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Information May Want To Be Free, But Information Products Do Not: Protecting And Facilitating Transactions In Information Products, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga
Information May Want To Be Free, But Information Products Do Not: Protecting And Facilitating Transactions In Information Products, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga
Law Faculty Publications
Information products-products that are used to organize, provide context, and distribute information-have gone largely unprotected by intellectual property regimes. As a result, producers of information products, such as databases and software, have resorted to alternative mechanisms to protect their investments. These mechanisms have resulted in both over-protection and under-protection of the information products. Further, the uncertainty in the boundaries of coverage, coupled with the resort to self-help mechanisms, may well inhibit, rather than facilitate, information flow. What is needed is a sui generis protection scheme for information products that clearly defines the boundaries and protection requirements for these works and …
Copying In Patent Law, Christopher A. Cotropia
Copying In Patent Law, Christopher A. Cotropia
Law Faculty Publications
Patent law is virtually alone in intellectual property (IP) in punishing independent development. To infringe a copyright or trade secret, defendants must copy the protected IP from the plaintiff, directly or indirectly. But patent infringement requires only that the defendant's product falls within the scope of the patent claims. Not only doesn't the defendant need to intend to infringe, but the defendant may be entirely unaware of the patent or the patentee and still face liability. Nonetheless, copying does play a role in some subsidiary patent doctrines, including damages rules, willfulness, and obviousness. More significantly, the rhetoric of patent law …