R. Polk Wagner

Michael A. Fitts Professor of Law
Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs & Innovation
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
3501 Sansom Street | Philadelphia, PA 19104-6204
polk@law.upenn.edu | polkwagner.com | @ProfPolkWagner | 215.917.6825
Updated May 2026.

Online Resources

The most current versions of project pages, slides, syllabi, and ongoing work live at [polkwagner.com](https://polkwagner.com).

Current Position

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Honors & Awards

Education

Stanford Law School — Juris Doctor, June 1998. Order of the Coif.

London School of Economics — Roger M. Jones Fellow, 1994–1995.

University of Michigan — B.S.E., Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, December 1993. Summa Cum Laude.

College of Charleston — B.S., Physics, December 1993 (3-2 engineering program). Magna Cum Laude.

Teaching

Areas of teaching: Contracts (1L), Property (1L), Introduction to Intellectual Property (1L); Patent Law & Policy, Patent Law Appellate Advocacy, Introduction to Patent Law (Penn Law Online and Masters-in-Law).

Penn Carey Law J.D. Program

Introduction to Intellectual Property, Patent Law, Intellectual Property in Health Care

Penn Carey Law Online

Introduction to Patent Law

Penn Carey Law Masters-in-Law Program

Patent Law & Policy

Publications

Books

Patent Law: Concepts & Insights, Foundation Press 2008 (with C. Nard).

Articles

Teva and the Process of Claim Construction, 67 Fla. L. Rev. 379 (2018) (with L. Petherbridge).

Unenforceability, 71 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1751 (2013) (with L. Petherbridge & J. Rantanen).

Did Phillips Change Anything? Empirical Analysis of the Federal Circuit's Claim Construction Doctrine, in Intellectual Property and the Common Law (S. Balganesh, ed.) (2013) (with L. Petherbridge).

Poisoning the Next Apple? The America Invents Act and Individual Inventors, 65 Stan. L. Rev. 517 (2013) (with D. Abrams).

Life After Bilski, 63 Stan. L. Rev. 1315 (2011) (with M. Lemley, M. Risch & T. Sichelman).

The Two Federal Circuits, 43 Loy. L. Rev. 785 (2010).

Understanding Patent Quality Mechanisms, 157 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1410 (2009).

Patent Quality Issues in the U.S. and Japan, 78 Chizaiken Forum 1 (Winter 2009) (in Japanese).

The Federal Circuit and Patentability: An Empirical Assessment of the Law of Obviousness, 85 Tex. L. Rev. 2051 (2007) (with L. Petherbridge).

Patenting Adverse Event Information: A Commentary from the Patent Law, 15 Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety 396 (2006).

The Perfect Storm: Intellectual Property and Public Values, 72 Fordham L. Rev. 423 (2005).

Reconsidering the DMCA, 42 Hous. L. Rev. 1107 (2005).

Patent Portfolios, 154 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1 (2005) (with G. Parchomovsky).

On Software Regulation, 78 S. Cal. L. Rev. 457 (2005).

Exactly Backwards: A Comment on Technological Exceptionalism in the Patent Law, 54 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 749 (2004).

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? An Empirical Assessment of Judicial Performance, 152 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1105 (2004) (with L. Petherbridge).

Of Patents and Path Dependency: A Comment on Burk & Lemley, 18 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 1341 (2004).

(Mostly) Against Exceptionalism, in F. Scott Kieff, Advances in Genetics 50:367 (2003).

Information Wants to Be Free: Intellectual Property and the Mythologies of Control, 103 Colum. L. Rev. 995 (2003).

Reconsidering Estoppel: Patent Administration & the Failure of Festo, 151 U. Pa. L. Rev. 159 (2002).

Realspace Sovereigns in Cyberspace: Problems with the ACPA, 17 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 989 (2002) (with C. Struve).

The Myth of Private Ordering: Rediscovering Legal Realism in Cyberspace, 73 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 1295 (1999) (with M. J. Radin).

Filters and the First Amendment, 83 Minn. L. Rev. 755 (1999).

The Medium is the Mistake: The Law of Software for the First Amendment, 51 Stan. L. Rev. 387 (1999) (student note).

Short Works

The Supreme Court and the Future of Patent Reform, 55 Federal Lawyer 35 (Feb. 2008).

"A Teaching, Suggestion, or Motivation to Combine": Bringing Structure and Clarity to the Obviousness Analysis, 155 U. Pa. L. Rev. PennUmbra 96 (2006).

Comments on "Stealth Marketing and Editorial Integrity," 85 Tex. L. Rev. See Also 17 (2006).

Amicus Briefs

Brief Amicus Curiae of 20 Law and Business Professors in Support of Neither Party, Bilski v. Doll, No. 08-964 (U.S. July 23, 2009).

Brief of Amicus Curiae of 22 Law and Business Professors in Support of Appellants, In re Bilski, No. 2007-1130 (Fed. Cir. April 7, 2008).

Brief of Business and Law Professors as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents, KSR Int'l v. Teleflex, No. 04-1350 (U.S. Oct. 16, 2006).

Brief of Various Law & Economics Professors as Amici Curiae in Favor of Respondent, eBay v. MercExchange, No. 05-130 (U.S. May 15, 2006).

Brief of Patent Law Professors as Amici Curiae, Phillips v. AWH Corp., No. 03-1269 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (en banc).

Works in Progress

Heron in the Classroom: A Faculty-Built AI Teaching Assistant for Legal Education. Describes Heron, a course-bounded, citation-first AI teaching assistant deployed in a Penn Carey Law Intellectual Property course in Spring 2026. Targeted at SSRN and a Journal of Legal Education–style venue.

Can AI Ace Law School Exams? A Penn Law Experiment. Research project under the AI Law Lab measuring whether attaching course materials measurably improves AI performance on Penn Carey Law final exams. Eight to ten Spring 2026 final exams generated under a 2 (question) × 2 (materials condition) between-runs design and submitted for blind grading.

The Impact of the First-to-File Rule in US Patent Filings. Follow-up to Abrams & Wagner, Poisoning the Next Apple (2013).

A Patent Commercialization Requirement (with G. Parchomovsky). Proposes that patentable inventions must be commercialized within a designated time from patent grant.

Patent Disclosure After Amgen. Presented at the 14th Global Patent Law Conference (Waseda/Penn/CITC), May 2025.

The Return of the Patent Office and the Power Politics of Patents.

In re Cuozzo & Claim Construction Methodology (with D. Bernstein).

The Claim Construction Project — ongoing research project at claimconstruction.com.

Major Presentations

2025–26

Patent Disclosure After Amgen — Global Patent Law Conference (14th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, May 2025.

1L Faculty Conversation about Exams — Penn Carey Law, August 2025.

AI in the 1L Orientation — Penn Carey Law CTIC, September 2025.

Exams Destabilized — Penn Carey Law Faculty Retreat, Bala Cynwyd, PA, September 2025.

AI Testbed Orientation and Training — PennLaw–Judiciary AI Testbed Project (federal judges and clerks), October 2025.

Penn Carey Law and the AI Transformation — Penn Carey Law Board of Advisors, October 2025.

Using AI for Exams — Penn Carey Law Faculty Pedagogy Discussion, November 2025.

Penn Carey Law and the AI Transformation — Penn Carey Law Directors' Group, January 2026.

Something Big Is Happening: AI and the Future of Legal Education — Penn Carey Law Faculty Pedagogy Session, February 2026.

AI Office Hours: What's Worth Knowing — Penn Carey Law Faculty Session, April 2026.

Forthcoming

AI Plenary — United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Judicial Conference, August 2026.

2023–24

The Coming Era of AI Inventions in Patent Law — Global Patent Law Conference (13th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, May 2024.

Artificial Intelligence & the Future of the Legal System — District Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands Judicial Conference, Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands, January 2024.

Objective Indicia of Non-Obviousness: A Renewed Focus at the Federal Circuit — Global Patent Law Conference (12th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, November 2023.

2022 and earlier

Disclosure & the Story of the Federal Circuit — Global Patent Law Conference (11th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, November 2022.

Patent Claim Construction and the Doctrine of Equivalents — Global Patent Law Conference (9th Annual, virtual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, October 2020.

The Future of Patent Claim Construction in the United States — Global Patent Law Conference (8th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, October 2019.

The Return of the Patent Office and the Power Politics of Patents — 2019 Oldham Lecture in Patent Law, University of Akron School of Law, November 2018.

A Bug or a Feature: Patenting Computer-Based Inventions in the US — Global Patent Law Conference (7th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, October 2018.

Indirect Infringement in the US — Global Patent Law Conference (6th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, October 2017.

Teva and the Process of Claim Construction — Cardozo IP Workshop, Cardozo Law School, January 2017.

Patent Exhaustion in the US: Mallinkrodt to Lexmark — Global Patent Law Conference (5th Annual), Waseda University Law School, Tokyo, Japan, December 2016.

Teva and the Process of Claim Construction — Faculty Workshop, Notre Dame Law School, April 2016.

The Private Design of the Patent Law — IP and Private Law Workshop, Harvard Law School, March 2016.

Factual Claim Construction: The Promise of Teva — Patent Law Experts Conference, Univ. Akron School of Law, Naples, FL, February 2016.

The (Hidden) Effects of Patent Appeals — 17th EPIN Conference: Intellectual Property & the Judiciary, CEIPI, Strasbourg, France, January 2016.

Poisoning the Next Apple: How the America Invents Act Harms Inventors — Understanding Entrepreneurship: On IP, Culture, and Innovation Environments, Bar-Ilan University, Tel Aviv, May 2013.

Did Phillips Change Anything? Empirical Analysis of the Federal Circuit's Claim Construction Doctrine — Silicon Valley Advanced Patent Law Institute, Palo Alto, CA, December 2012.

Intracircuit Splits at the Federal Circuit — Role of the Courts in Patent Law and Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, November 2012.

Section 3(D) of the Indian Patent Act and the Novartis Case — Patent and Copyright Law in India: Emerging Issues, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India, July 2012.

An Economic Research Agenda for the USPTO — USPTO Conference on Economic Research, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA, December 2010.

Keynote: A Patent Commercialization Requirement — 2010 Shih Hsin International Symposium on Intellectual Property, Shih Hsin University, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2010.

Life After Bilski — Taiwan Patent Office (TIPO), Taipei, Taiwan, November 2010.

Life After Bilski — Taiwan National Intellectual Property Court, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2010.

Did Phillips Change Anything? Empirical Analysis of the Federal Circuit's Claim Construction Doctrine — Taiwan National Intellectual Property Court, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2010.

Patent Claim Scope and the Notice Function of Claims — Patent Scope Revisited, Indiana University, Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, IN, September 2010.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — Oregon Patent Law Association, Portland, OR, April 2010.

The Two Federal Circuits — Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, CA, October 2009.

A Patent Commercialization Requirement — 2009 IP Scholars Conference, Cardozo Law School, New York, NY, August 2009.

Patent Portfolios & Patent Quality — FTC Hearings on New IP Marketplace, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC, April 2009.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — Yale Law School, New Haven, CT, April 2009.

Understanding Patent Quality Mechanisms — John Marshall Law School, Chicago, IL, March 2009.

Patent Portfolios & Patent Valuation — University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Berkeley, CA, February 2009.

Understanding Patent Quality Mechanisms — University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA, January 2009.

Understanding Patent Quality Mechanisms — Institute for Intellectual Property, Tokyo, Japan, November 2008.

Recent US Supreme Court IP Cases — Taiwan National University (Law School), Taipei, Taiwan, October 2008.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — AIPLA Spring Meeting 2008, Houston, TX, May 2008.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL, April 2008.

KSR, The Supreme Court, and the Future of Patent Reform — Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland, OR, October 2007.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — Benjamin M. Cardozo Law School, New York, NY, October 2007.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — 2007 Intellectual Property Scholars Conference, Chicago, IL, August 2007.

Intellectual Property in Technology Transfer — Salzburg Seminar (Session 441), Salzburg, Austria, April 2007.

Getting Past Patent Trolls: Patent Enforcement in the 21st Century — Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, March 2007.

The U.S. Law of Patentability: Theory, Law & Evidence — Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, March 2007.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — Tokyo Medical & Dental University, Tokyo, Japan, March 2007.

Getting Past Patent Trolls — The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, February 2007.

The Federal Circuit and Patentability — Rutgers-Camden Law School, Camden, NJ, February 2007.

The Federal Circuit and Patentability — University of Texas Law School, Austin, TX, November 2006.

The Federal Circuit and Patentability — Philadelphia-Area Colloquium, Philadelphia, PA, October 2006.

Did Phillips Change Anything? — Santa Clara Law School, Santa Clara, CA, October 2006.

Unfree Culture? (A Debate with Larry Lessig for the Penn Reading Project) — University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, September 2006.

The Patent Quality Index Project — Rohm & Haas, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, June 2006.

Innovation and Access in Open-Source Pharmaceuticals — Temple Law School, Philadelphia, PA, February 2006.

The Patent Quality Index Project — U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA, December 2005.

Claim Construction at the Federal Circuit: An Update — Bar Association of Philadelphia, December 2005.

The Federal Circuit's Innovation Policy — Commercializing Innovation Conference, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, November 2005.

Predicting the Federal Circuit: The Example of Claim Construction — Houston Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Conference, Houston, TX, October 2005.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — 2005 Intellectual Property Owners' Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, September 2005.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — BIO 2005, Philadelphia, PA, June 2005.

Reconsidering the DMCA — 2005 IPIL/Houston Santa Fe Conference, Santa Fe, NM, June 2005.

The Perfect Storm: Intellectual Property and Public Values — Fordham Law School Information Society Conference, New York, NY, April 2005.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — Association of Corporate Patent Counsel Winter Meeting, Miami, FL, February 2005.

Decision-Making at the Federal Circuit — American Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, October 2004.

Patent Portfolios — University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall), October 2004.

Patent Portfolios — 2004 Intellectual Property Scholars Conference, Loyola University Law School, Chicago, IL, August 2004.

Patent Portfolios — University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA, July 2004.

A Perfect Storm: Fair Use in the Modern Scholarly Domain — Annenberg School for Communications (Penn), Philadelphia, PA, June 2004.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — University of Virginia Law School, Charlottesville, VA, April 2004.

Information Wants to Be Free — New York University Law School, January 2004.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — Fish & Richardson Seminar Series, Wilmington, DE, December 2003 (broadcast).

Exactly Backwards — The Past, Present & Future of the Federal Circuit, Case Western Reserve University Law School, Cleveland, OH, November 2003.

The Case Against Software — The Penn-Temple-Wharton Colloquium, Philadelphia, PA, November 2003.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — Federalist Society, Intellectual Property Section, New York, NY, October 2003.

Plate Tectonics: Copyright vs. the First Amendment — Constitutional Law Conclave 2003, Philadelphia, PA, October 2003.

Current Issues in Cyberlaw & Intellectual Property — Judges' Retreat, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, St. Michael's, MD, October 2003.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — American Law & Economics Association, Toronto, Canada, September 2003.

The Case Against Software — Intellectual Property Scholars Conference, Berkeley, CA, August 2003.

Biotechnological Patent Law: A Troubling Trend — BIO 2003 Conference, Washington, DC, July 2003.

Standardizing the (Online) Legal Infrastructure — Wharton E-Business Conference 2003, Philadelphia, PA, April 2003.

Is the Federal Circuit Succeeding? — George Washington University IP Speakers' Series, Washington, DC, March 2003.

Information Wants to Be Free — University of Michigan Law School IP Workshop Series, Ann Arbor, MI, February 2003.

Cyberproperty — Stanford Law School IP Workshop Series, Stanford, CA, January 2003.

Information Wants to Be Free — 2003 Wharton Legal Studies Colloquium, Philadelphia, PA, November 2002.

Privacy in the Networked Digital Age — 2002 Lavender Law Conference, Philadelphia, PA, October 2002.

Information Wants to Be Free — 30th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC), Alexandria, VA, September 2002.

(Mostly) Against Exceptionalism — Washington University Conference Series on Law & The Human Genome Project, St. Louis, MO, April 2002.

Realspace Sovereigns in Cyberspace: The Case of Domain Names — 29th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC), Alexandria, VA, September 2001.

The Challenges of Online Music — Napster & Beyond: Protecting Copyright in the Digital Millennium, Temple University, April 2001.

Filtering the 'Net: A Governmental Role — Penn Law–Wharton Seminar Series on eCommerce Regulation, Philadelphia, PA, October 2000.

Courses Taught (Penn Carey Law)

Introduction to Intellectual Property Law & Policy (1L Elective) — Spring 2026, Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2018, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2007–2003.

Patent Law & Policy — Spring 2026, Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009, Spring 2008, Spring 2007, Spring 2006, Spring 2005, Spring 2004, Spring 2003, Spring 2002, Spring 2001.

Patent Law & Policy (Penn Law Masters-in-Law Program) — Fall 2025, Spring 2026.

Patent Law Appellate Advocacy (Giles S. Rich Intellectual Property Moot Court) — AY 2025-26, AY 2024-25, AY 2023-24, AY 2022-23, AY 2021-22, AY 2020-21, AY 2018-19, AY 2017-18, AY 2016-17, AY 2015-16, AY 2014-15, AY 2013-14, AY 2012-13, AY 2011-12, AY 2010-11, AY 2009-10, AY 2007-08, AY 2006-07, AY 2005-06, AY 2004-05, AY 2002-03.

Contracts (1L) — Fall 2021, Fall 2020.

Property (1L) — Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Fall 2009, Spring 2009.

Journal of Law & Innovation Seminar — AY 2020-21.

Electronic Commerce — Fall 2001, Fall 2000.

Advanced Patent Law (Seminar) — Fall 2006.

Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property (Seminar) — Fall 2005, Fall 2004.

Advanced Intellectual Property: The Future of Ideas (Seminar) — Fall 2002.

Strategic Intellectual Property (Seminar) — Spring 2002.

Institutional Service

Penn Carey Law

Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs & Innovation — 2024 – present (also 2016–18).

Director, AI Law Lab — 2023 – present.

Co-Chair, Experiential Curricular Review Committee (with Cynthia Dahl) — 2024 – present.

Penn Patent Policy Appeals Board — Chair, 2015 – present.

Faculty Appointments Committee — Chair (Entry & Lateral) 2009–10; Chair (Entry-Level) 2007–08; Member 2015–16, 2014–15, 2013–14, 2005–06.

Academic Careers Committee — Chair 2014–15; Member 2022–23.

Educational Programs Committee — Chair 2020–22; Member 2023–24, 2020–21, 2008–09.

Building Committee — Chair 2012–13, 2011–12, 2010–11; Member 2009–2010.

Curricular Reform Committee — Member 2009.

Admissions Committee — Chair 2006–07; Member 2002–03, 2001–02.

Technology Committee — Member 2013–14, 2012–13, 2011–12, 2010–11, 2006–07, 2004–05, 2003–04, 2001–02, 2000–01.

Search Committee for Dean of Admissions — 2006–07, 2002–03.

Search Committee for Director of Information Technology — 2000–01.

Penn Intellectual Property Interest Group — Advisor 2007–08, 2004–05, 2003–04, 2002–03, 2001–02.

University of Pennsylvania (University-Wide)

Conflict of Interest Standing Committee (CISC) — Vice-Chair 2008 – present; Member 2002 – present.

Penn AI Faculty Advisory Board — Penn Carey Law representative, 2024 – present.

Provost's Council on Research — Member 2015–16, 2014–15, 2013–14, 2010–11, 2009–10, 2008–09, 2007–08, 2006–07, 2005–06, 2004–05; current member 2024 – present.

Center for Technology Transfer Governing Board — Member 2006–2020.

University Communications Committee — Member 2003–04, 2002–03.

Levy Scholars Program — Advisor 2003–04.

External and Convenings

PennLaw–Judiciary AI Testbed Project — Founder/Lead, 2024 – present. Collaboration with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Delaware judiciary.

Global Patent Law Conference — Co-organizer, with CITC and Waseda University. Annual since 2012 (14 conferences as of 2025).

Philadelphia-Area "Cyberlunch" Discussion Group — Organizer, 2002 – present.

Ad Hoc Seminar Series — Organizer Summer 2004, 2003–2004 (with D. Skeel); 2002–03; Summer 2002 (with M. Knoll).

Wilson Fellows in High-Technology — Advisor/Organizer 2002–03.

Institute for Strategic Threat and Response (ISTAR) (Penn Institute) — Affiliate 2003–04, 2002–03, 2001–02.

Institute for Law & Economics Workshop Series — Organizer 2001–02 (with M. Knoll).

Other Employment

United States Patent & Trademark Office — Thomas Edison Fellow & Expert Consultant, 2022–23 (part time).

Hon. Raymond C. Clevenger, III, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit — Law Clerk, 1998–2000.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP — Silicon Valley Office — Summer Associate, May–August 1997.

D'Alessandro & Ritchie, LLP — Summer Associate, May–August 1996.

Division of Student Affairs, University of Michigan — Policy Development, Spring 1994.

Marine Hydrodynamics Lab, University of Michigan — Student Researcher, Summer 1993.

Professional Memberships & Credentials