Law Commons^™

This Content Is Unavailable In Your Geographic Region: The United States' And The European Union's Implementation Of Anti-Circumvention Measures, Kyle Berry

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Recently, people streaming movies and TV shows have begun to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access content that streaming services restrict to certain geographic regions. Because of the ambiguity in international law and the implementation of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, domestic law fails to offer streaming services a recourse to sue foreign VPN users. The WIPO Copyright Treaty established an anti-circumvention provision that would seem to apply to using VPNs to stream from other countries. But because of the provision's ambiguity, many of the WIPO Copyright Treaty member countries have adopted different standards. This problem …

Intellectual Property As A Determinant Of Health, Ana S. Rutschman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Public health literature has long recognized the existence of determinants of health, a set of socioeconomic conditions that affect health risks and health outcomes across the world. The World Health Organization defines these determinants as “forces and systems” consisting of “factors combin[ing] together to affect the health of individuals and communities.” Frameworks relying on determinants of health have been widely adopted by countries in the global South and North alike, as well as international institutional players, several of which are direct or indirect players in transnational intellectual property (IP) policymaking. Issues raised by the implementation of IP policies, however, are …

Of Clusters And Assumptions: Innovation As Part Of A Full Trips Implementation, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Because TRIPS introduced a high(er) level of intellectual property protection in a number of developing countries, it provides an opportunity to examine the impact of the introduction of (property) rights on a variety of intangibles in legal systems from which those rights were absent. One question is whether, and if so how, 18th century European rules, updated in concert with other Western nations until 1989, can be successfully integrated into the social, cultural, economic and legal fabric of dozens of developing nations, and how success is measured in that context. TRIPS also allows us to consider the impact of high(er) …

Of Silos And Constellations: Comparing Notions Of Originality In Copyright Law, Daniel J. Gervais, Elizabeth F. Judge

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Originality is a central theme in the efforts to understand human evolution, thinking, innovation, and creativity. Artists strive to be "original," however the term is understood by each of them. It is also one of the major concepts in copyright law. This paper considers the evolution of the notion of originality since 2002 (when one of the coauthors published an article entitled Feist Goes Global: A Comparative Analysis Of The Notion Of Originality In Copyright Law) and continues the analysis, in particular whether the notion of "creative choices," which seems to have substantial normative heft in several jurisdictions, is optimal …

From Patchwork To Network: Strategies For International Intellectual Property In Flux, Paul E. Geller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Laws of intellectual property define what is bought and sold on media and technology markets, notably works, trademarks, and inventions. Laws and treaties have traditionally been made and enforced by nation-states operating in a patchwork of territories. Now, the media and technology marketplace is being globalized in digital networks. The law is only beginning to respond to this change.

To analyze this process in the field of intellectual property, this Article will consider the following questions: First, how is the patchwork of national laws lagging behind new networks in this field? Second, how does the international regime of intellectual property …

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 …

Intellectual Property Rights: The Issues In Gatt, David Hartridge, Arvind Subramanian

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the need for a multilateral framework to address the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPs). The authors trace the growing importance of TRIPs from its emergence at the Tokyo Round in 1978 to its present state as a major focus of multilateral negotiations at the Uruguay Round. A detailed discussion of existing GATT provisions and their relevance to intellectual property rights follows. The authors then describe the four major substantive issues related to TRIPs that are before the Negotiating Group: substantive standards of intellectual property protection; procedures for the enforcement of intellectual property protection; dispute settlement …

Sovereign Immunity: The Exception For Intellectual Or Industrial Property, Virginia Morris

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The doctrine of sovereign or state immunity exempts a state and its property from the judicial jurisdiction of any other state. The domestic courts of various nations have developed this doctrine over the years through cases in which private citizens have attempted to sue foreign states. Courts' enunciations of the principle of state immunity and their reasons for granting or denying the immunity are almost as numerous as the countries whose courts have faced this issue. The current work of the International Law Commission (the Commission) on the codification and the progressive development of the jurisdictional immunities of states and …

The European Patent System, Friedrich - Karl Beier

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The formation of the European patent system, which I have presented here only in part and which is still missing one essential element, the Common Market patent, constitutes a milestone in the development of international patent law. No event since the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 has so drastically changed the system of protection of inventions as the European patent system will. I do not except the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) signed in Washington in 1970 and entered into force over two years ago. It certainly overcomes the territorial approach of the Paris Convention in …