Abstract
Though one scholar has directly suggested an implementation of Thomas Aquinas’s natural law concepts to United States patent law, that proposal has not been analyzed in light of modern patent law subject matter eligibility jurisprudence. In Part I of this Note, I trace the origins of natural law and natural rights in patents through English and United States legal history. In Part II, I outline the philosophical principles of natural law and natural rights necessary for understand-ing patent law. In Part III, I highlight the deemphasis of property rights in patent law, including in cases such as Alice and Oil States, and propose that that subject matter eligibility should be reoriented by a legislative fix that emphasizes “human intervention.”
Recommended Citation
Nicholas A. D'Andrea,
Rethinking Patents Within the Natural Law,
97
Notre Dame L. Rev.
2169
(2022).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndlr/vol97/iss5/13