Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Out of concern for "the great public interest in challenging invalid patents" and the belief that patent controversies are not commercial disputes, the federal courts have held that questions of patent validity and infringement cannot he arbitrated. The author disagrees with this view, arguing that neither the public interest nor the United States Arbitration Act demands such a stance. He cites the favorable response of circuit and district court judges to the arbitration of these issues and the support of attorneys and the patent law bar associations in recent years for legislation to revise current patent law and the federal arbitration act.