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Full-Text Articles in Law
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.
A Non-Material Form Of Copyright: The Strange History Of Lecturer’S Copyright, Alex Steel
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 …
Book Review: The Common Law In Cyberspace, Tom Bell
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 …
How Can Whelan V. Jaslow And Lotus V. Borland Both Be Right? Re-Examining The Economics Of Computer Software Reuse, Michael Risch
How Can Whelan V. Jaslow And Lotus V. Borland Both Be Right? Re-Examining The Economics Of Computer Software Reuse, Michael Risch
Michael Risch
The basic economic goal of copyright law is to balance an author's incentive to create with his or her ability to build on prior work in order to maximize social wealth. This balance is extremely important for computer software. On the one hand, software is often expensive to create and companies therefore need protection in order to recoup their investment. On the other hand, software is often expensive to create and companies can save costs by reusing pre-existing work. Quite often, the same companies that want to protect their software also want to use pre-existing work. As a result of …