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Full-Text Articles in Intellectual Property Law
First Amendment Based Copyright Misuse, David S. Olson
First Amendment Based Copyright Misuse, David S. Olson
David S. Olson
We are at a crossroads with respect to the underdeveloped equitable defense of copyright misuse. The defense may go the way of its sibling, antitrust-based patent misuse, which seems to be in a state of inevitable decline. Or—if judges accept the proposal of this Article—courts could reinvigorate the copyright misuse defense to better protect First Amendment speech that is guaranteed by statute, but that is often chilled by copyright holders misusing their copyrights to control others’ speech. The Copyright Act serves First Amendment interests by encouraging authors to create works. But copyright law can also discourage the creation of new …
A Legitimate Interest In Promoting The Progress Of Science: Constitutional Constraints On Copyright Laws, David S. Olson
A Legitimate Interest In Promoting The Progress Of Science: Constitutional Constraints On Copyright Laws, David S. Olson
David S. Olson
The Supreme Court certified two questions in Golan v. Holder: (1) Does section 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”) violate the Progress Clause of the Constitution? (2) Does the URAA violate the First Amendment? This Essay argues that section 514 violates the Progress Clause’s requirement that copyright laws “promote the Progress of Science.” This is because the statute bequeaths copyright status without in return achieving any net increase in the creation or dissemination of creative works. Even if the Government relies on other constitutional authorities to justify section 514—such as the Commerce Clause or the Treaty Power—the limitations …
First Amendment Interests And Copyright Accomodations, David S. Olson
First Amendment Interests And Copyright Accomodations, David S. Olson
David S. Olson
Copyright law exists to encourage the creation of works of authorship by granting exclusive rights. But copyright’s incentive function seems in tension with the public’s First Amendment interests to use and freely hear copyrighted speech. Conventional wisdom holds, however, that copyright law serves to encourage much more speech than it discourages, and resolves First Amendment concerns with protections internal to copyright law like the fair use defense and the idea/expression dichotomy. This Article argues that the conventional wisdom no longer holds given the unprecedented expansion of copyright’s scope and corresponding drastic diminution of the public domain in the last three …
Owning Digital Copies: Copyright Law And The Incidents Of Copy Ownership, Joseph P. Liu
Owning Digital Copies: Copyright Law And The Incidents Of Copy Ownership, Joseph P. Liu
Joseph P. Liu
As copyrighted works are increasingly distributed in digital form over the Internet, our conventional print-based understandings of the rights associated with copy ownership are coming into increasing conflict with the copyright owner's right to restrict copying. Specifically, certain common activities, such as reading and transferring physical copies of copyrighted works (such as books), are increasingly being viewed as potential acts of copyright infringement when applied to digital copies. This Article explores this conflict by taking a close look at the concept of copy ownership. It argues that conventional notions of physical property ownership play an important, unrecognized role in copyright …
Copyright Law's Theory Of The Consumer, Joseph P. Liu
Copyright Law's Theory Of The Consumer, Joseph P. Liu
Joseph P. Liu
Copyright law has a rather well-developed theory of the author, but it has no similarly well-developed conception of the consumer. This exploratory Article is an attempt to begin piecing together a coherent image of the copyright consumer. The author argues that copyright law currently conceives of consumers in one of two ways, either as passive consumers of copyrighted works or as active authors in their own right. This binary conception of the consumer, however, is incomplete, as it neglects important and complex consumer interests in autonomy, communication, and creative self-expression. By examining these additional interests, it is possible to begin …
Copyright, Death, And Taxes, Edward Lee
Copyright, Death, And Taxes, Edward Lee
Edward Lee
The Copyright Act of 1976 is due for a major revision in the 21st century, in order to keep pace with the advances in digital technologies. This Article offers a new alternative for copyright reform: tax law. Using the tax system as a way to modernize our copyright system offers several advantages. Most important, tax law can fix problems in our copyright system without violating the Berne Convention or TRIPS Agreement, and without requiring amendment to either treaty. Tax law can also be used to incentivize the copyright industries to adopt new, innovative approaches to copyright in ways that voluntary …