Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Technology And International Trade: Wille The Real Transformer Please Stand Up?, Todd Weiler

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The primary driver of change in Canada’s cultural sector has not been some kind of contrived, neo- liberal plot imposed upon an unsuspecting public with the promise of ‘‘jobs, jobs, jobs.’’ Rather, it has been technology. The role for liberalised trade and investment treaties comes only in the form of a conditioning force, limiting the panoply of choices available to govern- mental officials who want to respond to the changes being wrought by technological advances.

This paper begins with some brief definitions, moving next to an elaboration of its thesis, and finally explaining the application of this thesis to some …

Computer Law By George S. Takach (Toronto: Irwin Law Inc., 2000, 2nd Edition), David T.S. Fraser

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Monopoly Power In The Electronic Information Industry: Why, And So What?, Curt A. Hessler

ExpressO

This "law and economics" article diagnoses why monopoly power infects so many markets in the electronic media, communications, and information technology industries (collectively the "Industry"),and recommends changes to prevailing intellectual property and antitrust doctrines to remedy this problem.

The analysis focuses on a single "norm" -- the maximization of economic value, as defined by standard welfare economic theory. Identifying three distinct functions that operate throughout this otherwise diverse Industry -- authoring, publishing, and distribution -- the article notes that two economic peculiarities characterize most Industry markets: the technical feasibility of "non-rivalrous use" of digitized information products, and the frequent "creative …

Sealing The Coffin On The Experimental Use Exception, Jennifer Miller

Duke Law & Technology Review

In a petition for writ of certiorari, Duke University requests that the Supreme Court reverse a Federal Circuit holding that, in its view, "seals the coffin on the experimental use exception for private universities." This iBrief discusses the Federal Circuit's decision in Madey v. Duke University and its possible effects on the progress of science.

Cyberdemons: Regulating A Truly World-Wide Web, Andrew P. Lycans

Michigan Law Review

In the decade leading up to the twenty-first century, the number of Internet-related legal disputes grew exponentially. This growth continues into the new millennium, introducing old problems in a new context. For instance, in the field of copyright, Eric Eldred, the operator of a website dedicated to posting literary works already in the public domain, challenged the Copyright Term Extension Act ("CTEA"). The CTEA blocked his plans to post works copyrighted in 1923, works which under the previous statute would have entered the public domain in 1999. Looking to trademark law, the field has become obsessed of late with providing …

Fast Track Trade Authority And The Free Trade Agreements: Implications For Copyright Law, Samuel Trosow

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In 2002, Congress passed the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act, which restored the presidential fast-track trade-promotion authority that had lapsed in 1994. Fast-track trade promotion authority is a means by which Congress delegates to the president a portion of its constitutional authority over international trade policy. This paper reviews the development, scope, and application of fast-track trade-promotion authority, evaluates some of the copyright provisions in key Free Trade Agreements, and concludes that the process has been effectively captured by the information and entertainment industries. There are numerous negative consequences that flow from the resulting policy environment. Not only is an …

Patent First, Litigate Later! The Scramble For Speculative And Overly Broad Genetic Patents: Implications For Access To Health Care And Biomedical Research, Ikechi Mgbeoji, Byron Allen

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper will not directly address the ethical considerations of allowing patents on human genetic sequences, although this continues to be a controversial debate in itself. Rather, the aim is to consider the legality of such gene patents and the effects such patents have on biomedical research and health care delivery in definitive terms through an analysis of current developments and research relating to the subject. The operation of current intellectual property regimes regulating such patents will be examined, and amendments to these legal systems will be considered. An emphasis will be placed on identifying practical concerns rather than broad, …

Beyond Convergence And The New Media Decisions: Regulatory Models In Communications Law, Melanie Mortensen

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

While technological and economic changes have been the most influential factors in stimulating recent policy and regulatory reassessments in Canada with respect to telecommunications and broadcasting regulation, public interest and socio-political concerns should also remain significant in the design of new regulatory and policy responses to convergence and competition. When the CRTC announced that it would refrain from regulating broadcasting in new media for a period of five years, this occasion illustrated the increasing inapplicability of the sector-specific legislation from which the mandate of the CRTC is derived.

The first model addressed is the present sector-specific policy and regulatory treatment …

Rescuing The Balance?: An Assessment Of Canada's Proposal To Limit Isp Liability For Online Copyright Infringement, Scott Nesbitt

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper attempts both to explain the technological and legal imperatives pressing Canada to address the issue of ISP liability in reforms to the Copyright Act and to raise some concerns about the impact of the government’s proposed amendments in this area. The basic elements of copyright law, the impact of digital technology on copyright and the policy arguments surrounding ISP liability are briefly discussed to set the context for judicial treatment of and legislative action on this issue. Next, the paper focuses on the development of American jurisprudence with respect to limitation of ISP liability for third party copyright …

Software Patent Law: United States And Europe Compared, Michael Guntersdorfer

Duke Law & Technology Review

Software is a global business. Patents are increasingly the protection of choice; as a consequence, international software patent laws are of growing importance to software vendors. This article focuses on European patent law and how it differs from United States law in regards to software technology. Statutes and relevant case law of both unions are discussed and compared, providing an introductory secondary source for scholars and practitioners.

Patent Royalties Extending Beyond Expiration: An Illogical Ban From Brulotte To Scheiber, Michael Koenig

Duke Law & Technology Review

A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Scheiber v. Dolby Laboratories, Inc., called into question, yet dutifully applied, the somewhat disfavored Supreme Court patent case of Brulotte v. Thys Co. For thirty-eight years, Brulotte has served as an absolute prohibition on the collection of any patent royalties extending beyond the expiration date of the patent. As Justice Douglas stated in writing for the eight-Justice majority, "a patentee's use of a royalty agreement that projects beyond the expiration date of the patent is unlawful per se." Ostensibly, this concise and easily-applied exposition of the law seems sensible enough. …

Patenting Genome Research Tools And The Law., Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

Patenting genes encoding therapeutic proteins was relatively uncontroversial in the early days of biotechnology. Controversy arose in the era of high-throughput DNA sequencing, when gene patents started to look less like patents on drugs and more like patents on scientific information. Evolving scientific and business strategies for exploiting genomic information raised concerns that patents might slow subsequent research. The trend towards stricter enforcement of the utility and disclosure requirements by the patent offices should help clarify the current confusion.

Brief Of Law Professors As Amicus Curiae In Support Of Respondent, Thomas G. Field Jr, William O. Hennessey, Craig S. Jepson, Karl F. Jorda

Law Faculty Scholarship

Inventors lacking assurance of a market, or even the right to practice patented inventions, face considerable risk. Those who qualify for patents, in return for disclosure, receive only the assistance of the courts in excluding others from economic exploitation of their inventions. Already subject to many legislative and judicial limitations, patents should not be further subject to the functional equivalent of private inverse condemnation without congressional action.

Trade Secret Reclamation: An Equitable Approach In A Relative World, 21 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 227 (2003), William L. O'Brien

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The only possible IP protection is a trade secret. However, trade secrets are inadvertently disclosed in investment disclosures or to prospective customers. The article offers a solution to this dilemma by creating emphasis on the continued retention of the secret, even though confidentiality of it could have been dissipating.

Alcatel Usa, Inc. V. Brown: Does Your Boss Own Your Brain?, 21 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 295 (2003), Jim C. Lai

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Critizing the Alcatel USA, Inc. v. Brown court’s holding that a company owned rights to a software idea that existed entirely in the thoughts of one of it’s former employee’s. Discusses how the court did not take into account that (1) the invention disclosure agreement it secured from the employer was unenforceable, (2) the Solution was not an “invention” as recognized by U.S. intellectual property law, and (3) the development of an automatic decompiler was not within the scope of the company’s business or employee’s work. Arguing while it is reasonable for an employer to require its employees to disclose …

Curbing Copyright Infringement In Cyberspace: Using Mediakey To Stop The Bleeding, 21 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 325 (2003), John R. Perkins Jr.

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article discusses a solution to copyright infringement on the Internet. The solution combines legal and technical aspects so the solution is very specific but also practical. The paper proposes a solution to use technological protection similar to that found in the federal statute prohibiting circumvention of technological protection measures. The paper then concludes with how difficult his solution and other proposed changes will be to enact because of opposition it will receive from many sides.

Locked Out: The New Hazards Of Reverse Engineering, 21 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 601 (2003), Carla Meninsky

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

In this article, Meninsky contends the technological practice of reverse engineering of replacements parts and other interoperable products, which has been used to circumvent digital locks and otherwise gain access to copyrighted material and information protected as trade secrets, has been upheld by courts as fair use. This practice is discussed within the context of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), which prohibits methods employed to “circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a copyrighted work” while providing a limited exemption for reverse engineers in certain circumstances. Meninsky finds that the DMCA, in effect, thwarts competition, stunts technological …

Are You Content With The Content? Intellectual Property Implications Of Weblog Publishing, 21 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 439 (2003), Attiya Malik

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The publicity about weblogs has neglected to warn against the risks of legal liability. Whether you want to impart words of wisdom or copy something that caught your interest, the temptation to "borrow" is too great and too easy in Cyberspace. Whereas the typical Internet user may have heard of "copyright" or "trademark," they are unaware of the complexities and nuances of these areas of law. The legal tests and standards may be too sophisticated for the average user. Even practitioners and courts are grappling with what legal standards and interpretations are to be applied in Cyberspace, thus, leading to …

The Post-Festo World Of Equivalents, 2 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 182 (2003), Michael D. Kaminski

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The Supreme Court again began to delve into substantial patent issues by addressing the interplay between prosecution history estoppel and the doctrine of equivalents. An analysis of the opinions in the Federal Circuit’s en banc ruling, together with the Supreme Court’s own decision may help to clarify some of the unanswered questions still lingering regarding what equivalents are available and when. The prosecution history will take a more prominent place in the minds of both patent prosecutors and litigators as courts attempt to determine the appropriate relationship between prosecution history estoppel and the doctrine of equivalents.

How The Supreme Court Decides To Review Intellectual Property Cases, 3 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 19 (2003), Matthew M. Neumeier

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Because Supreme Court review is essentially discretionary, it is increasingly rare for the Court to hear an argument concerning Intellectual Property rights. However the Supreme Court will critically review cases that belong in one of four distinct categories. These include cases in which: (1) lower court decisions conflict, (2) lower courts have departed from accepted and usual court proceedings, (3) an important federal question is decided, and (4) lower courts have departed from Supreme Court precedent. This article provides practitioners with some guidance in determining whether the Supreme Court is likely to review a lower court decision on an Intellectual …

Navigating The Bankruptcy Waters In A Domain Name Rowboat, 3 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 61 (2003), Beverly A. Berneman

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The combination of rapidly emerging technologies and changes in intellectual property and information technology law has resulted in new species of property and contract rights, such as Internet domain names. While some laws that were enacted before the rise of the Internet cannot be reconciled with the issues raised by domain names, the Bankruptcy Code appears to be equipped with the tools to handle most issues raised by this new species of property. This article discusses how domain names are treated during bankruptcy, how the Bankruptcy Code can be used to protect the function and value of a debtor's domain …

Is The Experimental Use Exemption For Patent Infringement Still Needed?, 3 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 103 (2003), Melanie K. Kitzan Haindfield

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The judicially created experimental use exemption has traditionally been a limitation on a patent holder’s rights because it allows patent infringing activities involving research for mere curiosity or amusement. This exemption was later modified to further protect any research performed by institutions not having a profit motive for the patent infringement, resulting in many institutions freely infringing patented inventions, knowing that broad protection was available under the experimental use exemption. However, in 2002 the Federal Circuit effectively ended the experimental use exemption as a defense for academic institutions, by recognizing that academic institutions can be held liable for infringement for …

Public Access Versus Proprietary Rights In Genomic Information: What Is The Proper Role Of Intellectual Property Rights?, Janice M. Mueller

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Contrary To First Impression, Genes Are Patentable: Should There Be Limitations?, Amanda S. Pitcher

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

University Technology Transfer And Economic Development: Proposed Cooperative Economic Development Agreements Under The Bayh-Dole Act, 36 J. Marshall L. Rev. 397 (2003), Clovia Hamilton

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Navigating Unchartered Waters: Intellectual Property Rights Surrounding Genomics Research & Development Information, Lawrence M. Sung

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

The Potential Impact Of Genetic Sequencing On The American Health Insurance System, Frederick Levy, Joseph F. Lawler

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Data-Sharing And Data-Withholding In The Genetics And The Life Sciences: Results Of A National Survey Of Technology Transfer Officers, Eric G. Campbell, Eran Bendavid

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Piercing The Academic Veil: Disaffecting The Common Law Exception To The Patent Infringement Liability And The Future Of A Bona Fide Research Use Exemption After Madey V. Duke University, Lawrence M. Sung, Claire M. Maisano

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Biotechnology And Human Dignity, A Necessary And Compatible Union, Ellen Judge Hayes

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.