Law Commons^™

International Copyright In Historical Context: Who Are The Real Pirates?, Paul G. St-Pierre

Charleston Library Conference

Copyright is usually justified with arguments about defending the natural right of authors to control their creations, or claims that limited monopolies spur innovation for the greater good of society. I contrarily assert that the primary intent of copyright has generally been to protect powerful industries in advanced countries and ensure control over emerging markets that rely on the importation of intellectual property.

As global trade expanded in the 19th century, a patchwork quilt of domestic copyright laws and bilateral treaties failed to stem rampant infringement that hurt publishers’ export revenues. Re-printers and readers, however, benefited from lower prices. The …

Libraries, Authors, And Literary Estates: The Complex Case Of Rosenbach V. Sendak (2016), Patrick Roughen

Charleston Library Conference

This research examines a lawsuit filed by the Rosenbach Museum and Library of Philadelphia in 2016 against the Estate of Maurice Sendak (1928–2012) to determine the distribution of some of Sendak’s collection of rare books. In the lawsuit, the Rosenbach claimed the executors of the Sendak estate had withheld a portion of the rare books to which it was entitled under Sendak’s will. This paper suggests possible ways in which institutions such as libraries, archives, and museums might anticipate and address some of the ownership-related problems that arise during the acquisition and/or loss of collections of an artist or author …

W&L Law Fall Scholarship Celebration 2019, Brant J. Hellwig, Christopher B. Seaman

Library Events

On October 15, 2019, the Washington and Lee Law Library hosted the third bi-annual W&L Law Fall Scholarship Celebration. The event was co-sponsored by the Frances Lewis Law Center and took place in the Law Library's main reading room from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

On display were dozens of scholarly articles, books, and chapters authored by the W&L Law faculty and student body during 2018 and 2019, with hundreds of additional works accessible online through the Scholarly Commons institutional repository.

Faculty, librarians, staff, and administrators mingled with law students over hors d'oeuvres and wine to peruse the formidable scholarly output …

Analog To Digital Preservation Of The “Women Trailblazers In The Law” Oral History Project, Camelia Naranch, Carol Wilson

Digital Initiatives Symposium

In November 2018, Stanford Law School Library unveiled to the public an online exhibit of more than 100 oral histories of American women lawyers, scholars, judges, and government officials who helped diversify the legal profession in the late twentieth century. Called the “Women Trailblazers in the Law” Oral History Project, it is a collaboration between Stanford Law School Library and the American Bar Association. Our presentation discusses the details of the analog to digital preservation process, whereby the physical collection was converted into digital formats suitable for long term archival storage as well as online access for the general public. …

Public Records Searching, Margaret Butler

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Shared websites for searching and finding public records.

Georgia And State Research Resources, Pamela C. Brannon

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Shares a variety of websites for gathering the state of Georgia and other state information from for legal research.

Electronic Publication Of The Law: Copyright And Contract Terms Of Use, Leslie Street

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Discusses the electronic publication of laws, including sites where laws are published, their copyright and terms of use.

Federal Law Research Using Govinfo.Gov, Patrick Parsons

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

This session gave those in attendance information on how to use govinfo.gov as a research tool for federal law.

Advanced Internet Research Techniques, Stephen Wolfson

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

This session provided tips for conducting advanced legal research on the internet including special operators for improving Google searches.

Rule 1.1 Duty Of Competency And Internet Research, Sharon Bradley

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Basically the world has changed and technology is the primary driver. The legal industry has changed and yet many lawyers still brag about their lack of technology skills. These skills are not advanced programming and software design. I am talking about the competent use of basic office applications. Service providers like RocketLawyer and LegalZoom prepare wills, contracts and articles of incorporation. It’s estimated that these providers are now at least an $8 billion industry. People that used to hire local attorneys are now using these services. Potential clients are also using online service to find and evaluate lawyers. The days …