Law Commons^™

Why Copyrights Are Not Community Property, Dane S. Ciolino

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should We Kill The Dinosaurs Or Will They Die Of Natural Causes, Peter Brown, Lauren Mccollester

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Copyright Protection Of Operating Software, Copyright Misuse, And Antitrust, Dennis S. Karjala

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Copyright And Public Welfare In Global Perspective, Ruth Gana Okediji

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

No abstract provided.

The Right To Know?: Delimiting Database Protection At The Juncture Of The Commerce Clause, The Intellectual Property Clause, And The First Amendment, Malla Pollack

Malla Pollack

The people of the United States have a constitutional right to know; the government has a duty not to block access to information. The First Amendment and the Intellectual Property Clause cabin the Commerce Clause. Congress cannot create a quasi-property right to exclude others from information without clearly demonstrating market failure. Sui generis protection of data bases does not meet this threashold requirement.

Nba V. Motorola: A Case For Federal Preemption Of Misappropriation?, Katherine F. Horvath

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Failure Of The American Copyright System: Protecting The Idle Rich, William Patry

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nba V. Motorola: A Case For Federal Preemption Of Misappropriation?, Katherine F. Horvath

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.

Draft Of Ralph Sharp Brown, Intellectual Property And The Public Interest - 1999, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Ralph Sharp Brown crossed out the "Junior" that followed his name after his father died. In explanation of the hand-altered stationery, he said (if my recollection holds), "I'm the only one left now." Now, after Ralph's death, there may remain no Ralph Sharp Browns. But there are many law teachers who continue to wage the campaign that Ralph made his life work: to save an interdependent society from unnecessary and stagnating restraints on liberty. In the intellectual property area, Ralph sought to teach us that it can be both right and necessary to give individuals the liberty to "reap without …

New Thoughts And Excerpt From On Commodifying Intangibles - 1999, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Here is a ten-page excerpt from! a published piece, followed by some more recent and more random thoughts. Community is not civility. That is, I imagine my ideal community as one where people aren't always sweet to each other; I imagine a community where truth is more important than hurt feelings, and fun is more important than money. I imagine a community of individualists: raucous, iconoclastic. Steve Shiffrin's ROMANCE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT and Ed Baker's work seems to have the kind of community in mind that I am interested in.

Special 301 In China And Mexico: A Policy Which Fails To Consider How Politics, Economics, And Culture Affect Legal Change Under Civil Law Systems Of Developing Countries, Keshia B. Haskins

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Electronic Rights Management And Digital Identifier Systems, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The new world of digital information requires a new way of providing access to that information — while keeping the copyright backbone. It might be technically easier to create a digital infrastructure without copyright: Just throw works up on the Internet, and let anyone get to them for any purposes. But such systems have been suggested and roundly rejected by those who create and own works of value. So we need to build an electronic infrastructure that works with copyright and takes advantage of the digital environment. This paper looks at the attempts to build part of that infrastructure — …

When Does A Work Infringe The Derivative Works Right Of A Copyright Owner?, Amy B. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

Consider the following fact situation: A, an artist, designs art work and registers the copyright in that art work. A then licenses P to publish note cards using the art work. The note cards are published by P and distributed to retail card stores. T purchases several hundred cards and then takes each card, glues it carefully to a ceramic tile, and sells the tiles for a profit as "tile art" that purchasers can use to decorate walls, counters, even floors. If A now sues T for copyright infringement, how should the court rule? Has T infringed A's copyright?

In …

Is The Trips Agreement An Adequate Means To Deal With Unauthorized Copying Of Sound Recordings From The Internet?, Hege Sehested Zakariassen

LLM Theses and Essays

The Internet has expanded vastly in recent years, both in use and utility. It has become one of the most important means of distributors of information in our time. This increasing popularity has also led to "online fraud, theft, piracy, and infringement. The music industry is one of the branches that will experience upheaval in the next few years. The Internet might even change the way music is distributed. Experts believe that the Internet could alter the way music is distributed and undermine the physical distribution of sound recordings. Yet, on the other hand, the Internet could help unknown bands …

A Non-Material Form Of Copyright: The Strange History Of Lecturer’S Copyright, Alex Steel

Alex Steel

This article traces the history of a specific copyright in the spoken word in private lectures, a copyright that did not require the words to be reduced to material form in order to gain protection. In the early to mid 1800’s much money could be made from the giving of lectures, and private lecturers were searching for ways to protect their livelihood. The first case to successfully prevent the unauthorised reprinting of lectures was Abernethy v Hutchinson (1825); generally considered to be the case which formed the basis for the action for breach of confidence. This was a case about …

Warren Publishing, Inc. V. Microdos Data Corp.: Continuing The Stable Uncertainty Of Copyright In Factual Compilations, Ethan R. York

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attorney Hit With Sanctions For Poor Brief (New York Law Journal), Deborah Pines

News Articles

No abstract provided.

The Balanchine Trust: Dancing Through The Steps Of Two-Part Licensing, Cheryl Swack

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Outline Of Epstein's Possession As The Root Of Title, And Other Matters - 1999, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

While it may be premature to expect a full working out of detail, it is surely time enough for some semblance of a unified theory of intellectual property law to have emerged. That it has not is due to some extent to the very evil which the existence of such a theory (or the beginnings of one) would prevent, namely, the errors that opinions are heir to. Recognizing common themes would help to isolate deviations, and thus help to clarify their nature; whether in a given context a deviation is justified could then be discussed on its own merits, wihout …

Notes On Trademark Monopolies, Wendy J. Gordon, Glynn S. Lunney Jr.

Scholarship Chronologically

Since 1742, when Lord Hardwicke seemingly equated trademark protection with monopoly in one of the first trademark cases, until the mid- 1950s, concerns that trademarks represented a form of illegitimate monopoly effectively constrained the growth of trademark protection. In the twentieth century, Edward Chamberlain became the leading proponent of the trademark as monopoly view with the publication of his work, The Theory of Monopolistic Competition, in 1933. In his work, Chamberlain argued that a trademark enabled its owner to differentiate her products and then to exclude others from using the differentiating feature. By doing so, trademark protection can effectively …

Fair Use, Lloyd L. Weinreb

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

When The State Steals Ideas: Is The Abrogation Of State Sovereign Immunity From Federal Infringement Claims Constitutional In Light Of Seminole Tribe?, Christina Bohannan, Thomas F. Cotter

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ralph Sharp Brown, Intellectual Property And The Public Interest--Introduction, Wendy J. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

Ralph Sharp Brown crossed out the "Junior" that followed his name after his father died. In explanation of the hand-altered stationery, he said (if my recollection holds), "I'm the only one left now." Now, after Ralph's death, there may remain no Ralph Sharp Browns. But there are many law teachers who continue to wage the campaign that Ralph made his life work: to save an interdependent society from unnecessary and stagnating restraints on liberty. In the intellectual property area, Ralph sought to teach us that it can be both right and necessary to give individuals the liberty to "reap without …

The Legal Battles Of G.I. Joe: The Jurisprudence Of Distinctive Fingernails, Action Figures, Ninjas And Distinguished Marines, A. Jack Guggenheim

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property, Contracts, And Reverse Engineering After Procd: A Proposed Compromise For Computer Software, Anthony J. Mahajan

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Is Property Intellectual: The Leveraging Problem Essays, Mark R. Patterson

Faculty Scholarship

Patents and copyrights protect inventions and expression; they do not protect products. This distinction, I argue in this essay, is a key to the antitrust problem of the "leveraging" of intellectual property. In a typical leveraging case, the manufacturer of a durable good, like a copier or computer, refuses to sell replacement parts for its equipment unless the purchaser also hires the manufacturer to service the equipment. Such a practice can be illegal under antitrust law, but when the leveraging products-in this example, replacement parts-are protected by patent or copyright, the manufacturer will often claim that the leveraging is a …

Music, Money, And The Middleman: The Relationship Between The Songwriter And The Publisher, Cornelius Cowles

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Money, along with creative drive and the chance to work in an exciting industry, push the publisher and songwriter both. This article seeks to help the songwriter under-stand the role of the music publisher, an indispensable and unavoidable part of the country music industry. It examines the songwriter-publisher relationship from the perspective of those people active in the industry and examines criticism of the publisher's role. It further analyzes the typically thorny legal and contractual issues faced by the songwriter in negotiating an exclusive songwriting agreement with the publisher. Finally, recognizing the special role of songwriters in Nashville, it addresses …

When You Wish Upon A Star: Explaining The Cautious Growth Of Royalty-Backed Securitization, Lisa M. Fairfax

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article focuses on the phenomenon of securitizing future royalties of entertainers, illustrating why securitzation of such royalties has not been embraced more enthusiastically. The article begins by describing the securitization process in general and the differences between mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. The article then examines the benefits of securitization as applied to entertainment royalties. Benefits of securitization include immediate liquidity, less expensive capital, and diversification of the suppliers of the originator’s funding. However, securitization does not make sense for many entertainers unless they need large sums of cash. Moreover, securitizing royalties may not be viable because it creates a …

Digital Technology And Copyright: A Threat Or A Promise - Introduction, Michael J. Meurer

Faculty Scholarship

On November 14, 1998, Franklin Pierce Law Center (FPLC), in cooperation with the Kenneth J. Germeshausen Center for the Law of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the PTC Research Foundation, both of which are headquartered at FPLC, held its Seventh Biennial Intellectual Property System Major Problems Conference. While noteworthy for a broadening in scope over previous conferences - from "patent system major problems" to "intellectual property system major problems" - the seventh biennial conference continues a tradition of scholarship and discussion begun in 1987 by former FPLC professor Homer O. Blair.

The discussions in Professor Blair's inaugural major problems conference focused …

Book Review: The Common Law In Cyberspace, Tom Bell

Tom W. Bell

Although Law and Disorder in Cyberspace gets a great deal right in boldly proposing to abolish the FCC and rely on common law courts to regulate the telecosm, an untenable distinction between the process and substance of common law runs through the text. That fundamental flaw opens a rift through which creep a number of lesser errors. Peter Huber accords antitrust law, despite its reliance on legislation and inconsistency with common law proper, inexplicable deference. In an analysis aggravated by suspect claims about the history of telecommunications, he promotes mandatory interconnection at the expense of property and contract rights. Contrary …