Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

The Individual Inventor Motif In The Age Of The Patent Troll, Christopher A, Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

The individual inventor motif has been part of American patent law since its inception. The question is whether the recent patent troll hunt has damaged the individual inventor's image and, in turn, caused Congress, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the courts to become less concerned with patent law's impact on the small inventor. This Article explores whether there has been a change in attitude by looking at various sources from legislative, administrative, and judicial actors in the patent system, such as congressional statements and testimony in discussions of the recent proposed patent reform legislation, the USPTO …

The Folly Of Early Filing In Patent Law, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

This Article questions the conventional wisdom that the patent system should continue to encourage "early filing" of patent applications-filing at the beginning stages of technological development. The current thinking regarding early filing fails to account for the lack of technical and market information available about the invention at the early stages of development. A "file early, file often" mentality is instilled in inventors, exacerbating such systemic patent problems as too many patent applications, too many patents, underdevelopment of patented technology, increased assertion of patent rights, and fuzzy patent boundaries, to name a few. The Article suggests that in response patent …

Amazon's Kindle 2: The Copyright Ghost In The Machine, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

A number of copyright controversies have caught the public’s eye this year — e.g., the lawsuit over the AP photo of Barak Obama, the feud between Coldplay and Joe Satriani, the debate about Facebook’s policies toward the intellectual property of its users. Yet these disputes, fascinating though they are, involve the application of well-known legal principles. The facts are interesting, but the law is straightforward.

A somewhat less prominent controversy, however, offers a nice example of the frequent collision between copyright law, established business models, and new technologies. In February, Amazon introduced the Kindle 2 — the latest model of …

Two Copyright Lessons From A Pop Music Controversy, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

People who study copyright law for a living must frequently endure the disappointment of seeing an interesting case settle out of court. For example, lurking behind the current Google Books controversy is a fascinating fair use argument – but if the proposed settlement manages to survive antitrust and other challenges, no court will ever have a chance to rule on the fair use issue. And scholars like me will be left wondering what might have been (and whether the settlement actually prejudices future fair use arguments).

Sometimes, however, even a settlement teaches us something about the law. The recent lawsuit …

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Jessica M. Yoke

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present the third issue of the 2008–2009 academic school year, which also is our Annual Survey on E-Discovery.

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Bridget Murray

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present the fourth issue of the 2008–2009 academic school year. Our authors analyze a variety of controversial legal topics that are at the forefront of debates regarding the intersection of technology and law.

How “Choruss” Can Turn Into A Cacophony: The Record Industry’S Stranglehold On The Future Of Music Business, Andrey Spektor

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

A sixty year-old man is delighted when his son shows him how to use Pandora—an interactive, hip Internet radio site that puts the listener in control. Having grown up a huge Louis Armstrong fan, the man quickly selects the jazz singer as one of his “stations.” When listening to this station, Pandora will only play songs by Armstrong and other similar artists for him. When he hears Armstrong’s classic, “What a Wonderful World,” the man immediately clicks the “Thumbs Up” icon, indicating his approval of Pandora’s recommendation. Pandora’s recommendations are drawn from its “Music Genome Project,” a database of song …

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Robert Michaux

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present the second issue of the 2009–2010 academic year.

Dreadful Policing: Are The Semiconductor Industry Giants Content With Yesterday’S International Protection For Integrated Circuits?, Michael Fuerch

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Over the past twenty years, the semiconductor industry has grown rapidly. Technological advances have resulted in smaller, faster, and more cost-efficient semiconductor integrated circuits. Today, integrated circuits (“chips”) are found in the majority of electronic devices includes consumer electronics like computers, phones, televisions, and automobiles, and industrial electronics such as motor drives and programmable logic controllers.

This

Live Performance, Copyright, And The Future Of The Music Business, Mark F. Schultz

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Componentization Of Information, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga

Law Faculty Publications

Information is ‘the oxygen of the modern age’. Despite its importance, or perhaps because of it, conventional wisdom has long been of the view that information wants to, or even needs to, be free. This idea has been extended to encompass not just raw data, but also information products such as databases and software. These products – products whose primary value lies in organizing, providing context, and distributing information content – have often been the subject of debate over whether and to what extent these works should be protected. The tension between information being free and information products being protected …

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Robert Michaux

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present the first issue of the 2009–2010 academic year.

Of Oceans, Islands, And Inland Water – How Much Room For Exceptions And Limitations Under The Three-Step Test?, Annette Kur

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Time To Pay The Dues Or Can Intellectual Property Rights Feel Safe With The Wto?, Darya Haag

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

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 …

Describing Patents As Real Options, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

This Article continues the use of real options in patent law by taking a step back. The Article proceeds in three parts. Part II describes the concept of real options and catalogs the existing economics and law literature discussing patents as real options. The Article then lays a foundation for previous and future discussions by describing in detail how patents are like real options. Specifically, Part III. identifies the particular patent doctrines that make up the common components of a real option-the option price, the exercise price, the expiration date, and the value of the underlying asset. This descriptive analysis …

The Unreasonableness Of The Patent Office's 'Broadest Reasonable Interpretation' Standard, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

This article does what is long overdue: it fully explores the validity of the BRI standard. The previously articulated rationales behind the BRI standard are severely lacking. Not only does the BRI standard fail to provide the advantages touted by the courts that created the standard, the standard is contrary to both the patent statutes and the concept of a unitary patent system. It allows examiners to avoid difficult claim interpretation issues; it leads to improper and uncorrectable denials of patent protection; and it is incurably ambiguous. Given that the BRI standard is severely lacking, the courts and the USPTO …

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 …

Modernizing Patent Law's Inequitable Conduct Doctrine, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

This Article's main finding is that the inequitable conduct doctrine has the ability to improve patent quality as long as the inherent tendency to overcomply with the doctrine by overloading the USPTO with information is kept in check. The Article reaches this conclusion by proceeding in five parts. Part II describes the current thinking on the inequitable conduct doctrine, with particular focus on the major critiques of the doctrine and proposed legislative and administrative responses. Part III of the Article begins the construction of a fundamental, conceptual framework for the doctrine by explaining how it impacts both patent quality and …

Copyright As Censorship - Part I, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

2010 marks the 300th anniversary of the Statute of Anne, the English legislation that ushered in the modern era of copyright law. The Statute of Anne is celebrated for a number of reasons, and perhaps foremost among them is its rejection of copyright as an instrument of censorship.

Before Parliament enacted the Statute, the distribution of books was controlled by the government through royal charters, which granted monopolies over printing and empowered the chartered firms to seize unauthorized books and bring their publishers before the courts. The Statute of Anne put an end to this practice and replaced it with …

The Case For (Considering) Regulation Of Technology, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

Given a choice, which would you prefer: A world in which it is easier to encrypt information than to decrypt it? A world in which decryption is easier than encryption? A world in which the two stand in a cost/benefit equipoise?

When the question is put like that, the answer seems to depend on how we weigh certain core values. For example, if we prefer privacy over order, we might prefer the first world. If we value order more than privacy, perhaps the second world is more to our liking.

As it happens, we live in the first world. Modern …

Google's New Monopoly? How The Company Could Gain By Paying Millions In Copyright Fees, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

Last week, Google settled a controversial copyright case by agreeing to pay tens of millions in licensing fees to authors and publishers, with more to come. At first glance, it looks like this great champion of the free flow of information has caved to copyright interests. But in fact, Google may be better off with a settlement than an outright win. Before the court approves this agreement, then, it must consider the deal's anti-competitive effects. [..]

Un Arco Iris De Lentes Con Los Que Mirar: La Protección Del Color Único Como Marca En Los Estados Unidos, En España, Y En La Unión Europea, Glenda Labadie-Jackson

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

Se vaticina que imicamente tendrdn una s6lida y duradera presencia en los complejos mercados contempordneos las marcas que se sirvan de estimulos multisensoriales con el objetivo de acaparar la atenci6n de los consumidores. En diversos ordenamientos juridicos, este ha sido el motor que ha propulsado la ampliaci6n del repertorio de signos o simbolos potencialmente elegibles para fungir como marcas de productos o servicios. De aqu6l1os, vale destacar los que tipicamente suelen agruparse bajo la riibrica de “no tradicionales”, a saber: los sonidos, los aromas, los sabores, las formas tridimensionales y los colores.

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

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Yuka Ito

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

On behalf of the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our third issue for the 2007-2008 year, our Annual Survey of Electronic Discovery. This year’s Survey concentrates on the recent Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and its various implications on Electronic Discovery.

Patenting Part-Human Chimeras, Transgenics And Stem Cells For Transplantation In The United States, Canada, And Europe, Gregory R. Hagen, Sébastien A. Gittens

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The perceived need for part-human materials – considered to be biological materials containing human genetic material for the purposes of this paper – is at least twofold. First, given the continued shortage of human organs and other human biological materials suitable for transplantation, thousands of persons will suffer illness and death each year.

Mary Doe’S Destiny: How The United States Has Banned Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research In The Absence Of A Direct Prohibition, Yi-Chen Su, Albert Wai-Kit Chan

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Mary Doe is a human embryo preserved in liquid nitrogen, in an unnamed in vitro fertilization clinic. Mary Doe’s name was given by an organization dedicated to advocating for equal humanity and personhood of pre-born children, including “children in vitro.” In response to President Clinton’s policy favoring embryonic stem cell [hereinafter ES- cell] research, the organization filed suit on behalf of Mary Doe, and all other frozen human embryos similarly situated, seeking a permanent injunction against any and all plans to undertake human ES-cell experimentation.

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Bridget Murray

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present its first issue of the 2008–2009 academic school year. Our authors assess a variety of controversial legal topics that embrace the intersection of technology and law.

Help! My Intellectual Property Is Trapped: Second Life, Conflicting Ownership Claims And The Problem Of Access, Megan B. Caramore

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The controversy over ownership of virtual “real” property and intellectual property rights within online games has existed for nearly as long as the technology to create such games. Previously, the owners of virtual worlds possessed sole control over everything within the world as a result of rather strict terms contained in their user licensing agreements. Lately, this controversy has acquired a new dimension in a rapidly expanding game called Second Life. Second Life is different from most online games because it expressly guarantees its users the rights to content they create within the game. To the extent that Second Life …

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Bridget Murray

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present the second issue of the 2008–2009 academic school year. Our authors analyze a variety of controversial legal topics that are at the forefront of debates regarding the intersection of technology and law.