Law Commons^™

Code Of Best Practices In Fair Use For Online Video, Peter A. Jaszi, Patricia Aufderheide

Copyright, Fair Use & Open Access

Until the release of these best practices, anyone uploading a video ran the risk of becoming inadvertently entangled in an industry skirmish, as media companies struggle to keep their programs from circulating on the internet. This document is a code of best practices created by a collaborative team of media scholars and lawyers, to help creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video, interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use in online video. The code identifies, among other things, six kinds of unlicensed uses of copyrighted material that may be considered fair, under certain …

Moral Philosophy, Information Technology, And Copyright, Wendy J. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

A plethora of philosophical issues arise where copyright and patent laws intersect with information technology. Given the necessary brevity of the chapter, my strategy will be to make general observations that can be applied to illuminate one particular issue. I have chosen the issue considered in MGM v. Grokster,² a recent copyright case from the U.S. Supreme Court Grokster, Ltd., provided a decentralized peer-to-peer technology that many people, typically students, used to copy and distribute music in ways that violated copyright law. The Supreme Court addressed the extent to which Grokster and other technology providers should be held …

Intellectual Property For Market Experimentation, Michael B. Abramowicz, John F. Duffy

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Intellectual property protects investments in the production of information, but the literature on the topic has largely neglected one type of information that intellectual property might protect: information about the market success of goods and services. A first entrant into a market often cannot prevent other firms from free-riding on information about consumer demand and market feasibility. Despite the existence of some first-mover advantages, the incentives to be the first entrant into a market may sometimes be inefficiently low, thereby giving rise to a net first-mover disadvantage and discouraging innovation. Intellectual property may counteract this inefficiency by providing market exclusivity, …

Famous For Fifteen Minutes: Ip And Internet Social Networking, Patricia S. Abril, Jonathan Darrow, Peter Ludlow, J. Michael Monahan

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Dangers Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Much Ado About Nothing?, Steve P. Calandrillo, Ewa A. Davison

Articles

In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at protecting copyright holders from those who might manufacture or traffic technology capable of allowing users to evade piracy protections on the underlying work. At its core, the DMCA flatly prohibits the circumvention of “technological protection measures” in order to gain access to copyrighted works, but provides no safety valve for any traditionally protected uses.

While hailed as a victory by the software and entertainment industries, the academic and scientific communities ties have been far less enthusiastic. The DMCA’s goal of combating piracy is …

Defending The Public Domain—The First Amendment, The Copyright Power, And The Potential Of Golan V. Gonzales, J. Blake Pinard

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Ipod Tax: Why The Digital Copyright System Of American Law Professors' Dreams Failed In Japan, Salil K. Mehra

University of Colorado Law Review

A number of prominent American law professors have endorsed the notion of a tax on digital recording and music file-sharing-call it an "iPod tax"--with the proceeds to be paid into a general fund. A clearinghouse representing rights-holders would monitor which works were downloaded and how often and then divvy up the iPod tax revenues to the individual rights-holders. Japan has run a very similar system since the early days of digital recording in 1993. This Article focuses on how Japanese experts decided that regulatory failures merited killing an extension of their existing system, including a proposed iPod tax. In particular, …

Teaching Rights Of Publicity: Blending Copyright And Trademark, Common Law And Statutes, And Domestic And Foreign Law, David S. Welkowitz, Tyler T. Ochoa

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Copyright Preemption Of Contracts, Christina Bohannan

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Darden V. Peters: Giving Deference Where Deference May Not Be Due, Raisa L. Michalek

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Making Copyright Whole: A Principled Approach To Copyright Exceptions And Limitations, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article suggests a path to develop a principled conceptualization for copyright of limitations and exceptions at the international level. The paper argues that, normatively, copyright has always sought to reflect a balance between protection and access. It demonstrates that this balance was present to the minds of the negotiators of the 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and may have been somewhat overlooked in revisions of the Convention. It was ultimately replaced by a three-step test designed to restrict the ability of individual legislators to create limitations and exceptions. The article also considers the …

Yours, Mine, And Ours: The Joint Authorship Conundrum For Sound Recordings, Abbott M. Jones

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In 2013, authors of sound recordings will have their first opportunity to exercise their right to terminate assignments made to record companies. Congress has yet to settle just who may claim authorship in, and thus the right to terminate assignments of, sound recordings. Record companies have responded to this uncertainty by including language in standard recording contracts purporting to declare sound recordings made under the contracts works made for hire, such that authorship would vest initially in the record companies themselves. If sound recordings fit within the scope of a work made for hire, these recording contracts would seal the …

User-Generated Content And The Future Of Copyright: Part One--Investiture Of Ownership, Steven Hetcher

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

While user-generated content (UGC) has been around for quite some time, the digital age has led to an explosion of new forms of UGC. Current UGC mega-sites, such as YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace, have given UGC a new level of significance, due to their ability to bring together large numbers of users to interact in new ways. The "user" in UGC generally refers to amateurs, but also includes professionals and amateurs aspiring to become professionals. "Generated" is synonymous with created, reflecting the inclusion of some minimal amount of creativity in the user's work. Finally, "content" refers to digital content, or …

Writer's Block, David Spratt

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Sharing Licenses For The Entertainment Media, Eric E. Johnson

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Sight, Sound And Meaning: Teaching Intellectual Property With Audiovisual Materials, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article addresses the author's experience using audiovisual materials from the Georgetown Intellectual Property Teaching Resources database. She used audiovisual materials extensively in class to allow students to see the subject matter of the cases rather than just reading verbal descriptions and enable them to apply the principles they read about to new, concrete examples. Many students in IP courses have special interests in music, film, or the visual arts, and the database allows her--and other teachers--to present materials that engage them. She found that students are more willing to speak up in class when they can see or hear …

Statute Of Anne-Imals: Should Copyright Protect Sentient Non-Human Creators?, Dane E. Johnson

Animal Law Review

This article explores questions of whether copyright protection can and should extend to works created by captive animals such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants. Commentators have considered similar questions in the artificial intelligence context and generally rejected the notion that computers can create works sufficiently free of human involvement to merit copyright protection. As our understanding of animal intelligence increases, however, the case for reconsideration of copyright’s constitutional and statutory boundaries becomes stronger. This article examines those boundaries and offers a proposal for granting limited copyrights to animals under a theory along the lines of David Favre’s equitable self-ownership concept.

Indirect Infringement From A Tort Law Perspective, Charles W. Adams

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Constitutional Idea-Expression Doctrine: Qualifying Congress’ Commerce Power When Protecting Intellectual Property Rights., Yavar Bathaee

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Towards A New Paradigm In Justifying Copyright: An Universalistic-Transcendental Approach., Christian G. Stallberg

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Copyright As Quasi-Public Property: Reinterpreting The Conflict Between Copyright And The First Amendment., Adrian Liu

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Drawing Idea From Expression: Creating A Legal Space For Culturally Appropriated Literary Characters, Jacqueline Lai Chung

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Private Use As Fair Use: Is It Fair?, Frances Grodzinsky, Maria C. Bottis

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

The age of digital technology has introduced new complications into the issues of fair and private use of copyrighted material. In fact, the question of private use of another's work has been transformed from a side issue in intellectual property jurisprudence into the very center of intellectual property discussions about rights and privileges in a networked world. This paper will explore the nuanced difference between fair and private use as articulated in the US and the European Copyright Laws. Part One will explain the legal use and meaning of fair use and its justifications. We maintain that it is almost …

Xm Lawsuit: Threats To The Incentive Model Of Copyright Genesis And The Obsolescence Of The Ahra In A Digital Age Of Hybrid Technology, Jay W. Ferguson

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article examines Atlantic Records Corp. v. XM Satellite Radio Inc. The current litigation offers a prime example of various ways in which the United States Copyright Act is unable to pace current technological trends with respect to the hybridization of technology. This article explores the nature of the current litigation and the fact that the litigation is entirely device-driven; the applicability, interpretation and purpose of the Audio Home Recording Act; threats to the incentive model of copyright genesis; and a call for device-neutral legislation that focuses on particular acts of infringement rather than measuring a device's capabilities as a …

Expanding Preferential Treatment Under The Record Rental Amendment Beyond The Music Industry, Ryan Vacca

Faculty Publications

This Article explores the development of copyright law's first sale doctrine and the Record Rental Amendment (RRA) in light of the Sixth Circuit's interpretation of the RRA in Brilliance Audio, Inc. v. Haights Cross Communications, Inc. This Article does not take issue with the court's conclusion, but instead uses the differing conclusions of the majority and dissent to illustrate that the RRA exception is in need of Congressional clarification. This Article also examines whether the Record Rental Amendment should be amended to include audiobooks and other non-musical works, concluding that they should. The author then proposes two alternative amendments to …

Expanding Preferential Treatment Under The Record Rental Amendment Beyond The Music Industry, Ryan G. Vacca

Akron Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores the development of copyright law’s first sale doctrine and the Record Rental Amendment (RRA) in light of the Sixth Circuit’s interpretation of the RRA in Brilliance Audio, Inc. v. Haights Cross Communications, Inc. This Article does not take issue with the court’s conclusion, but instead uses the differing conclusions of the majority and dissent to illustrate that the RRA exception is in need of Congressional clarification. This Article also examines whether the Record Rental Amendment should be amended to include audiobooks and other non-musical works, concluding that they should. The author then proposes two alternative amendments to …

The Confidentiality Of Seismic Data, Michael P. Simms, Van Penick

Dalhousie Law Journal

The authors review the common law, common contractual language and statutory law relating to the confidentiality of seismic information. The extent of the rights of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Boards to receive, use and make seismic data public is considered in light of freedom of information and protection of privacy legislation. The authors discuss the different treatment of specified user and speculative seismic data, and explore copyright.

Fair Use, "Fared Use," And Public Rights: Amending Section 107 - Draft - 08-19-2007, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Under provocative titles like "Fared Use', and '"the end of friction," commentators argue about the viability of copyright's fair use doctrine in a word of instantaneous transactions. As collecting societies such as the Copyright Clearance Center extend their licensing prowess, and Internet-based electronic commerce has made it possible to purchase digital copies with the click of a mouse, the suggestion is sometimes made that fair use could or should disappear. Decisions in the Second and Sixth Circuits have hinted that fair use may be foreclosed if a licensing market exists or is possible. The presence of "traditional, reasonable, or likely …

Second Draft Of The Public's Right To Fair Use - 2007, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Under provocative titles like "fared use" and "the end of friction," commentators argue about whether or not the doctrine of "fair use" should exist in a world of instantaneous transactions. As collecting societies like the Copyright Clearance Center become more powerful, and technologies like the internet have made it possible to purchase digital copies by clicking a mouse, the suggestion is sometimes made that fair use could or should disappear. Courts like the Second and Sixth Circuits have flirted with foreclosing fair use if a licensing market is present or possible. The presence of 'traditional, reasonable, or likely to be …

Draft Of The Public's Right To Fair Use - 2007, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Under provocative titles like "fared use" and "the end of friction," commentators argue about whether or not the doctrine of "fair use" should exist in a world of instantaneous transactions. As collecting societies like the Copyright Clearance Center become more powerful, and technologies like the internet have made it possible to purchase digital copies by clicking a mouse, the suggestion is sometimes made that fair use could or should disappear. Courts like the Second and Sixth Circuits have flirted with foreclosing fair use if a licensing market is present or possible. The presence of 'traditional, reasonable, or likely to be …