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Full-Text Articles in Law

The U.S. Supreme Court Hears The Mickey Mouse Case, L. Ray Patterson Dec 2002

The U.S. Supreme Court Hears The Mickey Mouse Case, L. Ray Patterson

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The case of Eldred v. Ashcroft, argued before the U. S. Supreme Court on October 9, 2002, is the most important copyright case since 1834, when the court decided its first, Wheaton v. Peters. In Wheaton, the court ruled that under the Copyright Clause of the U.S. Constitution only Congress can grant copyright for published works. In Eldred, the court will decide the scope of Congress’ copyright power. May Congress grant, in the words of the Copyright Clause, copyright only for a "limited time" or may Congress extend the time already granted for existing copyrights? This is what Congress did …


Means/Ends Analysis In Copyright Law: Eldred V. Ashcroft In One Act, Dan T. Coenen, Paul J. Heald Oct 2002

Means/Ends Analysis In Copyright Law: Eldred V. Ashcroft In One Act, Dan T. Coenen, Paul J. Heald

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Scene: The quiet hallway of a law school. A troubled young professor of Intellectual Property law stands in front of a senior colleague's office and studies a pencil sketch of Bushrod Washington taped to the door. After a moment's hesitation, he knocks and enters.


Means/Ends Analysis In Copyright Law: Eldred V. Ashcroft In One Act, Dan T. Coenen, Paul J. Heald Oct 2002

Means/Ends Analysis In Copyright Law: Eldred V. Ashcroft In One Act, Dan T. Coenen, Paul J. Heald

Scholarly Works

The authors examine Eldred v. Ashcroft in a play setting where one of the characters plays a constitutional law professor and the other character plays an intellectual property professor.


The Dmca: A Modern Version Of The Licensing Act Of 1662, L. Ray Patterson Oct 2002

The Dmca: A Modern Version Of The Licensing Act Of 1662, L. Ray Patterson

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The thesis of this Article is that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) in the United States is a modern version of the Licensing Act of 1662 in England. The English censorship statute is sufficiently obscure to merit an explanation of why the similarity and why it makes a difference. The reasons can be simply stated. The statutes are similar because they represent the same goals: the control of access to ideas. The similarities make a difference because a legal construct to control public access to ideas undermines -- and will eventually destroy -- the right of free …