Law Commons^™

Prospects For Developing Countries Under The Trips Agreement, Ruth L. Gana

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article focuses on the future impact of the TRIPs Agreement on developing countries with regard to patent and copyright protection. While some scholars have suggested that the intellectual property protection provided by the TRIPs Agreement significantly benefits developing countries just as well as such protection has benefited developed countries in terms of increased economic growth and development, the author of this Article disagrees. Upon close analysis of the TRIPs Agreement's impact on developing countries, including the use of illustrative examples and a case study of the People's Republic of China with regard to copyright protection, this author concludes that …

Art Speech, Marci A. Hamilton

Articles

Although many scholars have been in favor of providing first amendment protection for art, no one has offered a justification for its constitutional protection suited to art's singular capacities. Rather, commentators and courts have been inclined to place art under the rubric of general speech, which limits protection to ideas and content. Professor Hamilton argues that art offers significantly more than its content and deserves first amendment protection tailored to its particular potential. Art enables individuals to experience unfamiliar worlds and thereby to gain new perspectives on the prevailing status quo, including the government's. It performs this function without exposing …

Antitrust Liability Premised, Edward D. Cavanagh

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

This article will explore potential antitrust liability arising from attempted enforcement of invalid patents or trade secrets known to be invalid. A fundamental tension exists between the law of intellectual property and antitrust law. Federal patent laws and the state law doctrines of trade secrets confer on the holder exclusive rights to exploit an invention or creation and to exclude others from its use. The rationale of the patent laws and state intellectual property laws is to foster innovation and to provide inventors with protection for the fruits of their labor. By contrast, antitrust laws embody a public policy …

Artistic Parody: A Theoretical Construct, Sherri L. Burr

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Copyright And Computer Programs: It's All In The Definition, William F. Patry

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Precarious Balance: Moral Rights, Parody, And Fair Use, Geri J. Yonover

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Copyright And The Legislative Process: A Personal Perspective, William F. Patry

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Property (And Copyright) In Cyberspace, I. Trotter Hardy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Norms Of Communication And Commodification, Wendy J. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

Around the laws that regulate information and communication swarm a host of related nonlegal norms: norms of secrecy, confidentiality, and privacy; of anonymity, source-identity, and citation; of quotation, paraphrase, and hyperbole; norms of free copying and norms of obtaining permission; norms of gossip and of blackmail. The articles by Saul Levmore and Richard McAdams provide useful windows on some of the ways these laws and norms interact. The two articles also provide insight into the comparative advantage possessed in some circumstances by law and by nonlegal norms, respectively, when information and communication are at issue. In my brief Comment I …

New Wine Bursting From Old Bottles: Collaborative Internet Art, Joint Works, And Entrepreneurship, Margaret Chon

Faculty Articles

Some intellectual property colleagues recently urged Professor Chon to post this article on SSRN. She wrote it circa mid-90’s when information still wanted to be free and the predominant technology was still file transfer protocol. It seems this piece has stood the test of time because it was one of the first legal academic pieces to address the copyright implications of Internet works. Today in 2010, we are still grappling with the collaborative, dynamic and entrepreneurial characteristics of digital networked content. However, now it is created and distributed through different intermediaries such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

An Analysis Of The Nature And Impact Of Legal Complexities Facing United States Corporations Considering Investment Into The New South Africa, Philip R. Mcdougall

LLM Theses and Essays

Due to sanctions imposed against South Africa’s Apartheid government, the South African economy suffered as little international investment was made in the country. With these sanctions lifted following the democratic elections of 1994, South Africa is now an alluring country for international investment. Despite this attractiveness, U.S. corporations face many legal concerns before entering the South African economy. An analysis of these issues is made in the context of American and South African law with solutions proposed in an effort to avoid deterring foreign investment. These concerns include political and non-economic risks that often hinder investment in the African continent, …

The Effect Of Bankruptcy On Executory Contracts In General And On Licensing Agreements Of Intellectual Property In Particular, Alexandra Baumgartner

LLM Theses and Essays

11 U.S.C. § 365(a) provides that a bankruptcy trustee, subject to the court’s approval, may assume or reject any executory contract. What section § 365 does not provide is a clear definition for the term “executory contract.” This thesis covers the different definitions of executory contracts proposed by courts and scholars and common grounds for assumption and rejection by the trustee. The author in particular analyzes how § 365 interacts with licensing agreements. If a licensor files for bankruptcy and the license agreement is rejected, the licensee’s rights to use the licensed intellectual property are in jeopardy. This situation is …

The Continental Moral Rights Doctrine And Its Applicability In The United States Copyright System, Oswaldo Jose Quintana

LLM Theses and Essays

In the last half of the twentieth century, international copyright protection has become of much greater concern as the copyright industry has become supranational. Treaties enacted in the last ten years such as the Berne Convention Implementation Act, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, provide the highest copyright protection available at the international level. Global piracy has declined in the last several years because of these provisions. However, the adherence by the United States to these treaties has caused controversy; some maintain that it represents a major overhaul of federal law …

Cyberlaw And Social Change: A Democratic Approach To Copyright Law In Cyberspace, Niva Elkin-Koren

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Copyright Duration Extension And The Dark Heart Of Copyright, Marci A. Hamilton

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Copyright Term Extension Act Of 1995: Or How Publishers Managed To Steal The Bread From Authors, William F. Patry

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Marks Of Distinction: Rethinking Secondary Meaning Standards In Trademark Law After Qualitex V. Jacobson, Daniel I. Schloss

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Richard P. Klau

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

What a year! While it has only been ten months since we published our first issue, the progress made in the electronic publication of legal information has been incredible. When we published in April of 1995, many wondered whether or not we would have much company in cyberspace. There were those who scoffed at our efforts, saying that using the Internet as a publication medium was little more than a gimmick.

Does A Cultural Barrier To Intellectual Property Trade Exist? The Japanese Example, Toshiko Takenaka

Articles

What is the so-called "cultural barrier to intellectual property trade?" No definition for this phrase readily came to me when I began exploring the topic. Japanese intellectual property scholars and professionals strongly suspect that their U.S. counterparts, who find institutional or economic explanations for discrepancies between European and American business customs, nevertheless tend to attribute the differences between Japanese and American business practices to cultural differences. Three popular arguments offered to substantiate this "cultural barrier to intellectual property trade" theory are: (1) the application of the concepts of competition and monopoly to intangibles such as technology and ideas is foreign …

La Protection Aux Etats-Unis Des Oeuvres D'Art, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

In French
Les Etats-Unis sont un marche important d'oeuvres d'art, non seulement pour la vente des tableaux, mais aussi pour !'exploitation de reproductions et d'adaptations des images. Par exemple, en dehors des reproductions traditionnelles telles que celles contenues dans des catalogues et livres d'art et des reproductions sous forme de cartes postales et affiches, une oeuvre d'art originairement corn;ue comme une expression des beaux arts peut s'exploiter telle par exemple une sortie de bain, du papier peint, voire un decor de poubelle. Dans quelle mesure un artiste peut-il etre remunere ou meme s'opposer a J'exploitation commerciale de son oeuvre aux …

Compliance With Trips: The Emerging World View, Adrian Otten, Hannu Wager

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article provides an overview of the substantive provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The authors begin by explaining how the TRIPS Agreement signals a new emphasis on protecting intellectual property in the international trading system and the World Trade Organization. They then discuss the Agreement's obligations on substantive protection, as well as its enforcement and dispute resolution mechanisms. Finally, the authors address the international plans for the Agreement's implementation and administration. Otten and Wager conclude that, while it does not solve all the problems related to international intellectual property matters, the TRIPS Agreement …

Prospects And Limits Of The Patent Provision In The Trips Agreement: The Case Of India, Martin J. Adelman, Sonia Baldia

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article analyzes the impact of TRIPS on the pharmaceutical industry in India, an industry that has traditionally taken a "free-ride" on the technological developments of other nations. The authors discuss the patent system in India prior to TRIPS and India's long-term refusal to join the Paris Convention regarding intellectual property.

In the past, India had limited protection for technology. Some areas--food, pharmaceuticals, and products made by processes--received no patent protection at all. TRIPS changed this system and also changed the compulsory licensing and license of right provisions that limited patent protection in India. The authors argue that all people--scientists …

International Copyright: An Unorthodox Analysis, Hugh C. Hansen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Professor Hansen reviews the development of copyright from its traditional domestic orientation to the modern emphasis on globalization and harmonization. His commentary analogizes modem trends in International copyright to religious equivalents. He notes that the current players include a "secular priesthood" (the traditional copyright bar and academics), "agnostics and atheists" (newer academics and lawyers, particularly those concerned with technology and the culture of the public domain) and "missionaries" (whose task it is to increase copyright protection around the world and who are primarily driven by trade considerations). The copyright "crusade" has been driven by this last group.

The author compares …

Trips--Natural Rights And A "Polite Form Of Economic Imperialism", A. S. Oddi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article discusses the current predominance of natural rights theory in the area of intellectual property and of patents in particular. Due to the alleged problems of international theft and pirating of patents, the recent GATT negotiations saw intellectual property law come to center stage in the debate over trade. These negotiations concluded that trade-related aspects of intellectual property law can no longer be left to the public policy of individual countries, but require new international minimum standards.

The author discusses how the basic principles of natural rights theory have been used to convince the world community to move toward …

Goodbye To All That--A Reluctant (And Perhaps Premature) Adieu To A Constitutionally-Grounded Discourse Of Public Interest In Copyright Law, Peter A. Jaszi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Jaszi suggests that there is a need to develop new, policy-grounded arguments against expansionist legislative and judicial tendencies in copyright that diminish the traditional public domain. In recent years, he contends, a new understanding of the purposes of a copyright system has emerged, which has changed the U.S. copyright discourse in support of increased proprietary rights. According to Professor Jaszi, the objective of this new understanding is to improve the competitive position of companies that have significant investments in Inventories of copyrighted works. Recognizing the Uruguay Round Amendments Act (URAA) as an episode in this new …

Commentary: The International Intellectual Property Order Enters The 21st Century, Frederick M. Abbott

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Commentary followed presentation of the first two articles in this volume at a meeting on the TRIPS Agreement. The commentator first reflects on the theme of Professor Oddi's article, and suggests that the TRIPS Agreement must be evaluated in the broad context of the Uruguay Round bargain. He observes that the potential economic impact of the TRIPS Agreement on global economic development is of central concern, and that much work remains to be done both in refining economic analysis of the Agreement, and in addressing developmental issues. The commentator then discusses renewed interest in the activities of WIPO, and …

Compliance With The Trips Agreement: Introduction To A Scholarly Debate, J. H. Reichman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The first symposium held on the proposals to include intellectual property rights within the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations' was published by The Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law in 1989. It seemed only fitting to return to this same Journal with a retrospective evaluation of the finished product by members of the American Association of Law Schools' (AALS) Intellectual Property Section in 1996. That product is Annex IC of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement), better known as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement or Agreement). This Agreement has already …

The Trips Agreement: Imperialistic, Outdated, And Overprotective, Marci A. Hamilton

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

According to Professor Hamilton, the TRIPS Agreement constructs international copyright law in the image of Western, Protestant-based capitalist copyright law. She suggests that the Agreement imposes presuppositions about human value, effort, and reward that contain political, sociological, and legal ramifications. In fact, the Agreement, with its focus upon valuing individual human creative achievement, could spur further developments in Western-based human rights in the rest of the world. By transplanting Western ideas to the rest of the world, TRIPS may actually encourage anti-authoritarian revolution. She further suggests that the TRIPS Agreement seeks to establish a free market of intellectual property goods. …

Trade, Competition, And Intellectual Property--Trips And Its Antitrust Counterparts, Eleanor M. Fox

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the interface between TRIPS' protection of intellectual property rights and antitrust law, and the extent to which TRIPS invites a counterpart agreement that would internationalize intellectual property antitrust rules.

Professor Fox argues that TRIPS does not call for internationalizing antitrust law, and that even developing countries, which might find a greater need for antitrust protection against abuse of dominance after TRIPS, might be better served by developing and enforcing a national antitrust law of their own.

She argues that TRIPS does, however, contemplate some limits to antitrust, lest antitrust enforcement impair protections guaranteed by TRIPS. Professor Fox …

Worldwide Copyright Protection Under The Trips Agreement, Eric H. Smith

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The author begins by analyzing the purposes of the TRIPS Agreement. He then discusses piracy losses on a regional and global basis, emphasizing industry-based variations and the economic impact of these losses. Mr. Smith then examines several of the key implementation problems surrounding TRIPS, including the use of transition phase-in periods for developing countries, and the availability of civil and criminal sanctions. Finally, he highlights other specific portions of the TRIPS Agreement that may engender future controversy.