Law Commons^™

Surfing For Protection: Why Websites Should Be Categorically Excluded From Trade Dress Protection, Matt Mikels

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

No abstract provided.

Guarding Against Abuse: The Costs Of Excessively Long Copyright Terms, Derek Khanna

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

No abstract provided.

Judicial Speculation On Consumer Impression: The Pitfalls Of Measuring Trademark Tacking As A Question Of Law, Megan Majcher Hartnett

Catholic University Law Review

Trademark tacking allows a mark owner to adjust her mark without losing protection. The test for determining whether tacking is appropriate is whether the new mark is the legal equivalent of the old. This equivalency is measured by evaluating the continuing commercial impression created by the marks. A circuit split has developed over whether this test is a question of law or a question of fact. This Comment argues that the continuing commercial impression test is ill-suited to be measured as a question of law. Initially, this Comment focuses on how commercial impression is a fact-based inquiry and should be …

Aereo: Cutting The Cord Or Splitting The Circuit?, Julie Borna

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

No abstract provided.

The Positive And Negative Consequences Of The European Union Court Of Justice's Amazon Decision On International Private Copying And America, Jaclyn Kavendek

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Narrowest And Most Obvious Limits: Applying Fair Use To Appropriation Art Economically Using A Royalty System, Brittani Everson

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trademarks And Transducers: The First Circuit Court Of Appeals Decides On The Standard Of Proof Required To Show Willful Infringement In Lanham Act Cases, Peter Karalis

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Personam And Beyond The Grasp: In Search Of Jurisdiction And Accountability For Foreign Defendants, Andrew F. Popper

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Sound Recording Performance Rights At A Crossroads: Will Market Rates Prevail?, Jeffrey A. Eisenach

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

Starting in the 1990s, Federal policy has moved in the direction of a market-oriented approach towards sound recording rights, beginning with Congress’ decision to create a sound recording performance copyright in 1995. In 1998, Congress provided that most statutory royalty rates, including the rates paid by webcasters like Pandora Radio, would be set using a market-based “willing buyer, willing seller” (“WBWS”) standard. Since then, the WBWS standard has been applied in several rate setting proceedings, but complaints from webcasters that the rates were “too high” have led to Congressional intervention and, ultimately, to adoption of rates below market levels. Now, …

Against Settlement Of (Some) Patent Cases, Megan M. La Belle

Scholarly Articles

For decades now, there has been a pronounced trend away from adjudication and toward settlement in civil litigation. This settlement phenomenon has spawned a vast critical literature beginning with Owen Fiss’s seminal work, Against Settlement. Fiss opposes settlement because it achieves peace rather than justice, and because settlements often are coerced due to power and resource imbalances between the parties. Other critics have questioned the role that courts play (or ought to play) in settlement proceedings, and have argued that the secondary effects of settlement – especially the lack of decisional law – are damaging to our judicial system. Still, …

Big Banks And Business Method Patents, Megan M. La Belle, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

The banking industry and the patent system are longstanding American institutions whose histories date back to the founding of this country. Historically, however, the paths of these two institutions rarely crossed. Although financial firms have been increasing their innovative output for decades now, until recently they relied on trade secrecy, first mover advantages, and other business mechanisms to protect and monetize their intellectual property — not patents.

Through a convergence of circumstances over the past several years, that pattern has changed. The shift began when the Federal Circuit decided that business methods — banks’ primary mode of innovation — are …

Sowing The Seeds Of Protection, Elizabeth I. Winston

Scholarly Articles

Seeds are chattel. As such, seeds are protectable by the same tapestry of public and private ordering as other forms of chattel. However, the distinguishing characteristic of seeds, their method of propagation, and the history of seeds-traditionally viewed as a public good rather than chatteldistort that tapestry. The model of seed distribution thus needs to be refrained in light of the often disparate interests of innovators, producers, and consumers. As with all chattel, there is no single, correct model for distributing seeds, but law and contract may be woven together to strike a balance.