Law Commons^™

Considering The Reach Of Phelps, Thomas G. Field Jr.

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “As the Supreme Court recently confirmed in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., patent and copyright owners have limited rights following voluntary transfers of protected goods. Moreover, as discussed at length by the Second Circuit in Platt & Munk Co. v. Republic Graphics, Inc., patent owners‟ rights have long been similarly affected by involuntary transfers. Platt & Munk finds the lack of equivalent copyright rulings remarkable, but does not allow lack of direct precedent to stand in the way of finding that involuntary transferees of copyright-protected goods have the same rights as voluntary transferees.

Initially, the Fourth Circuit, …

Pornography, Coercion, And Copyright Law 2.0, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

The lack of regulation of the production of pornography in the United States leaves pornography performers exposed to substantial risks. Producers of pornography typically respond to attempts to regulate pornography as infringements upon free speech. At the same time, large corporations involved in the production and sale of pornography rely on copyright law's complex regulatory framework to protect their pornographic content from copying and unauthorized distribution. Web 2.0 also facilitates the production and distribution of pornography by individuals. These user-generators produce their own pornography, often looking to monetize their productions themselves via advertising revenues and subscription models. Much like their …

Copyright Law And Pornography: Reconsidering Incentives To Create And Distribute Pornography, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

As it moved into the mainstream in the 1970s and early 1980s, pornography obtained copyright protections through judicial fiat, rather than as a result of legislative action. This essay explains how pornography came to be eligible for copyright protections, discusses the social and legal effects of this change, and raises questions about the propriety of according pornography the full benefits of copyright law without taking into account the harms that pornography production can inflict on subordinated or coerced "performers."

When Bias Is Bipartisan: Teaching About The Democratic Process In An Intellectual Property Law Republic, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Introduction]: Intellectual property law courses offer law professors the opportunity to teach a subject area rich with complicated statutory and court-made doctrines about which students do not usually have strong or extensively delineated moral views. I It also gives everyone in the classroom a refreshing break from the traditional partisanship of political party politics. Identification as a Democrat or Republican does not provide too much guidance or create too many expectations about a person's views of intellectual property issues, freeing classroom debates from the constrictions that political loyalties impose in so many other contexts.

Viewing Virtual Property Ownership Through The Lens Of Innovation, Ryan G. Vacca

Law Faculty Scholarship

Over the past several years scholars have wrestled with how property rights in items created in virtual worlds should be conceptualized. Regardless of how the property is conceptualized and what property theory best fits, most agree the law ought to recognize virtual property as property and vest someone with those rights.

The True Colors Of Trademark Law: Green-Lighting A Red Tide Of Anti Competition Blues, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

The elevation of color to stand-alone trademark status illustrates the unbounded nature of trademarks within the judicial consciousness. The availability of color-alone marks also facilitates the commoditization of color in ways that complicate the development and distribution of products and services that use color for multiple purposes conterminously. The economic case for color-alone trademarks is severely undermined by careful observation of the ways that colors are actually deployed in commerce, which makes it clear that the trademarks of multiple goods and services can utilize the same color to telegraph the same message without confusing anyone or diluting the commercial power …