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Copyright Preemption And The Right Of Publicity, Jennifer E. Rothman
Copyright Preemption And The Right Of Publicity, Jennifer E. Rothman
All Faculty Scholarship
This article addresses the conflict between an ever-expanding right of publicity and the federally guaranteed rights provided by copyright law. This conflict is highlighted in the Wendt v. Host International case in which the actors George Wendt and John Ratzenberger from Cheers used the right of publicity to prevent the show's creators from licensing the use of the Norm and Cliff characters in the decor of a chain of airport bars. Even though the licensing of the characters was explicitly allowed under copyright law, the Ninth Circuit held that the right of publicity prevented the creators from doing so. Similarly, …
Doctrine Of Equivalents: Is Festo The Right Decision For The Biomedical Industry., Faith S. Fillman
Doctrine Of Equivalents: Is Festo The Right Decision For The Biomedical Industry., Faith S. Fillman
St. Mary's Law Journal
The doctrine of equivalents, which Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co. threatens to overturn, is an equitable doctrine and should therefore provide patentees and competitors equal and fair protection. Prior to Festo, the Federal Circuit used two approaches: the complete bar rule and the flexible bar rule. Under the complete bar rule, the author must completely copy the patented art for infringement to occur, this is otherwise known as literal infringement. In contrast, under the flexible bar rule, infringement can occur if the product is closely related to the prior art. Federal Circuits have officially adopted the complete …