Law Commons^™

Intellectual Property Pirates: Congress Raises The Stakes In The Modern Battle To Protect Copyrights And Safeguard The United States Economy Comment., Timothy D. Howell

St. Mary's Law Journal

Intellectual property pirates menace the industry by hijacking audio recordings, movies, television broadcasts, and software—posing an economic threat and accounting for billions of dollars in losses annually. This Comment examines legislative attempts to combat information piracy through criminalization of copyright infringement—focusing on the proposed Criminal Copyright Improvement Act of 1995 (Improvement Act). The Improvement Act contemplates expansion of criminal copyright infringement law, attempting to close the legal “loophole” exposed by United States v. LaMacchia, and providing a more effective means for deterring copyright piracy. Part II of this Comment provides a historical overview of United States copyright laws and introduces …

Trips Boomerang--Obligations For Domestic Reform, Harold C. Wegner

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Today, one of the biggest obstacles facing inventors is the problem of patent harmonization. Inventors, who spend their time, money, and resources to develop new technology, are faced with the problem of ensuring that their new development receives patent protection not only in their home countries, but also worldwide. This problem is complicated by the fact that the United States maintains a different patent filing process than most other developed nations. Efforts of the international community to harmonize these different approaches, however, have been only partially successful.

In this Article, Professor Wegner examines the latest attempt by the international community …

Antitrust Liability Premised, Edward D. Cavanagh

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

This article will explore potential antitrust liability arising from attempted enforcement of invalid patents or trade secrets known to be invalid. A fundamental tension exists between the law of intellectual property and antitrust law. Federal patent laws and the state law doctrines of trade secrets confer on the holder exclusive rights to exploit an invention or creation and to exclude others from its use. The rationale of the patent laws and state intellectual property laws is to foster innovation and to provide inventors with protection for the fruits of their labor. By contrast, antitrust laws embody a public policy …

Compliance With Trips: The Emerging World View, Adrian Otten, Hannu Wager

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article provides an overview of the substantive provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The authors begin by explaining how the TRIPS Agreement signals a new emphasis on protecting intellectual property in the international trading system and the World Trade Organization. They then discuss the Agreement's obligations on substantive protection, as well as its enforcement and dispute resolution mechanisms. Finally, the authors address the international plans for the Agreement's implementation and administration. Otten and Wager conclude that, while it does not solve all the problems related to international intellectual property matters, the TRIPS Agreement …

Prospects And Limits Of The Patent Provision In The Trips Agreement: The Case Of India, Martin J. Adelman, Sonia Baldia

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article analyzes the impact of TRIPS on the pharmaceutical industry in India, an industry that has traditionally taken a "free-ride" on the technological developments of other nations. The authors discuss the patent system in India prior to TRIPS and India's long-term refusal to join the Paris Convention regarding intellectual property.

In the past, India had limited protection for technology. Some areas--food, pharmaceuticals, and products made by processes--received no patent protection at all. TRIPS changed this system and also changed the compulsory licensing and license of right provisions that limited patent protection in India. The authors argue that all people--scientists …

Trips--Natural Rights And A "Polite Form Of Economic Imperialism", A. S. Oddi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article discusses the current predominance of natural rights theory in the area of intellectual property and of patents in particular. Due to the alleged problems of international theft and pirating of patents, the recent GATT negotiations saw intellectual property law come to center stage in the debate over trade. These negotiations concluded that trade-related aspects of intellectual property law can no longer be left to the public policy of individual countries, but require new international minimum standards.

The author discusses how the basic principles of natural rights theory have been used to convince the world community to move toward …

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 …

Trade, Competition, And Intellectual Property--Trips And Its Antitrust Counterparts, Eleanor M. Fox

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the interface between TRIPS' protection of intellectual property rights and antitrust law, and the extent to which TRIPS invites a counterpart agreement that would internationalize intellectual property antitrust rules.

Professor Fox argues that TRIPS does not call for internationalizing antitrust law, and that even developing countries, which might find a greater need for antitrust protection against abuse of dominance after TRIPS, might be better served by developing and enforcing a national antitrust law of their own.

She argues that TRIPS does, however, contemplate some limits to antitrust, lest antitrust enforcement impair protections guaranteed by TRIPS. Professor Fox …

Worldwide Copyright Protection Under The Trips Agreement, Eric H. Smith

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The author begins by analyzing the purposes of the TRIPS Agreement. He then discusses piracy losses on a regional and global basis, emphasizing industry-based variations and the economic impact of these losses. Mr. Smith then examines several of the key implementation problems surrounding TRIPS, including the use of transition phase-in periods for developing countries, and the availability of civil and criminal sanctions. Finally, he highlights other specific portions of the TRIPS Agreement that may engender future controversy.

The Greening Of Technology Transfer: A Conference Summary, William O. Hennessey

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Hennessey briefly reports on an international conference that explored the relationship between patent and other intellectual property laws and those designed to protect the environment and maintain biodiversity.

Copyright, Jessica R. Friedman

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Patent Law, John G. Costa

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trademark, Jessica R. Friedman

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Days Of Our Lives: The Impact Of Section 197 On The Depreciation Of Copyrights, Patents, And Related Property, Mary Lafrance

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Multimedia Computing: Copyright Law's "Last Stand", Steven Pepe

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Biodiversity: Opportunities And Obligations, Jeffrey P. Kushan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Mr. Kushan discusses the technology transfer provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and outlines three themes found in the Convention related to technology transfer: benefit sharing, sovereign rights, and intellectual property rights protection. After briefly explaining the first two themes, the Article focuses on the third theme, the protection (or lack thereof) of intellectual property rights in the Convention. Mr. Kushan explains how the ideological split on intellectual property rights protection between the North and South found its way into the Convention and created ambiguous messages on intellectual property rights. Southern countries, who fear that strong intellectual property rights …

Intellectual Property Rights And Native American Tribes, Richard A. Guest

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Biodiversity Prospecting: Fulfilling The Mandate Of The Biodiversity Convention, Edgar J. Asebey, Jill D. Kempenaa

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

After a brief overview of biodiversity prospecting, the authors review the historical context of biodiversity prospecting, including the common heritage doctrine, international patent law, and the Biodiversity Convention. The authors analyze the four major United States prospecting initiatives to date and identify their strengths and shortcomings. The authors then investigate two possible alternatives: (1) biological resource cartelization and (2) the development of a new type of biodiversity enterprise. The authors advocate the latter as a means of complying with the Biodiversity Convention.

Days Of Our Lives: The Impact Of Section 197 On The Depreciation Of Copyrights, Patents And Related Property, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

For federal income tax purposes, owners of intangible property generally must capitalize the costs of creating or acquiring that property. In the past, the tax rules for recovering these capitalized costs through depreciation deductions varied greatly according to the nature of the intangible. Certain types of acquired intangibles--notably, goodwill and going concern value--were nondepreciable. In contrast, taxpayers purchasing interests in copyrights or patents could depreciate those assets under the straight-line method or, in most cases, could opt for more rapid cost recovery under the income forecast method.

In the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Congress greatly enlarged the class …

The Uncertain Future Of Computer Software Users’ Rights In The Aftermath Of Mai Systems, Michael E. Johnson

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Enforcement Of Intellectual Property Protection Between Mexico And The United States: A Precursor Of Criminal Enforcement For Western Hemispheric Integration?, Bruce Zagaris, Alvaro J. Aguilar

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Color As A Trademark Under The Lanham Act: Confusion In The Circuits And The Need For Uniformity, J. Christopher Carraway

Law and Contemporary Problems

The Lanham Act--the Trademark Act of 1946--is examined to determine if it allows the protection of color per se as a trademark. Circuit courts vary in their use of the legislation, but color does satisfy the Act's broad definition of a trademark.

The Arts As A Cultural And Economic Factor In World Trade, Stanley S. Madeja

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The author begins by reviewing the cultural vision reflected in the United Nations Charter. The author analyzes the growth and development in the arts and arts industry since 1945, and discusses the arts as both an economic force in the United States and as a commodity in world trade. The author concludes with a discussion regarding ownership of the arts and culture, intellectual property rights, and copyrights in the field of electronic imaging.

Reverse Engineering Of Software For Interoperability And Analysis, S. Carran Daughtrey

Vanderbilt Law Review

The rapid evolution of computer technology raises difficult questions about the scope of protection the law should afford computer programs. Computer programs are uniquely different from traditional literary works protected by the copyright laws, because they have machine-like properties, are primarily functional in nature, and frequently are distributed in a form that humans cannot read. Despite these differences, however, computer programs have received protection under the copyright paradigm along with literary and artistic works. The United States historically has employed a highly protectionist approach to computer programs, as evidenced by early software infringement decisions in which courts slowly expanded protection …

Virtual Reality, Appropriation, And Property Rights In Art: A Roundtable Discussion, Wendy J. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

Virtual reality is user-interfacing technology that tracks the kinetic movement, changes, and reactions in the body of an operator using devices that provide comprehensive and exclusive sensory excitation (in the sense that perceptual input from outside the system is excluded as much as possible). The technology simultaneously allows information and commands to be input back into the system as effortlessly as possible. Virtual reality can be thought of as total sensory immersion in the input and output of a computer system: everything one sees, feels, and hears comes from the computer, and everything the user does goes back in. It's …

Trade, Intellectual Property, And The Development Of Central And Eastern Europe: Filling The Gatt Gap, Anne D. Waters

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A major obstacle encountered by the formerly Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe as they convert to market economies is the lack of necessary capital. To raise that capital, these states are largely dependent on foreign investors. Inadequate protection of intellectual property in the formerly Communist states, however, may deter foreign investment. This Note examines Central and Eastern Europe's need for capital and the effect that the quality of intellectual property protection may have on its ability to obtain capital. The Author concludes that, in order for the new economies to survive, not only must the states of Central …

Banning The Cultural Exclusion: Free Trade And Copyrighted Goods, S. I. Strong

Faculty Publications

For centuries people have expressed themselves through creative works of art and literature, and since 1557 artists and authors have been able to protect their rights to their creative works through various national copyright laws. National copyright laws basically grant a monopoly in the use of the work to its creator. Copyrighted goods, however, are often easily transported across national boundaries, and thus national copyright laws may provide inadequate copyright protection in the international marketplace. The necessity for international copyright protection has been met to some extent by copyright conventions. International copyright conventions, like national copyright laws, define the scope …

Eec Licensing Of Intellectual Property, Valentine Korah

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Influences Affecting The Licensing Of Rights In A Unitary European Market, Ronald E. Myrick

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Gatt And Nafta Provisions On Intellectual Property, Emery Simon

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.