Law Commons^™

The Subsistence And Enforcement Of Copyright And Trademark Rights In The Metaverse, Cheng Lim Saw, Zheng Wen Samuel Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The metaverse has been widely hailed as a symbol of technological progress, presenting an immersive virtual realm that has the potential to transform how individuals engage in social and commercial activities. However, this conception of a borderless virtual world - which purportedly transcends the capabilities and reach of Web 2.0 - sits uncomfortably with the territorial nature of intellectual property rights. This chapter examines the complexities surrounding the subsistence and enforcement of intellectual property rights within the metaverse, with a specific focus on copyright and trademarks. Especial attention is paid to issues concerning choice of law and jurisdiction. Finally, the …

Ai-Ip? Copyright In An Age Of Internet Propaganda With Artificial Intelligence, Sonya Saepoff

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Limitations And Exceptions In International Copyright And Related Rights Treaties, Sean Flynn

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Copyright limitations and exceptions have been an integral part of international copyright and related rights treaties since the original text of the Berne Convention in 1886, which protected the ability to adopt exceptions for uses for “educational” and “scientific” uses. Since that instrument, there has been great -- if uneven -- development of norms on limitations and exceptions. Currently, the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is considering limitations and exceptions in the draft text for a treaty on broadcast organizations as well as a proposal from the African Group for a work programme on …

Star–Crossed Copyrights: The Story Of How Mexico Defied Civil Law Traditions By Infusing Common Law Ideologies Into Its Audiovisual And Motion Picture Copyright Regulations, Camila Chediak

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This Note was inspired by the out–of–the–ordinary, yet practical approach that Mexico chose to implement when it waived certain longstanding copyright moral rights principles in favor of the U.S. common law work–made–for–hire approach for its audiovisual and motion picture regulations. Since the inception of its copyright law, Mexico has strictly adhered to the civil law ideologies that are generally standard to civil law countries, particularly in its loyalty to the original creators of creative works through the moral rights doctrine. The United States, on the other hand, favors utilitarian ideologies that emphasize the societal importance of fostering innovation through the …

Floors And Ceilings In International Copyright Treaties: Berne/Trips/Wct Minima And Maxima, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

This paper addresses “floors” – minimum substantive international protections, and “ceilings” – maximum substantive international protections, set out in the Berne Convention and subsequent multilateral copyright accords. While much scholarship has addressed Berne minima, the “maxima” have generally received less attention. This Comment first describes the general structure of the Berne Convention, TRIPS and WCT regarding these contours, and then analyzes their application to the recent “press publishers’ right” promulgated in the 2019 EU Digital Single Market Directive. Within the universe of multilateral copyright obligations, the Berne maxima (prohibition of protection for facts and news of the day), buttressed by …

Rethinking Copyright Harmonization, Clark Asay

Indiana Law Journal

For nearly half a century, the United States has been one of the main proponents of harmonizing the world’s copyright laws. To that end, the U.S. government has worked diligently to persuade (and, in some cases, bully) most of the world’s countries to adopt copyright standards that resemble those found in the United States. The primary reason for this push to harmonize the world’s copyright laws is simple: the United States has long been a net exporter of copyrighted works, and so the U.S. government has sought to ensure that other countries provide U.S. authors with the same economic rights …

Protest Art And Copyright Law: Weaponizing Intellectual Property Against Systemic Inequality And Social Injustice, Alina Ladyzhinskaya

Touro Law Review

The death of George Floyd ignited a powerful modern-day Civil Rights movement that spread across the globe. While some protesters took to the streets to demand change, creators amplified the message of hope and unity through protest street art. Murals of police brutality victims like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among many others, appeared in most large cities in the United States and were widely spread on social media. From cave art to modern protest street art, graffiti continues to be a generational medium of expression of the human experience. However, while a handful of artists like Banksy, …

Conundra Of The Berne Convention Concept Of The Country Of Origin, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

This essay explores one of the most important, but occasionally intractable, issues under the Berne Convention, the concept of Country of Origin. Article 5(4) of that treaty defines a work’s country of origin, but leaves out several situations, leaving those who interpret and apply the treaty without guidance in ascertaining the country of origin. I will call those situations the “Conundra of the country of origin,” and will explore two of them here. First, what is the country of origin of an unpublished work whose authors are nationals of different countries? Second, what is the country of origin of a …

People Not Machines: Authorship And What It Means In International Copyright Law, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter recapitulates Professor Ricketson’s analysis in his 1992 Manges Lecture at Columbia Law School, presciently titled 'People or Machines: The Berne Convention and the Changing Concept of Authorship'. As Ricketson systematically developed the inquiry, it became clear that ‘People or Machines’ in fact meant ‘People Not Machines’. This chapter considers whether, more than twenty-five years later, subsequent technological developments warrant reconsideration of the human authorship premise underlying the Berne Convention. If that premise holds firm, the next question is whether non-human-generated outputs require some form of intellectual property protection. Any such regime, it should be noted, would fall outside …

Reconciling The "Moral Rights" Of Authors With The First Amendment Right Of Free Speech, John T. Cross

John Cross

The article concludes that the First Amendment does not significantly limit the enforcement of those moral rights recognized by state and federal law. Several features of moral rights laws support this conclusion. First, many acts that infringe moral rights do not qualify as speech, and therefore receive no First Amendment protection. For example, the droit de suite, or resale right, is clearly constitutional under this rationale, as it involves no speech whatsoever. Second, even when the offending act is speech, most moral rights laws can be justified, depending on the circumstances, by one or more of several arguments. Indeed, many …

In Lieu Of Moral Rights For Ip-Wronged Music Vocalists: Personhood Theory, Moral Rights, And The Wppt Revisited, Tuneen E. Chisolm

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

The Introduction of this Article has identified some of the noneconomic harms of concern. Part I summarizes and compares copyright ownership, control, and existing protections for authors of music compositions and sound recordings under the Copyright Act. It also summarizes pertinent music industry practices that impact third party use of recorded vocalist performances. Part II provides a foundation for understanding the nature of legal protections for creative works and the philosophical underpinnings of copyright law and moral rights, comparing utilitarianism and natural rights theory to personhood theory. It also provides a brief explanation of moral rights. Part III looks …

Trips And Its Achilles' Heel, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

No abstract provided.

A Hole In Need Of Mending: Copyright And The Individual Marking Of Advertisements Published In Collective Works, Randy D. Gordon

Randy D. Gordon

Over 20 years ago, the United States brought its copyright law into sync with international norms through the adoption of the Berne Convention. As a result, copyright notice is no longer a prerequisite to copyright protection. But because Congress implemented the Berne Convention through amendments to the (rather than adoption of a wholly new) Copyright Act, litigants have argued and at least some courts have held that certain works still must be noticed. This Article is concerned to rebut that contention.

A Tale Of Two Composers: An Argument For A Limited Expansion Of Moral Rights For Composers, Cassidy Grunninger

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Copyright Owners' Putative Interests In Privacy, Reputation, And Control: A Reply To Goold, Wendy J. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

My own view is that Goold overstates the explanatory role of tort law. But even were that not the case, the courts need to reach some kind of “settled” understanding on these various interests before a cause of action is created or definitively rejected, and that no such consensus on the three matters mentioned yet exists, whether they are viewed as forms of tort or otherwise. Goold’s work may nevertheless be an important step toward reaching closure on these and other open questions in copyright law.

Copyright Owners' Putative Interests In Privacy, Reputation, And Control: A Reply To Goold - Draft - 05-15-2017, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Patrick Goold’s interesting new article, Unbundling the “Tort” of Copyright Infringement (“Unbundling”) centers on a key lack of clarity that Professor Goold perceives in the cause of action for copyright infringement. The lack of clarity, he argues, afflicts threshold definitions of what constitutes actionable copying.

Copyright, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter o􀁼ers an overview of copyright in general in common law and civil law countries, with an emphasis on the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). It addresses the history and philosophies of copyright (authors’ right), subject matter of copyright (including the requirement of 􀁿xation and the exclusion of “ideas”), formalities, initial ownership and transfers of title, duration, exclusive moral and economic rights (including reproduction, adaptation, public performance and communication and making available to the public, distribution and exhaustion of the distribution right), exceptions and limitations (including fair use), and remedies. It also covers the liability of …

Extended Collective Licenses In International Treaty Perspective: Issues And Statutory Implementation, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

National legislation establishing extended collective licenses (ECLs) “authoriz[es] a collective organization to license all works within a category, such as literary works, for particular, limited uses, regardless of whether copyright owners belong to the organization or not. The collective then negotiates agreements with user groups, and the terms of those agreements are binding upon all copyright owners by operation of law.” Albeit authorized under national laws, collective coverage of non-members’ works may pose issues of compatibility with international norms. For example, if non-members must opt-out in order to preserve the individual management of their rights, is the opt-out a “formality” …

A Realist Approach To Copyright Law's Formalities, Michael W. Carroll

Michael W. Carroll

Rejecting the conventional story that formalities in copyright law were abolished by the Berne Convention, this Article demonstrates that privately administered systems of formalities play a significant role in the administration of copyright law worldwide. Indeed, they must because copyright is designed to support a transaction structure which requires rightsholders who seek to attract licensing partners to go through some formal step to identify themselves and the works in which they have a legal or beneficial interest. Canvassing the landscape of mandatory and voluntary public and private systems of formalities, this article argues that: (1) national policymakers retain more policy …

Digital-Age Claims For Old-World Rights, Joseph M. Beck, Allison M. Scott

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

A Shattered Visage: The Fluctuation Problem With The Recognized Stature Provision In The Visual Artists Rights Act Of 1990, Keshawn M. Harry

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Nobility Of Interpretation: Equity, Retrospectivity, And Collectivity In Implementing New Norms For Performers' Rights, Antony Taubman

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Reforming Copyright To Foster Innovation: Providing Access To Orphaned Works, Pamela Brannon

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Soviet Accession To The Universal Copyright Convention: Possible Implications For Future Foreign Publication Of Dissidents’ Works, Lee J. Ross Jr.

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Performance Rights Act And American Participation In International Copyright Protection, Jennifer Leigh Pridgeon

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Trips And Its Achilles' Heel, Peter K. Yu

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Reconciling The "Moral Rights" Of Authors With The First Amendment Right Of Free Speech, John T. Cross

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

The article concludes that the First Amendment does not significantly limit the enforcement of those moral rights recognized by state and federal law. Several features of moral rights laws support this conclusion. First, many acts that infringe moral rights do not qualify as speech, and therefore receive no First Amendment protection. For example, the droit de suite, or resale right, is clearly constitutional under this rationale, as it involves no speech whatsoever. Second, even when the offending act is speech, most moral rights laws can be justified, depending on the circumstances, by one or more of several arguments. Indeed, many …

The Evolution Of Copyright Law And Inductive Speculations As To Its Future, Orit Fischman-Afori

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

A New Hope For Copyright: The U.K. Supreme Court Ruling In Lucasfilm Ltd. V. Ainsworth And Why Congress Should Follow Suit, Kristen Elisabeth Bollinger

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of The 1886 Berne Convention On The U.S. Copyright System's Treatment Of Moral Rights And Copyright Term, And Where That Leaves Us Today, Samuel Jacobs

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The 1886 Berne Convention was the most influential copyright related treaty for over a century, and provided important minimum substantive protections for authors. Key provisions included the establishment of the principle of National Treatment, the abolishment of formalities in order to receive copyright protection, a required copyright term of life of the author plus fifty years, and most offensive to the U.S. copyright system, the mandate that signatories provide authors non-economic moral rights. Despite the international importance and widespread acceptance of the Berne Convention, the U.S. did not join the Convention for over one hundred years, making it one of …