Law Commons^™

Protecting First World Assets In The Third World: Intellectual Property Negotiations In The Gatt Multilateral Framework, Frederick M. Abbott

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article addresses industrialized countries' growing concerns over technology transfer and their efforts to obtain protection of intellectual property rights under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Mr. Abbott analyzes the intellectual property problem in the context of the GATT framework and the weakness of current intellectual property protection. Developing countries do not accept the United States contention either that intellectual property is covered implicitly by the GATT or that the current lack of protection reflects a fundamental flaw in the General Agreement. Mr. Abbott focuses on this disagreement in laying out the framework for possible solutions, which …

Intellectual Property In International Trade: Opportunities And Risks Of A Gatt Connection, J. H. Reichman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Professor Reichman uncovers a paradox at the heart of the debate about bringing international intellectual property relations within a GATT Code of Conduct. On the one hand, the industrialized countries that subscribe to free-market principles at home want to impose a highly regulated market for intellectual goods on the rest of the world, one in which authors and inventors may "reap where they have sown." On the other hand, the developing countries that restrict free competition at home envision a totally unregulated world market for intellectual goods, one in which "competition is the lifeblood of commerce." To unravel this paradox, …

Intellectual Property Rights And The Gatt: United States Goals In The Uruguay Round, Mark L. Damschroder

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The pursuit of protection of IP rights is a valuable goal both for the United States and the rest of the world community. Such rights promote creativity and the advancement of knowledge, as well as fuel the domestic economy and improve the position of the United States vis-a-vis the other trading nations of the world. With the growing interdependence of the global economy, there is no time like the present to lay the foundation for a system of dispute settlement of such trade matters. Economic interdependence will continue to increase, and the problems of international trade in, and piracy of, …

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 …

Renewal Of The Gsp: An Explanation Of The Program And Changes Made By The 1984 Legislation, Frank A. Hirsch, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note outlines the purpose, scope and operation of the GSP from 1976 until 1984. Both the initial authorizing legislation and the 1984 Trade Act are analyzed. The 1979 modifications made in the Trade Agreement Act are briefly discussed where they are relevant. The 1984 Trade Act changes are detailed, with commentary on the manner in which the renewed GSP differs materially from prior law, and with discussion of the underlying policies and significance of the changes. The Note concludes with comments on the diverse objectives of the United States GSP scheme, its evolving nature, and prospects for continuation of …

The Validity Of The Manufacturing Clause Of The United States Copyright Code As Challenged By Trade Partners And Copyright Owners, Annette V. Tucker

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Trade treaty partners recently have determined that the manufacturing clause violates United States obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). If the clause does violate GATT, sanctions may be imposed unless the clause is eliminated. Even so, two bills have been introduced in the United States Congress to make the clause a permanent feature of the copyright law, and to apply the manufacturing requirement to all printed materials. Meanwhile, a group of United States publishers and authors is challenging the clause in court, claiming it violates both the first and fifth amendments to the United States Constitution. …

Parallel Importation--Legitimate Goods Or Trademark Infringement?, W. Weldon Wilson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Conflicts in interpretations of section 42 of the Lanham Act and section 526 of the Tariff Act of 1930 have led to divergent results in several federal courts. Although advocates on each side of the controversy present valid arguments supporting their positions, the dispute should be resolved by analyzing the purpose of the Lanham Act and the Tariff Act. The goal of these acts is protection of consumers and United States industry. Strict application of these statutes would achieve this result. Parallel imports provide goods at lower prices but confuse the consumer as to the origin of the goods and …

Technology Transfer As An Issue In North/South Negotiations, Homer O. Blair

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

For a number of years, negotiations have been taking place on an international scale, usually under the auspices of the United Nations or one of its specialized agencies, on a wide variety of subjects involving technology transfer between the developed countries (the North) and the less developed or developing countries (the South). Three primary groups are involved in the United Nations negotiations. The first is known as the Group of 77, which now includes more than 120 developing countries, including countries in South and Central America, Africa, and Asia. Within this group the degree of development varies from countries such …

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 …

The Technology Transfer Process: A Vehicle For Continuity And Change, Robert Goldscheider

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The technology transfer or licensing process is a discipline which, if properly appreciated, can be utilized in a wide variety of circumstances. There is a strong parallel with another discipline, music--more particularly, with the playing of a large and complicated church organ.

A man named Johann Sebastian Bach could sit in a drafty church in Leipzig over 200 years ago and create a phenomenon that had an original, and to the ears of most listeners, very wonderful sound. By utilizing the universally recognized notations of music, the staff, clefs, notes of varying duration, sharps, flats, keys, and indications of loudness …

Recent Decisions, Gayle B. Carlson, Michael P. Coury, Celia J. Collins, Spencer M. Sax

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE-ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE DOES NOT PRECLUDE ADJUDICATION OF ANTITRUST CLAIM INVOLVING ALLEGED FRAUDULENT PROCUREMENT OF FOREIGN PATENTS

Gayle B. Carlson

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ADMIRALTY-DAMAGES FOR WRONGFUL DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS ARE LIMITED TO PECUNIARY LOSS

Michael P. Coury

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ANTITRUST-E.E.C. TREATY-JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT THAT OPERATES TO PRECLUDE ENTRY INTO A GEOGRAPHIC MARKET IS PROHIBITED UNDER ARTICLE 85 OF THE E.E.C. TREATY

Celia J. Collins

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-TEAS STATUTE'S DENIAL OF FREE EDUCATION TO ILLEGAL ALIENS VIOLATES EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE AND IS PREEMPTED BY THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT

Spencer M. Sax

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SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY-FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITIES ACT …

Book Reviews, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Since there has never been an era in which as much aggregate contemplation has been expended on the problems involved in the protection of literary property, Professor Patterson's book is both timely and important. The issues involved are being widely debated and discussed, but unfortunately much of the current discussion appears to be proceeding more from emotion, oratory, and vested concern than from detached and dispassionate logic. For this reason especially, the scholarly, sound history in Professor Patterson's new monograph is certain to be welcome, as it cuts through four centuries of continuing obfuscation and confusion and clarifies considerably the …