Law Commons^™

Irreconcilable Differences? The Geneva Act Of The Lisbon Agreement And The Common Law, Daniel Gervais

Daniel J Gervais

India Eases Foreign Investment Rules For Retail (November 2015).Pdf, Sonia Baldia

Sonia Baldia

No abstract provided.

Section By Section Commentary On The Tpp Final Ip Chapter Published 5 November 2015 – Part 2 – Copyright, Kimberlee G. Weatherall

Kimberlee G Weatherall

This note comments on the TPP copyright provisions (final text). It also compares each provision to multilateral and bilateral treaties. The material here is necessarily preliminary and does not purport to be complete. It is published on the basis that it may assist others’ analysis and commentary

Section By Section Commentary On The Tpp Final Ip Chapter Published 6 November 2015 – Part 1 – General Provisions, Trade Mark, Gis, Designs, Kimberlee G. Weatherall

Kimberlee G Weatherall

This note comments on the TPP general provisions and rules on trade mark, GIs, and designs. It also compares each provision to multilateral and bilateral treaties. The material here is necessarily preliminary and does not purport to be complete. It is published on the basis that it may assist others’ analysis and commentary.

Section By Section Commentary On The Tpp Final Ip Chapter Published 5 November 2015 – Part 3 - Enforcement, Kimberlee G. Weatherall

Kimberlee G Weatherall

This note comments on the TPP IP enforcement provisions (final text). It also compares each provision to multilateral and bilateral treaties. The material here is necessarily preliminary and does not purport to be complete. It is published on the basis that it may assist others’ analysis and commentary. Note: version 0.1 adds fn 1 reference to Bridy on ISP safe harbors.

Socio-Economic Aspects Of Geographical Indications, Irene Calboli, Daniel J. Gervais

Irene Calboli

Iran Sanctions Relief: Status & Prospects, Perry S. Bechky

Perry S. Bechky

This talk, given to a European trade association, describes the sanctions relief given by the US Government to Iran as part of the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It places this sanctions relief in historical context and flags the significance of ongoing sanctions for both US and non-US businesses. Finally, it urges businesses doing or contemplating business with Iran to anticipate, manage, and allocate risks. (Powerpoint slides)

The Quest For A New Generation Of Labor Chapter In The Ttip, Michele Faioli

Michele Faioli

The TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement) may be key for the EU-US forthcoming vision of labor and industrial relations. More in general, it may be key for idea of a possible common Western labor legal system. The TTIP may be turned into a occasion to ground a new generation of labor chapters in investment/partnership treaties. In line with preliminary outputs, a practical proposal is introduced. This essay is also aimed at analyzing, under a critical legal approach, why, to what extent and how the TTIP labor chapter may be set up. By means of a de-constructive method in …

El Interés Público Y Los Acuerdos De Inversión: Un Gran Reto Para El Atp, William Schubert, Andrea Ernst

William Schubert

Ésta columa argumenta que las negociaciones del Acuerdo Tras-Pacifico son una buena oportunidad para reconocer el rol del interés público en un acuerdo multilateral de inversión.

The Extraterritorial Reach Of Sovereign Debt Enforcement, 12 Berkeley Bus. L.J. 111 (2015), Karen H. Cross

Karen Halverson Cross

A significant barrier to enforcing sovereign debt obligations in U.S. court has been finding and attaching non-immune assets of the foreign sovereign debtor. In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in litigation between Argentina and hedge fund NML Capital that will significantly benefit creditors in the enforcement process. In one decision, the Court affirmed an order to compel banks to provide information as to how Argentina moves its monetary assets around the world, finding that the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) does not limit a court's power to order post-judgment discovery. In the other decision, the Court …

Proceedings Of The Third Annual Legal & Policy Issues In The Americas Conference (2002) -- V. The Export Of Medical Supplies And Agriculture Products In Cuba -- D. Cuban Economic Relations, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

Proceedings of the Third Annual Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas Conference (2002)

An Interdisciplinary Introduction To Legal Transparency: A Tool For Rational Development, 18 Dick. J. Int'l L. 293 (2000), William B.T. Mock

William B.T. Mock

No abstract provided.

Cumulation Of Import Statistics In Injury Investigations Before The International Trade Commission, 7 Nw. J. Int'l L. & Bus. 433 (1986), William B.T. Mock

William B.T. Mock

No abstract provided.

Developing An International Carbon Tax Regime, Steven Specht

Steven Specht

As atmospheric CO2 remains in the range of 400 ppm, it is necessary to find new international coordination to deal with climate change. The best way forward is an international regime of harmonized domestic carbon taxes. By agreeing to a minimum amount of taxation on domestic, point-source producers, money can be set aside for adaptation costs and alternative means of energy production. Finally, such a plan will overcome the problem of non-participation of countries in agreements like the Kyoto Protocol. As this is a treaty dealing with economics and trade, countries can place taxes on imports of non-participatory countries under …

International Activity And Domestic Law, Adam I. Muchmore

Adam I. Muchmore

This essay explores the ways States use their domestic laws to regulate activities that cross national borders. Domestic-law enforcement decisions play an underappreciated role in the development of international regulatory policy, particularly in situations where the enforcing State's power to apply its law extraterritorially is not contested. Collective action problems suggest there will be an undersupply of enforcement decisions that promote global welfare and an oversupply of enforcement decisions that promote national welfare. These collective action problems may be mitigated in part by government networks and other forms of regulatory cooperation.

Private Regulation And Foreign Conduct, Adam I. Muchmore

Adam I. Muchmore

Current U.S. policy on safety regulation for imported food is based largely on ex post measures. Several reform proposals seek to strengthen the ex ante component of this regulatory program. These proposals rely on one or more of three basic strategies: direct extraterritorial regulation; delegation of regulatory authority to private entities; and delegation of regulatory authority to foreign government agencies. This paper explores the ability of each strategy to respond to several principal-agent problems relevant to imported-food safety: the regulatory license problem; interest group capture; and the reality of bribery and threats in many food-exporting countries. Through the lens of …

International Trade V. Intellectual Property Lawyers: Globalization And The Brazilian Legal Profession, Vitor M. Dias

Vitor M. Dias

No abstract provided.

Using Occam’S Razor To Solve International Attorney-Client Privilege Choice Of Law Issues: An Old Solution To A New Problem, Nathan M. Crystal, Francesca Giannoni-Crystal

Nathan M. Crystal

The practice of law is increasingly becoming “delocalized.” Globalization and the use of technology are two important factors in this fundamental change in practice. Delocalization is affecting almost all areas of practice, including issues involving attorney-client privilege (ACP). To some extent the choice-of-law rules governing ACP are also – like other fields of the law - being “delocalized,” but in our view only partially. This paper discusses six approaches to choice of law issues governing ACP that are being used by the courts. Aside from the traditional lex loci approach (which simply applies the law of the forum to the …

The Chamber Of Secrets: The Repudiation Of The Isds, Emanuela Matei

Emanuela A. Matei

The unlawfulness of the intra-EU BITs, the experiences of the new Member States unremittingly involved in investor-to state disputes and the tumultuous debates during the T-TIP negotiations are first and foremost examined from a legal perspective underlining the clash between a system designed for preferential treatment and the EU legal order based on the prohibition of discrimination. The ISDS clause represents an attribute of procedural inequality, which is furthermore convoluted by the constitutional structure of the Union i.e. the strictly limited access of private persons to supranational courts. This article enlarges the scope of the review of incompatibility by placing …

Access To Medicines, Brics Alliances, And Collective Action, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Most discussions on the public health implications of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights focus on the right of less developed countries to issue compulsory licenses and the need for these countries to exploit flexibilities within the TRIPs Agreement. However, there are other means by which countries can enhance access to essential medicines. To provide an illustration of these other means, this article explores the possibility for greater collaboration among the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and between these countries and other less developed countries.

This article begins by offering a brief …

Teaching International Intellectual Property Law, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Intellectual property law was in the backwater only a few decades ago. The Section on Intellectual Property Law of the Association of American Law Schools was not even founded until the early 1980s, and the creation of intellectual property specialty programs has been only a recent phenomenon. As senior legal scholars reminisce, early in their career, they would have been lucky to find a school that would allow them to teach a class on intellectual property law. Although intellectual property law teaching has come of age in the past decade, international intellectual property law courses remain nonexistent in more than …

The Middle Kingdom And The Intellectual Property World, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Delivered as the keynote opening address at the Symposium on "China's Role in Regulating the Global Information Economy," this Article scrutinizes China's participation in the international intellectual property regime and its role in both the WTO and WIPO. It begins by discussing China's engagement with international intellectual property norms before its accession to the WTO in December 2001. It points out that China is not a "norm breaker" one typically infers from its disappointing record of intellectual property protection. Instead, the country should be viewed as a "norm taker," having accepted most of the WIPO-administered intellectual property treaties available for …

Moral Rights 2.0, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

When the protection of moral rights is brought up in the United States, commentators have always emphasized the differences between continental Europe and the United States.2 Cases that have been widely used as textbook illustrations include Soc. Le Chant de Monde v. Soc. Fox Europe3 and Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston.4 While the Anglo-American copyright regime and the French author’s right (droit d’auteur) regime were quite similar in the eighteenth century, 5 the protection of moral rights did not attain formal international recognition until 1928.6 The gap between the U.S. and French systems has also grown considerably since the enactment …

Toward A Nonzero-Sum Approach To Resolving Global Intellectual Property Disputes: What Can We Learn From Mediators, Business Strategists, And International Relations Theorists, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Countries differ in terms of their levels of wealth, economic structures, technological capabilities, political systems, and cultural tradition. No two countries have the same needs or goals. As a result, policymakers face different political pressures and make different value judgments as to what would best promote the creation and dissemination of intellectual works in their own countries. These uncoordinated judgments eventually result in a conflicting set of intellectual property laws around the world. As countries become increasingly interdependent in this globalized economy, these conflicting laws create tension and sometimes result in disputes. To minimize differences and prevent conflicts, countries use …

Still Dissatisfied After All These Years: Intellectual Property, Post-Wto China, And The Avoidable Cycle Of Futility, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Commentators have widely discussed the piracy and counterfeiting problems in China. Every year, the United States is estimated to lose billions of dollars due to piracy and counterfeiting in the country alone. Published as part of the U.S.-China Trade: Opportunities and Challenges Symposium, this Essay focuses on the recent debate about whether the U.S. administration should file a formal complaint against China with the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization over inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights.

The Essay begins by articulating four reasons why the administration should not do so. It then compares the approach recently proposed …

The Alphabet Soup Of Transborder Intellectual Property Enforcement, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

n the past few years, policymakers, academic commentators, consumer advocates, civil liberties groups, and user communities have expressed grave concerns about the steadily increasing levels of enforcement of intellectual property rights. Many of these concerns relate to the "alphabet soup" of transborder intellectual property enforcement, which consists of the following: SECURE, IMPACT, ACTA, TPP, COICA, PIPA, SOPA, and OPEN.

Published in the inaugural issue of Drake Law Review Discourse, this short essay identifies six different concerns and challenges the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) poses to U.S. consumers, technology developers, and small and midsize firms. It then explores the ongoing negotiation …

Three Questions That Will Make You Rethink The U.S.-China Intellectual Property Debate, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

The debate on China's piracy and counterfeiting problems has been ongoing for more than two decades. However, in the past few years, this debate has taken on a new sense of urgency and significance. In August 2008, the City of Beijing will host the Summer Olympic Games. Two years later, the 2010 World Expo will be held in Shanghai. In addition, two World Trade Organization dispute settlement panels were recently established to resolve disputes between China and the United States over inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights and inadequate market access to U.S. media products. All of these developments, of …

World Trade, Intellectual Property, And The Global Elites: An Introduction, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Extract: Traditionally, intellectual property lawmaking is a matter of domestic affairs. Without external interference, governments make value judgments as to what would best promote the creation and dissemination of intellectual works in their own countries. Combined together, these disparate judgments form an intellectual property system that is tailored to the country's level of wealth, economic structure, technological capability, political system, and cultural tradition. To protect authors and inventors, governments sometimes need to make adjustments to their intellectual property systems in exchange for better protection abroad. In those scenarios, policymakers often evaluate the adjustments carefully to make sure that they correspond …

Trips And Its Achilles' Heel, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Written for the "15 Years of TRIPS Implementation" Symposium, this article examines why the TRIPS Agreement fails to provide effective global enforcement of intellectual property rights. It attributes such failure to five sets of challenges: historical, economic, tactical, disciplinary, and technological.

The article then outlines the various actions taken by both developed and less developed countries to steer the TRIPS Agreement and the larger international intellectual property system toward their preferred positions. While developed countries push for the development of stronger enforcement norms, less developed countries resist those demands and complain about the use of bilateral, plurilateral, and regional trade …

Trips And Its Discontents, Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

The TRIPs Agreement was established at the ministerial meeting in Marrakesh in April 1994. Since its establishment, many less developed countries have become dissatisfied with the international intellectual property system. From their perspective, the system fails to take into consideration their needs, interests, and local conditions. The strong protection mandated by the Agreement also threatens their much-needed access to information, knowledge, and essential medicines.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the TRIPs Agreement. It provides an excellent opportunity to assess the Agreement's achievements and shortfalls, in particular its impact on the international community as well as on other areas …