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The Derivative Right, Or Why Copyright Law Protects Foxes Better Than Hedgehogs, Daniel J. Gervais
The Derivative Right, Or Why Copyright Law Protects Foxes Better Than Hedgehogs, Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The derivative right is at the very core of copyright theory. What can and cannot be reused to create a new work impacts freedom of expression but also impacts the value of the markets for works and their various “derivatives.” The derivative right includes forms of derivation and adaptation, such as making a movie from a novel or translating a book. It also covers what this Article refers to as penumbral derivatives, which the US Copyright Act captures using the phrase “based upon” with respect to preexisting works. This leads to indeterminacy about the scope of the derivative right, which …
The Google Book Settlement And The Trips Agreement, Daniel J. Gervais
The Google Book Settlement And The Trips Agreement, Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The proposed amended settlement in the Google Book case has been the focus of numerous comments and critiques. This "perspective" reviews the compatibility of the proposed settlement with the TRIPS Agreement and relevant provisions of the Berne Convention that were incorporated into TRIPS, in particular the no-formality rule, the most-favored nation (MFN) clause, national treatment obligations, and the so-called three-step test.
Golan V. Holder: A Look At The Constraints Imposed By The Berne Convention, Daniel J. Gervais
Golan V. Holder: A Look At The Constraints Imposed By The Berne Convention, Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
One of the central issues in the Golan v. Holder litigation is the extent to which the United States had flexibility to tailor the protection of existing works that had fallen in the public domain when it joined the Berne Convention. This Essay argues that the Berne Convention obligates the United States as a Berne Union member to provide some degree of protection, but otherwise leaves wide latitude to set the conditions under which works in the public domain receive retroactive copyright protection. The Convention itself does not mandate that any particular level of protection be granted to such works …
The 1909 Copyright Act In International Context, Daniel J. Gervais
The 1909 Copyright Act In International Context, Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The passage of the 1909 U.S. Copyright Act was embedded in a significant period of evolution for international copyright law. Just a year before, the Berne Convention had been revised for the second time. This Berlin (1908) Act of the Convention in remembered in particular for the introduction of a broad prohibition against formalities concerning the "exercise and enjoyment" of copyright. 1909 was also just one year before a new copyright bill was brought before the Brit-ish Parliament. This Copyright Act, finally adopted in December 1911 and which entered into force in July 1, 1912, greatly influenced laws in many …
Making Copyright Whole: A Principled Approach To Copyright Exceptions And Limitations, Daniel J. Gervais
Making Copyright Whole: A Principled Approach To Copyright Exceptions And Limitations, Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This Article suggests a path to develop a principled conceptualization for copyright of limitations and exceptions at the international level. The paper argues that, normatively, copyright has always sought to reflect a balance between protection and access. It demonstrates that this balance was present to the minds of the negotiators of the 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and may have been somewhat overlooked in revisions of the Convention. It was ultimately replaced by a three-step test designed to restrict the ability of individual legislators to create limitations and exceptions. The article also considers the …
The Protection Of Databases, Daniel J. Gervais
The Protection Of Databases, Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
In Parts I and II of this Paper, the author analyzes the legal protection of databases first in international treaties, in particular the Berne Convention and the WTO TRIPS Agreement, and second under national and regional copyright, sui generis, or other (e.g., tort) law in Europe (both the European Directive on the legal protection of databases of 1996, which was under review, and a number of relevant national laws), the United States, and a number of foreign jurisdictions (Australia, Canada, China, Nigeria, Russia, and Singapore). In Part III, the author provides a critical analysis of the effort to expand the …
The Internationalization Of Intellectual Property: New Challenges From The Very Old And The Very New, Daniel J. Gervais
The Internationalization Of Intellectual Property: New Challenges From The Very Old And The Very New, Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
Intellectual property concepts embodied in international treaties and national laws date back to the eighteenth century. Many fundamental concepts (originality in copyright law; confusion in trademark law; novelty or inventiveness in patent law) vary from one country's national legislation to another. Yet, many critics of the intellectual property system recognize that solutions to the problems, ranging from database protection to the Internet, should ideally be the same worldwide. In today's globalized economy, it makes sense to adopt rules to protect that take account of the laws and practices of other nations and of the work of international organizations. Protecting only …