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Intellectual Property Law Commons

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Articles 151 - 180 of 267

Full-Text Articles in Intellectual Property Law

The Grammar Of Trademarks, Laura A. Heymann Jan 2010

The Grammar Of Trademarks, Laura A. Heymann

Faculty Publications

How do people talk when they talk about trademarks? If trademarks have
become, as linguist Geoffrey Nunberg suggests, our “new global tongue,”
perhaps we should pay greater attention to the grammar we use when we
talk about them. We use “Coke” to refer to the Coca-Cola beverage in the
North, and “coke” to refer to any kind of soda in the South, yet we still
manage to get the drinks we desire. We use trademarks as verbs—we
“xerox” a document or “tivo” a television program—without losing sight
of the fact that “Xerox” and “TiVo” are brands of particular products.
We …


Embedded Federal Questions, Exclusive Jurisdiction, And Patent-Based Malpractice Claims, Christopher G. Wilson Dec 2009

Embedded Federal Questions, Exclusive Jurisdiction, And Patent-Based Malpractice Claims, Christopher G. Wilson

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Self-Realizing Inventions And The Utilitarian Foundation Of Patent Law, Alan Devlin, Neel Sukhatme Dec 2009

Self-Realizing Inventions And The Utilitarian Foundation Of Patent Law, Alan Devlin, Neel Sukhatme

William & Mary Law Review

Unlike other forms of intellectual property, patents are universally justified on utilitarian grounds alone. Valuable inventions and discoveries, bearing the characteristics of public goods, are easily appropriated by third parties. Because much technological innovation occurs pursuant to significant expenditures—both in terms of upfront research and subsequent commercialization costs—inventors must be permitted to extract at least part of the social gain associated with their technological contributions. Absent some form of proprietary control or alternative reward system, economics predicts that suboptimal capital will be devoted to the innovative process. This widely accepted principle comes with an important corollary: namely, that canons of …


Trademarks And The Boundaries Of The Firm, Dan L. Burk, Brett H. Mcdonnell Nov 2009

Trademarks And The Boundaries Of The Firm, Dan L. Burk, Brett H. Mcdonnell

William & Mary Law Review

Coase's theory of the firm has become a familiar tool to analyze the structure and organization of businesses. Such analyses have increasingly focused on property-based theories of the firm, including intellectual property. In previous work we have discussed the application of this model to patents, copyrights, and trade secrets. Here we take up the theory of the firm with regard to trademarks, which act as signals of firm reputation, and so have application and effects that differ substantially from other forms of intellectual property. Using the framework from our previous analyses, we examine the propensity of trademarks to lower transaction …


Economies Of Desire: Fair Use And Marketplace Assumptions, Rebecca Tushnet Nov 2009

Economies Of Desire: Fair Use And Marketplace Assumptions, Rebecca Tushnet

William & Mary Law Review

At the moment that "incentives"for creation meet "preferences"for the same, the economic account of copyright loses its explanatory power. This piece explores the ways in which the desire to create can be excessive, beyond rationality, and free from the need for economic incentive. Psychological and sociological concepts can do more to explain creative impulses than classical economics. As a result, a copyright law that treats creative activity as a product of economic incentives can miss the mark and harm what it aims to promote. The idea of abundance-even overabundance-in creativity can help define the proper scope of copyright law, especially …


Statutory Damages In Copyright Law: A Remedy In Need Of Reform, Pamela Samuelson, Tara Wheatland Nov 2009

Statutory Damages In Copyright Law: A Remedy In Need Of Reform, Pamela Samuelson, Tara Wheatland

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


A New Deal For End Users? Lessons From A French Innovation In The Regulation Of Interoperability, Jane Winn, Nicolas Jondet Nov 2009

A New Deal For End Users? Lessons From A French Innovation In The Regulation Of Interoperability, Jane Winn, Nicolas Jondet

William & Mary Law Review

In 2007, France created the Regulatory Authority for Technical Measures (lAutoritj de Rdgulation des Mesures Techniques or ARMT), an independent regulatory agency charged with promoting the interoperability of digital media distributed with embedded "technical protection measures" (TPM), also known as "digital rights management" technologies (DRM). ARMT was established in part to rectify what French lawmakers perceived as an imbalance in the rights of copyright owners and end users created when the European Copyright Directive (EUCD) was transposed into French law as the "Loi sur le Droit d'Auteur et les Droits Voisins dans la Socidte de l'Information" (DADVSI). ARMT is both …


The New Invention Creation Activity Boundary In Patent Law, Margo A. Bagley Nov 2009

The New Invention Creation Activity Boundary In Patent Law, Margo A. Bagley

William & Mary Law Review

This Essay identifies a new boundary in patent law-illegal or immoral invention creation activity-and explores the possible challenges and opportunities it may facilitate. The boundary currently is neither robust nor extensive, and whether and under what circumstances it should exist at all is open to debate.


Rules And Standards On The Forefront Of Patentability, John F. Duffy Nov 2009

Rules And Standards On The Forefront Of Patentability, John F. Duffy

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Patent Examination Priorities, Michael J. Meurer Nov 2009

Patent Examination Priorities, Michael J. Meurer

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Developing A Private International Intellectual Property Law: The Demise Of Territoriality?, Graeme B. Dinwoodie Nov 2009

Developing A Private International Intellectual Property Law: The Demise Of Territoriality?, Graeme B. Dinwoodie

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


An Alternative Approach To Channeling?, Mark P. Mckenna Nov 2009

An Alternative Approach To Channeling?, Mark P. Mckenna

William & Mary Law Review

Intellectual property law has developed a variety of doctrines to police the boundaries between various forms of protection. Courts and scholars alike overwhelmingly conceive of these doctrines in terms of the nature of the objects of protection. The functionality doctrine in trademark law, for example, defines the boundary between trademark and patent law by identifying and refusing trademark protection to features that play a functional role in a product's performance. Likewise, the useful article doctrine works at the boundary of copyright and patent law to identify elements of an article's design that are dictated by function and to channel protection …


Administering Fair Use, Jason Mazzone Nov 2009

Administering Fair Use, Jason Mazzone

William & Mary Law Review

Fair use is not working. As written by Congress and applied by the courts, the fair use law fails to give individuals sufficiently clear guidance to determine in advance whether their uses of copyrighted works are fair and therefore noninfringing. When the law does not regulate adequately, markets can supply the rules. Thus, copyright owners and prospective users of copyrighted works can-and donegotiate over and enter into contracts specifying permissible uses. However, leaving fair use to the market is far from desirable. Fair use is not meant to be something that is sold and bought like other market goods. Fair …


Spillovers Theory And Its Conceptual Boundaries, Brett Frischmann Nov 2009

Spillovers Theory And Its Conceptual Boundaries, Brett Frischmann

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Distinguishing Lost Profits From Reasonable Royalties, Mark A. Lemley Nov 2009

Distinguishing Lost Profits From Reasonable Royalties, Mark A. Lemley

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Introduction: The Boundaries Of Intellectual Property Symposium, I. Trotter Hardy Nov 2009

Introduction: The Boundaries Of Intellectual Property Symposium, I. Trotter Hardy

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


How To Write A Life: Some Thoughts On Fixation And The Copyright/Privacy Divide, Laura A. Heymann Nov 2009

How To Write A Life: Some Thoughts On Fixation And The Copyright/Privacy Divide, Laura A. Heymann

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Tale Of (At Least) Two Authors: Focusing Copyright Law On Process Over Product, Laura A. Heymann Jul 2009

A Tale Of (At Least) Two Authors: Focusing Copyright Law On Process Over Product, Laura A. Heymann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Public's Domain In Trademark Law: A First Amendment Theory Of The Consumer, Laura A. Heymann Apr 2009

The Public's Domain In Trademark Law: A First Amendment Theory Of The Consumer, Laura A. Heymann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Territory, Plants, And Land-Use Rights Among The San Of Southern Africa: A Case Study In Regional Biodiversity, Traditional Knowledge, And Intellectual Property, Stephen R. Munzer, Phyllis Chen Simon Mar 2009

Territory, Plants, And Land-Use Rights Among The San Of Southern Africa: A Case Study In Regional Biodiversity, Traditional Knowledge, And Intellectual Property, Stephen R. Munzer, Phyllis Chen Simon

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Harmonizing The Exclusionary Rights Of Patents With Compulsory Licensing, Troy L. Gwartney Mar 2009

Harmonizing The Exclusionary Rights Of Patents With Compulsory Licensing, Troy L. Gwartney

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Open Access To Student-Edited Law Journals, Benjamin J. Keele Jan 2009

Open Access To Student-Edited Law Journals, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.


A Realistic Approach To The Obviousness Of Inventions, Daralyn J. Durie, Mark A. Lemley Dec 2008

A Realistic Approach To The Obviousness Of Inventions, Daralyn J. Durie, Mark A. Lemley

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Dangers Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Much Ado About Nothing?, Steve P. Calandrillo, Ewa M. Davison Nov 2008

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

William & Mary Law Review

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 have been far less enthusiastic. The DMCA's goal of combating piracy is a …


Patently Protectionist? An Empirical Analysis Of Patent Cases At The International Trade Commission, Colleen V. Chien Oct 2008

Patently Protectionist? An Empirical Analysis Of Patent Cases At The International Trade Commission, Colleen V. Chien

William & Mary Law Review

The International Trade Commission (ITC) provides a special forum for adjudicating patent disputes involving imports. It offers several advantages over United States district courts to patentees, including relaxed jurisdictional requirements, speed, and unique remedies. Unlike district courts, the ITC almost automatically grants injunctive relief to prevailing patentees, and does not recognize certain defenses to infringement. These features have been justified as needed to prosecute foreign infringers who would otherwise evade U.S. district courts. They have also led to charges that the ITC is protectionist and unfair to defendants and that it fosters inconsistency in U.S. patent law. Based on an …


Everything Is Transformative: Fair Use And Reader Response, Laura A. Heymann Jul 2008

Everything Is Transformative: Fair Use And Reader Response, Laura A. Heymann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of … Infringement?: Guitar Tabs, Fair Use, And The Internet, Jocelyn Kempema May 2008

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of … Infringement?: Guitar Tabs, Fair Use, And The Internet, Jocelyn Kempema

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Extraterritoriality In U.S. Patent Law, Timothy R. Holbrook May 2008

Extraterritoriality In U.S. Patent Law, Timothy R. Holbrook

William & Mary Law Review

Globalization has eroded traditional territorial limits on intellectual property laws. Although this pressure was first seen in trademark and copyright law, recent court decisions have demonstrated that the territorial lines of U.S. patents are also under assault. Indeed, the Supreme Court recently considered extraterritoriality in U.S. patent law in its 2007 decision in Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., discussed thoroughly in this Article. Courts and commentators have offered two primary approaches to deal with the issue of the extraterritorial reach of U.S. patents. First, many courts, including the Supreme Court, continue to adhere to a strict view of a patent's …


Illegal P2p File Sharing On College Campuses – What's The Solution?, Antionette D. Bishop Apr 2008

Illegal P2p File Sharing On College Campuses – What's The Solution?, Antionette D. Bishop

Student Award Winning Papers

No abstract provided.


The Reasonable Person In Trademark Law, Laura A. Heymann Apr 2008

The Reasonable Person In Trademark Law, Laura A. Heymann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.