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Articles 1 - 17 of 17
Full-Text Articles in Law
Taxing Creativity, Jeffrey A. Maine
Taxing Creativity, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
The recent sell offs of song catalogs by Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, and Mick Fleetwood for extraordinarily large sums of money raise questions about the law on creativity. While patent and copyright laws encourage a wide array of creative endeavors, tax laws governing monetization of creative works do not. The Songwriters Capital Gains Equity Act, in particular, solidifies creativity exceptionalism, exacerbates tax inequities among creators, and perpetuates racial disparities in the tax Code. This Article asserts that the law must encourage creativity from all creators. It is time to eliminate tax exceptionalism for musical compositions or expand its …
Attacking Innovation, Jeffrey A. Maine
Attacking Innovation, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
Economists generally agree that innovation is important to economic growth and that government support for innovation is necessary. Historically, the U.S. government has supported innovation in a variety of ways: (1) a strong legal system for patents; (2) direct support through research performed by government agencies, grants, loans, and loan guarantees; and (3) indirect support through various tax incentives for private firms. In recent years, however, we have seen a weakening of the U.S. patent system, a decline in direct funding of research, and a weakening of tax policy tools used to encourage new innovation. These disruptive changes threaten the …
Valuation Of Intellectual Property: Placing A Dollar Value On Technology (Or, Are Real-Options Real?), Gordon V. Smith
Valuation Of Intellectual Property: Placing A Dollar Value On Technology (Or, Are Real-Options Real?), Gordon V. Smith
Maine Law Review
Valuation professionals have for a long time been appraising business enterprises and their underlying assets. The “dot-com” New Economy has dramatically changed how businesses can do business and has introduced us to some new forms of intellectual property rights. Have these changes altered our valuation methodologies? Prior to the 1960s, when valuation professionals were faced with a situation in which the value of a business enterprise appeared to exceed the value of its underlying assets, the difference was ascribed to “goodwill” or “blue sky.” No real effort was made to identify the constituents of this catch-all category, it was simply …
Freeing The Mind: Free Software And The Death Of Proprietary Culture, Eben Moglen
Freeing The Mind: Free Software And The Death Of Proprietary Culture, Eben Moglen
Maine Law Review
The subject matter we are going to talk about is variously named and the words have some resonances of importance. I am going to use the phrase “Free Software” to describe this material, and I am going to suggest to you that the choice of words is relevant. We are talking not merely about a form of production or a system of industrial relations, but also about the beginning of a social movement with specific political goals, which will characterize not only the production of software in the twenty-first century, but the production and distribution of culture generally.
At&T V. Microsoft: Is This A Case Of Deepsouth Déjà Vu?, Christopher R. Rogers
At&T V. Microsoft: Is This A Case Of Deepsouth Déjà Vu?, Christopher R. Rogers
Maine Law Review
It has been stated many times by various courts that the patent laws of the United States do not reach beyond the borders of the United States. In an age of expanding world commerce, the territorial reach of our patent laws has sometimes made it difficult for U.S. inventors to meaningfully protect their intellectual property. For example, the Supreme Court holding in Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp. opened up a loophole that allowed unlicensed U.S. manufacturers to essentially export patented inventions, thereby trampling on the patent rights of U.S. patent holders selling to foreign markets. The Deepsouth loophole has …
Open Source Approaches In Biotechnology: Utopia Revisited, Yann Joly
Open Source Approaches In Biotechnology: Utopia Revisited, Yann Joly
Maine Law Review
Tracing its origin to Greek antiquity, intellectual property has become an institution in modern legal systems worldwide. This growing importance of intellectual property was confirmed with the 1994 adoption of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which harmonized the rules of intellectual property amongst the various members of the international community on the model of developed countries. However enshrined in the legal tradition, intellectual property law has also had its share of detractors and has recently come under severe criticism. The exercise of intellectual property rights in such diverse fields of creation …
A Virtue-Centered Approach To The Biotechnology Commons (Or, The Virtuous Penguin), David W. Opderbeck
A Virtue-Centered Approach To The Biotechnology Commons (Or, The Virtuous Penguin), David W. Opderbeck
Maine Law Review
The instrumentalist emphasis of the current biotechnology intellectual property rights (IPR) debate is not surprising. In the American tradition, intellectual property law has long been justified primarily by instrumentalist concerns. Thomas Jefferson famously acceded to the “embarrassment of patent and copyright monopolies because he believed a limited monopoly would encourage the production of new scholarship and inventions. The framers' willingness to allow this embarrassment for the greater good is enshrined in the Intellectual Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Countless judicial opinions refer to intellectual property law as a tool that provides necessary incentives to creators and innovators. Intellectual property …
Food Safety And Security In The Monsanto Era: Peering Through The Lens Of A Rights Paradigm Against An Onslaught Of Corporate Domination, Saby Ghoshray
Maine Law Review
Since our earliest ancestors’ desire for a better hunting weapon to procure food or a better storage facility to avoid spoilage, food safety and security has shaped human social and technological evolution like no other essential element. The need to procure food has shaped our civilization since the first human graced our planet. Food continues to be a pivotal force in humankind’s saga for life and death. Yet, despite stratospheric progress in scientific application surrounding food, food security and safety for all citizens continues to elude mankind. Why do some enjoy a feast, while others suffer in famine? This essay …
Taxing Facebook Code: Debugging The Tax Code And Software, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Taxing Facebook Code: Debugging The Tax Code And Software, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
This article sets out to analyze both intellectual property laws and tax systems as applied to software. The article also analyzes software within the intellectual property doctrinal framework, and examines both the federal and state tax systems governing software.
The Unequal Tax Treatment Of Intellectual Property, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
The Unequal Tax Treatment Of Intellectual Property, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
The tax treatment of intellectual property receives surprisingly little attention despite intellectual property's important role in the economy. In this article, Maine and Nguyen evaluate the fairness of the intellectual property tax system, identifying differences in the tax treatment of what appear to be similar transactions.
The History Of Intellectual Property Taxation: Promoting Innovation And Other Intellectual Property Goals?, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
The History Of Intellectual Property Taxation: Promoting Innovation And Other Intellectual Property Goals?, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
An important issue deserving scholarly attention concerns the proper role of the federal tax system in achieving intellectual property law's innovation objectives. The article traces the historic development of the specific tax rules governing intellectual property, identifies present areas of policy dissonance in the intersection of intellectual property and taxation, and calls for an appropriate legal framework for future intellectual property tax legislation.
Equity And Efficiency In Intellectual Property Taxation, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Equity And Efficiency In Intellectual Property Taxation, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
This article evaluates the Current US income tax regime governing intellectual property by focusing on the traditional principles of tax policy - tax fairness and efficiency. It highlights the shortcomings of the current tax system in fulfilling both of these tenets.
Giving Intellectual Property, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Giving Intellectual Property, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
The interdisciplinarity of intellectual property and taxation poses many challenges to the disparate existing norms in each field of law. This Article identifies and critiques the current tax regime governing the giving of intellectual property as a manifestation of the failure to understand the principles and policies underlying intellectual property and the firm. It proposes an incentives-based system that would encourage firms to extricate part of their repository of residual rights by surrendering their monopolistic ownership of intellectual property for the benefit of charitable organizations and, in turn, the development and growth of society.
Taxing Trademarks And Domain Names, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Taxing Trademarks And Domain Names, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
With the arrival of global electronic commerce transactions on the Internet, new forms of intellectual property rights, such as Internet domain names, have emerged. Today, Internet domain names are some companies' most valuable assets. Yet law professors, attorneys, and judges struggle with the legal nature of domain names, which is far from settled. Questions drawing recent attention include: How should domain names be valued? Can domain names be used as collateral in secured transactions, and how does one perfect a security interest in domain names? What will happen to domain names in bankruptcy?
Patent Donations And Tax Policy, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Patent Donations And Tax Policy, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
To achieve the policy goals of ultimate innovation, the government should provide incentives to encourage the patentees to donate, rather than abandon, their "orphan" patents to universities, hospitals, and other nonprofit organizations with research and development facilities that can properly exploit the patents. The authors advocate for the implementation of incentives that would encourage donors to surrender their monopolistic ownership of patents for the benefit of charitable organizations and, in tum, the development and growth of society.
Taxing The New Intellectual Property Right, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Taxing The New Intellectual Property Right, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine
Faculty Publications
How should the acquisition of domain names be treated under the current tax regime for intellectual property? This article proposes that domain names that function as source identifiers should be treated under the tax regime applicable to trademarks. Generic domain names, however, possess inherent goodwill that dictates different treatment.
The Effect Of Bankruptcy Upon A Firm Using Patents And Trademarks As Collateral, Lois R. Lupica
The Effect Of Bankruptcy Upon A Firm Using Patents And Trademarks As Collateral, Lois R. Lupica
Faculty Publications
The Bankruptcy Code sets forth an orderly process for the distribution of a debtor-in-bankruptcy's assets. This process has the effect of altering many of the procedural and substantive rights and obligations of the debtor, as well as of the debtor's creditors. Parties asserting a property interest in assets of a debtor in bankruptcy, however, must rely on nonbankruptcy law to determine the nature and extent of their property interests. The most commonly asserted interest by creditors involved in a bankruptcy are security interests.