Fiction provides an important lens through which we make sense of political, economic, and social issues. Students are required to read a novel in which patents and patent law issues figure prominently. You should choose either Annalee Newitzs, Autonomous (2017), a science fiction novel involving pharmaceutical and life form patents, or The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore (2017), a novel of historical fiction exploring the late 19th century electrification patent battles between Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla. This assignment is NOT a book review. You should select three specific passages from the novel (typically at least 2-3 paragraphs long each) and use those passages to highlight and discuss key patent issues visible in them. With reference to any relevant course readings, and at least three other academic sources directly applicable to your analysis, you should draw out and critically analyze the issues in those passages. You may wish to draw in other facts, quotations, or other observations from other parts of the novel as well. Be attentive to how the author is framing patent issues in fictional terms. How are they using the elements of fiction (language, plot, characterization, figures of speech, etc.) in order to present a position or argument? How are they making readers aware of patent issues in different ways than an academic author, a lawyer, or a journalist might do?
