: Cases & Materials

Abstract:     
This is approximately the 13th revision of a 496 pp. casebook containing a modest statutory supplement. The second page grants a royalty-free license for noncommercial reproduction.

The book has been used (sometimes twice annually) in, a 3-semester-hour survey for more than ten years. Except for when it was published by Carolina Academic Press, the book has been updated and otherwise revised for each use. This version is intended for use in the spring of 2011.

Agencies that regulate technology or confer intellectual property rights have long been overlooked as governed by administrative law. This book attempts to correct that. Aside from agencies addressed in leading cases such as McKart or Chevron, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) receives the most attention. It offers rich opportunities for exploring both traditional and non-traditional administrative law topics. One non-traditional topic is the PTO's unique capacity to regulate practitioners; another is the Federal Circuit's singular role in direct and collateral review of PTO patent grants as well as it’s limited role in overseeing PTO trademark registrations. Because of status ambiguity generated by their residence within the Library of Congress, the Copyright Office and the Copyright Review Board, a sister agency central to collecting and distributing billions of dollars in compulsory media licenses, are also of interest.

The focus is judicial oversight. Therefore, matters such as jurisdiction and other threshold issues, as well as standards of review, receive above average attention.

Organization and content heavily rest on nearly forty years of teaching both administrative process and a full spectrum of substantive intellectual property courses. Development of the book was also advanced in a series of research seminars.

The book contains no index. It does, however, have a relatively complete table of cases, often useful despite the capacity to search digitally. The statutory appendix includes the bulk of the Administrative Procedure Act and most of the Freedom of Information Act. It also contains relevant provisions from Titles 15 (trademarks), 17 (copyrights), 28 (courts) and 35 (patents) of the U.S. Code.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 496

Keywords: Patent, Trademark, Copyright, Jurisdiction, Administrative Discretion, Intramural Review, Primary Jurisdiction, Exhaustion, Finality, Standing, Standards Of Review, Delegation, Bias, Rulemaking Options And Obligations, Retroactivity, Due Process, Public Participation

JEL Classification: K23

Accepted Paper Series