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The Arkansas Code And Georgia V. Public.Resource.Org, Daniel Bell

Arkansas Law Notes

The United States Supreme Court decided Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. (“PRO”) in late April, 2020, a case with major implications for those who rely on the Arkansas statutes. The case addressed whether extra materials Georgia includes in its official statutes, the annotations, can be copyrighted, or if they are in the public domain and can be freely distributed without permission. The case pitted two important competing interests against each other: the ability of citizens to freely access the official versions of laws of their state, versus the interests of a third-party publisher in being compensated for its work. Arkansas produces …

Copyright And The Creative Process, Mark Bartholomew

Notre Dame Law Review

Copyright is typically described as a mechanism for encouraging the production of creative works. On this view, copyright protection should be granted to genuinely creative works but denied to non-creative ones. Yet that is not how the law works. Instead, almost anything—from test answer sheets to instruction manuals to replicas of items in the public domain—is deemed creative and therefore eligible for copyright protection. This is the consequence of a century of copyright doctrine assuming that artistic creativity is incapable of measurement, unaffected by personal motivation, and incomprehensible to novices and experts alike. Recent neuroscientific research contradicts these assumptions. It …

Copyright’S Deprivations, Anne-Marie Carstens

Washington Law Review

This Article challenges the constitutionality of a copyright infringement remedy provided in federal copyright law: courts can order the destruction or other permanent deprivation of personal property based on its mere capacity to serve as a vehicle for infringement. This deprivation remedy requires no showing of actual nexus to the litigated infringement, no finding of willfulness, and no showing that the property’s infringing uses comprise the significant or predominant uses. These striking deficits stem from a historical fiction that viewed a tool of infringement, such as a printing plate, as the functional equivalent of an infringing copy itself. Today, though, …

A Novel Dataset Measuring Change In Copyright Exceptions, Michael Palmedo

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Copyrights grant creators long periods of market exclusivity during which they or their agents have the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute their works. However, copyright exceptions limit their scope and strength. The laws on both copyright protection and copyright exceptions vary substantially from one country to the next. This working paper introduces a novel, survey-based dataset that describes changes to 24 countries’ laws on copyright exceptions over time. To explore the data, I construct two indices from subsets of the dataset; one that focus on exceptions related to ICT technologies and another that focuses on educational uses. The indices …

Arbitrating Copyright Disputes In Egypt, Islam Mohamed

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Egypt is witnessing increasing difficulty in implementing and practicing protectionist policies for intellectual property rights, which includes copyright as a fundamental element. Since the Egyptian judicial system is exclusively concerned with adjudicating all disputes, it has become increasingly burdened in recent decades due to this monopoly. As a result, the Egyptian judiciary is witnessing a significant slowdown in resolving conflicts and procedural obstacles which delay the restitution of Intellectual property rights to its owners. Thus, we believe that applying arbitration will contribute to resolving copyright disputes in advance on one hand and will encourage an attractive climate in such matters …

Non-Patent Intellectual Property Barriers To Covid-19 Vaccines, Treatment And Containment, Sean Flynn, Erica Nkrumah, Luca Schirru

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

As the World Trade Organization considers a proposal to waive or otherwise address intellectual property barriers to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the attention given by scholars and policy makers has been focused on patents. The original proposals by South Africa and India, as well as the groundbreaking support of the United States, however, explicitly applied to all forms of intellectual property. This paper documents many instances where non-patent forms of intellectual property create barriers to the global scale up of access to vaccines, treatments, and the ability to contain the virus through social distancing. Addressing …

Research Exceptions In Comparative Copyright Law, Sean Flynn, Michael Palmedo, Andrés Izquierdo

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Recent scholarship has highlighted the positive impact on scholarship of copyright exceptions for text and data mining and of more “open” exceptions for research uses. Until now, however, there has not been a collection and categorization of the world’s copyright laws according to the degree to which they provide exceptions for research. In this report, we release the results of the first such study. We show that every copyright law in the world has at least one exception to promote research uses of copyrighted works, but that such exceptions vary widely between countries. We conclude that the world’s exceptions for …

Copyrighting Tiktok Dances: Choreography In The Internet Age, Ali Johnson

Washington Law Review

TikTok is a video-sharing social media application that launched in 2018 and has grown wildly since its inception. Many users are drawn to the platform by “dance challenges”—short dance routines of varying complexity set to popular songs that are recreated by other users, eventually going “viral” (i.e., recreated on a massive scale by other users) on the app. Going viral can provide young dancers and choreographers an opportunity to break into the highly competitive entertainment industry. However, there is a problem: due to TikTok’s interface and community practices, the original creators of a dance (who, significantly, are often young women …

What Is The Relationship Between Language And Thought?: Linguistic Relativity And Its Implications For Copyright, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

To date, copyright scholarship has almost completely overlooked the linguistics and cognitive psychology literature exploring the connection between language and thought. An exploration of the two major strains of this literature, known as universal grammar (associated with Noam Chomsky) and linguistic relativity (centered around the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis), offers insights into the copyrightability of constructed languages and of the type of software packages at issue in Google v. Oracle recently decided by the Supreme Court. It turns to modularity theory as the key idea unifying the analysis of both languages and software in ways that suggest that the information filtering associated …

Submission To Canadian Government Consultation On A Modern Copyright Framework For Ai And The Internet Of Things, Sean Flynn, Lucie Guibault, Christian Handke, Joan-Josep Vallbé, Michael Palmedo, Carys J. Craig, Michael Geist, João Quintais

Testimony and Submissions

We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Canadian Government’s consultation on a modern copyright framework for AI and the Internet of Things. Below, we present some of our research findings relating to the importance of flexibility in copyright law to permit text and data mining (“TDM”). As the consultation paper recognizes, TDM is a critical element of artificial intelligence. Our research supports the adoption of a specific exception for uses of works in TDM to supplement Canada’s existing general fair dealing exception.

Empirical research shows that more publication of citable research takes place in countries with “open” …

Boss Battle: Twitch Vs Proposed Amendments To The Knowledge Standard Under The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Zachary Messick

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), indirect theories of liability such as vicarious liability and contributory infringement have been inconsistently applied, leading the Copyright Office to recommend lowering the knowledge standard and increasing potential liability for Online Service Providers (OSPs). In this note, I will discuss the histories of vicarious liability and contributory infringement, which demonstrate that courts have correctly applied the standards under the DMCA. Further, through a case-study of Twitch, an up-and-coming streaming website, I will discuss how the proposed amendments drive against the policies underlying the indirect theories of liability and would destroy OSPs like Twitch. …

Design On Someone Else's Dime: The Profiteering Of Interior Designer's Works From A Lack Of Rights In The Modern Era, Kim Carlson

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Rooms once viewed as utilitarian in nature- places to work in, sleep in, or cook in- have gone through a dramatic transformation. Now, people view these rooms as an outward reflection of their style. In the last few decades, people’s eagerness to renovate these rooms exploded. As a result, home designer shows soared in popularity, garnering millions of views. Consumers flocked to different media forms and stores in search of the latest paint and furniture trends. The heightened demand, coupled with prevailing social media marketing, forced interior designers to become innovative in creating and advertising their services. While the increased …

Exit Stage, Enter Streaming: Copyright Of The Theatrical Stage Design Elements In A Changing Theater Industry, Mark Bailey

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Due to the pandemic, the entire theatre industry shut down nearly overnight in March of 2020. Thousands of talented professionals were out of work, costing individuals and the economy billions of dollars in the first month alone. Within a month of this industry wide halt, eighty theatres around the country began providing content to audiences around the country via streaming services. Streaming theatre fully took hold when Hamilton on Disney+ became the most widely watched piece of entertainment nationwide in the month of July. Within a few short months, an industry based completely around large gatherings shifted to a digital …

Submission To South African Parliament's Portfolio Committee On Trade And Industry - Re: Copyright Amendment Bill [B13b - 2017], Global Expert Network On Copyright User Rights

Testimony and Submissions

This submission is on behalf of the Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights. The Network is an association of over 100 copyright academics from over 30 countries who conduct research and offer technical assistance to governments and stakeholders on the reform of copyright limitations and exceptions to promote the public interest.

Professor Sean Flynn, Counsel of Record, is a former Law Clerk for the late Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cape Town IP Unit, and has been conducting research and leading academic projects in South Africa for over two decades. …

Statements To The Wipo Standing Committee On Committee On Copyright And Related Rights, Electronic Information For Libraries

Testimony and Submissions

As an NGO accredited with permanent observer status at WIPO, EIFL has the opportunity to make interventions at sessions of WIPO committees and meetings

EIFL advocates at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for an international copyright framework that benefits libraries in developing and transition economy countries. We participate in sessions of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) that usually meets in Geneva twice a year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just one SCCR took place in 2021, in hybrid mode (online for observers and limited physical participation for member state delegates).

We work with Member States …

Rethinking Copyright Harmonization, Clark Asay

Indiana Law Journal

For nearly half a century, the United States has been one of the main proponents of harmonizing the world’s copyright laws. To that end, the U.S. government has worked diligently to persuade (and, in some cases, bully) most of the world’s countries to adopt copyright standards that resemble those found in the United States. The primary reason for this push to harmonize the world’s copyright laws is simple: the United States has long been a net exporter of copyrighted works, and so the U.S. government has sought to ensure that other countries provide U.S. authors with the same economic rights …

Eifl And Library Group Comments On Updated Draft Wipo Cmo Toolkit (2021), Electronic Information For Libraries

Testimony and Submissions

EIFL and partner organizations in the library, archives and museum communities responded to a public consultation to provide additional comments on the updated draft WIPO Good Practice Toolkit for Collective Management Organizations (CMOs), released on 27 May 2021. Publication of the updated draft Toolkit follows an earlier consultation that took place in April 2021.

The updated version of the Toolkit contains an expanded section on supervision and monitoring of CMOs (Section 13). We noted three concerns in the updated Section 13, in particular. In our comments, we propose a number of amendments to address the concerns in Section 13, along …

America's Broken Copyright Law: How Marvel And Sony Sparked Public Debate Surrounding The United States' "Broken" Copyright Law And How Congress Can Prevent A Copyright Small Claims Court From Making It Worse, Izaak Horstemeier-Zrnich

Cleveland State Law Review

Following failed discussions between Marvel and Sony regarding the use of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, comic fans were left curious as to how Spider-Man could remain outside of the public domain after decades of the character’s existence. The comic community came to realize that Marvel was restricted in the use of its own character because of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 and the Supreme Court’s decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft. This realization sparked an online conversation regarding the United States’ lengthy copyright terms, and what many refer to as a “broken” copyright system. …

Reforming The Right To Remuneration In The South African Copyright Amendment Bill, Malebakeng Agnes Forere

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

One of the core goals of South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill is to provide a right to fair remuneration for all authors and performers. This objective was motivated by the experiences of numerous famous South African creators who, despite their success in the creative industry, died as paupers. The problem that the Bill seeks to address is that the distributors of copyrighted work are dominated by multinational monopolies that are able to exact enormous concessions in their contracts with South African creators. Among the tools to address this problem in the Bill is a new right to a “fair royalty” …

Political Fair Use, Cathay Y. N. Smith

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property For New Entrepreneurs, Michael Johnston

Honors Projects

Abstract – New entrepreneurs, regardless of age, encounter several barriers regarding intellectual property. My research posits that new entrepreneurs are burdened by both informational barriers and lack of resources. A data driven analysis of this problem produced an easy to comprehend guide targeted to new entrepreneurs. This paper presents a subjective guide for entrepreneurs that details patents, trademarks, copyrights, and licensing.

Fair Dealing For The Purpose Of Education: York University V The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, Pascale Chapdelaine

Law Publications

In York University v The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (2020), the Federal Court of Appeal was confronted with two issues at the heart of ongoing debates in Canadian copyright law. First, whether tariffs of copyright collective societies are mandatory. Second, and the main focus of this case comment, how should the fair dealing doctrine be interpreted with respect to the purpose of education. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the Federal Court decision that York University Fair dealing Guidelines did not meet the fair dealing requirements in copyright law. This case comment highlights how the Federal Court and Federal Court …

Retelling Copyright: The Contributions Of The Restatement Of Copyright Law, Jessica Silbey, Jeanne Fromer

Faculty Scholarship

This Article was written for a special issue on the American Law Institute’s (ALI) Restatement of Copyright Law.

Since the American Law Institute (ALI) launched in the early twentieth century, its mission has been “the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs ... [and] to secure the better administration of justice.” A principal way it has pursued that mission has been through its Restatements of Law project. By their nature, Restatements of Law reflect tensions between what it means to “restate” and reform the law. As the ALI has grown and the legal profession …

Not The African Copyright Pirate Is Perverse, But The Situation In Which (S)He Lives-Textbooks For Education, Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations, And Constitutionalization "From Below" In Ip Law, Klaus Beiter

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Printed textbooks remain crucial for education, particularly in developing countries. However, in many of these countries, textbooks are unavailable, too expensive, or not accessible in learners’ native tongues. Digital content, for many reasons, does not prove a wondrous solution. Cheaply (translating and) reproducing textbooks would be a strategy. However, reprography is highly regulated under copyright law. Copyright also adds to the cost of textbooks. The availability, accessibility, and acceptability of learning materials constitute essential elements of the right to education under international human rights law.

Intellectual property (IP) law has so far refrained from endorsing the concept of extraterritorial state …

The Missing Goal-Scorers In The Artificial Intelligence Team: Of Big Data, The Fundamental Right To Research And The Failed Text And Data Mining Limitations In The Csdm Directive, Christophe Geiger

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

This article argues that recent strategies of the European Union in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) resemble a football team missing a goal-scorer to win any of the competitions with other jurisdictions having more flexible limitations to copyright, in particular with those allowing robust text and data mining (TDM) activities. It analyses the TDM limitations newly introduced in EU copyright law by the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market to show that these provisions not only fail to take duly into account the right to research grounded in the fundamental right to information, but also will not …

What Is Cultural Misappropriation And Why Does It Matter? 03-31-2021, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

The Music Industry: Drowning In The Stream, Jonathan Croskrey

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The Department of Justice is reviewing two of it's oldest consent decrees, which were entered into with ASCAP and BMI. ASCAP and BMI are the two original performing rights organizations and existed well before streaming. This article analyzes copyright and antirust law through the lens of modern technology and the current landscape of the music industry. It examines whether the consent decrees should be removed or modified and what the consequences of each would be.

The Right Of Copying Of Protected Works For Personal Use; The Fact And The Law: A Comparative Study., Samer Mahmoud Al-Dalalaa

UAEU Law Journal

As the copyright legislations have been adopting Exceptions on the Financial Rights of copyright holders and related rights as a cornerstone of the cultural development in order to enable the public to exploit these works, especially when it becomes difficult to get these works in a traditional way, the misunderstanding of the personal copy for the most of the copyright corporation researchers created a gap between the reality of this copy and its justifications on one side, and the different practicing which might be justified by different means on the other side. Basically the legislation should be the mechanism which …

A License To Plagiarize, Brian L. Frye

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Internet Archive’S National Emergency Library: Is There An Emergency Fair Use Superpower?, Aaron Schwabach

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

On March 24, 2020, the Internet Archive announced that it would create a National Emergency Library offering no-waitlist borrowing of all of the books in its collection. In effect, this allowed unlimited, if temporary, downloads of copyrighted works. The National Emergency Library was presented as a response to the current national and global public health crisis; however, nothing in either the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 108 or the aspirational documents of ControlledDigitalLending.org provides a legal basis for a library to lend out more copies of a work at one time than it actually owns. Nor does the case law …