Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

L'Affaire Huntsman C. Soderbergh Ou Le Droit D'Expurger Les Films, René Pépin

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Deux éléments nous motivent. D’abord, comme on le devine, la technologie évolue à un rythme rapide en ce domaine. On n’en est plus au temps où les films étaient produits unique- ment sur une véritable pellicule de plastique qu’un censeur pouvait insérer dans une machine qui lui permettait littéralement de couper des parties indésirables et de recoller les embouts. L’informatique a envahi ce domaine. Il y a maintenant des logiciels sophistiqués qui agissent comme interface entre un disque DVD et l’écran, permettant au consommateur de choisir lui-même les séquences qui seront enlevées dans un film. On comprend que ceci pose …

Rising Governmental Use Of Biometric Technology: An Analysis Of The United States Visitor And Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program, Lisa Madelon Campbell

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article explores increased governmental interest in the use of biometric measurements as a means of identifying individuals and tracing their movements. Private industries, of course, are equally interested in biometrics, and often similarly capable of collecting and storing biometric information. For example, merchants in the United Kingdom require customers who pay by cheque to provide a thumbprint as an additional security measure against potential fraud. The issues raised by the use of biometrics in the private sector are somewhat different than those that arise in the public context. This article explores the increased reli- ance upon individual biometric measurements …

Not All Bad: An Historical Perspective On Software Patents, Martin Campbell-Kelly

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

This Paper places the current debates about software patents in the historical context of patenting in the information technology industries. The first computer-program products were sold in the mid 1960s when software patents were not generally allowed; as a result, trade secrecy became endemic to the software industry. Software products were also protected by copyright, but in practice this offered little protection against most forms of appropriation by reverse engineering or cloning. By the early 1980s a series of landmark cases led to the acceptance of software patents. It is argued that this development was consistent with the patenting of …

Review Of Eloïse Gratton's Internet And Wireless Privacy: A Legal Guide To Global Business Practices (Toronto: Cch Canadian Limited, 2003), David T.S. Fraser

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Struggle For Music Copyright, Michael W. Carroll

Working Paper Series

Inspired by passionate contemporary debates about music copyright, this Article investigates how, when, and why music first came within copyright's domain. Ironically, although music publishers and recording companies are among the most aggressive advocates for strong copyright in music today, music publishers in eighteenth-century England resisted extending copyright to music. This Article sheds light on a series of early legal disputes concerning printed music that yield important insights into original understandings of copyright law and music's role in society. By focusing attention on this understudied episode, this Article demonstrates that the concept of copyright was originally far more circumscribed than …

Supporting Innovation In Targeted Treatments: Licenses Of Right To Nih-Funded Research Tools, Tanuja V. Garde

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Support for new drug development has taken some interesting turns in current patent law jurisprudence. Beginning with the severe curtailment of scope of the common law experimental use doctrine in Madey v. Duke University, and culminating with the recent Supreme Court decision in Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd., broadening the scope of the statutory research exemption, the freedom to conduct experimental research using another's patented inventions becomes dependent in part on the purpose of the research. That the patent at issue in Merck was characterized by the Federal Circuit as being directed to a research tool raised the …

God In The Machine: A New Structural Analysis Of Copyright's Fair Use Doctrine, Matthew Sag

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Recognition of the structural role of fair use has the potential to mitigate some of the uncertainty of current fair use jurisprudence. The statutory framework for fair use both mitigates and causes uncertainty. It mitigates uncertainty by providing a consistent framework of analysis the four statutory factors. However, when judges apply the statutory factors without articulating or justifying their own assumptions, they increase uncertainty. The statutory factors mean nothing without certain a priori assumptions as to the scope of the copyright owner's rights. A more stable and predictable fair use jurisprudence would begin to emerge if those assumptions were made …

Lessons For Patent Policy From Empirical Research On Patent Litigation, James Bessen, Michael J. Meurer

Faculty Scholarship

This Article reviews empirical patent litigation research to reveal patent policy lessons. First, the Article presents facts about patent litigation. Next, it analyzes the patent premium. Patent litigation research reveals little about the magnitude of the patent premium, but the research reveals the strategies firms use to capture the patent premium and the patent policy instruments that determine the patent premium. Next, the Article evaluates the patent prosecution process and notes that making efforts to refine a patent application can affect the value of the patent. The Article then identifies reforms for improving PTO performance. Finally, the Article discusses policy …

Who Controls The Controllers? Jon Festinger's Video Game Law (Markham: Lexisnexis Canada Inc., 2005), Steve Coughlan

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Time For India's Intellectual Property Regime To Grow Up, Jishnu Guha

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that India's copyright enforcement regime is inadequate despite having robust laws, hindering the growth of its entertainment industry and foreign investment. It advocates for comprehensive IPR enforcement, particularly in the entertainment sector, to unlock economic opportunities and foster creativity. The analysis draws parallels with the U.S. copyright system, emphasizing the importance of enforcement in driving industrial growth. The note proposes collaboration with the U.S. entertainment industry and government to address resource and cultural barriers to effective enforcement.

Inherent Anticipation In Biotechnology Patents In Light Of In Re Cruciferous Sprout Litigation And Elan Pharmaceuticals, Brian Orr

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Wto's Dispute Resolution Mechanism: Does The United States Take It Seriously? A Trips Analysis, Alain J. Lapter

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Still A Ball Of Confusion: Kp Permanent Make-Up, Inc. V. Lasting Impression I, Inc., Nikki Pope

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Most Important 21st Century Intellectual Property Issue, Scott A. Turk

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Trips: Protecting The Rights Of Patent Holders And Addressing Public Health Issues In Developing Countries, Anthony P. Valach Jr.

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Implied Professional Obligation Of Confidentiality Sufficient To Overcome Public Use Defense To A Claim Of Patent Infringement? Bernhardt V. Collezione--The Federal Circuit Court Of Appeals' Surprising Recent Announcement On The Public Use Bar, Nancy S. Paik

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Comment On "Patent Grant Rates At The United States Patent And Trademark Office", Lawrence B. Ebert

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Mod, Man, And Law: A Reexamination Of The Law Of Computer Game Modifications, Zvi Rosen

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Sharing In The Groove: Ninth Circuit Allows Peer-To-Peer Networks To Continue File-Sharing Mgm Studios, Inc. V. Grokster, Ltd., 380 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2004), Todd C. Chapman

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Allocation Of Jurisdiction On Patent Disputes In The Models Developed By The Hague Conference In Private International Law: Asymmetric Countries And The Relationship Of Private Parties, Mariano Municoy

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Virtual Playgrounds And Buddybots: A Data-Minefield For Tweens, Valerie Steeves, Ian R. Kerr

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article examines the online places where tweens play, chat, and hang out. We argue that the vision behind these places is defined by commercial imperatives that seek to embed surveillance deeper and deeper into children’s playgrounds and social interactions. Online marketers do more than implant branded products into a child’s play; they collect the minute details of a child’s life so they can build a ‘‘relationship’’ of ‘‘trust’’ between the child and brand. Although marketing to children is not new, a networked environment magnifies the effect on a child’s identity because it opens up a child’s private online spaces …

I Click, You Click, We All Click - But Do We Have A Contract? A Case Comment On Aspenceri.Com V. Paysystems, Charles Morgan

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

It is trite to say that e-commerce has exploded over the last several years. Canadian individuals and businesses are entering into thousands and thousands of contracts online all the time. Yet, oddly enough, there is surprisingly little legal certainty or consistency regarding an essential legal question: what approach to online contract formation will create a binding legal contract? Such legal uncertainty is unfortunate, since buyers need to know when to ‘‘beware’’, merchants need to be able to manage risk, and courts need to have clear guidelines in order to be able to render informed, coherent decisions.

The issue of online …

Intelligent Agents: Authors, Makers, And Owners Of Computer-Generated Works In Canadian Copyright Law, Rex M. Shoyama

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The central objective of this article is to propose a clarification of copyright law as applied to works created by intelligent agents. In Part I, the concepts of artificial intelligence and intelligent agents are introduced. Part II identifies the challenges that are presented to the tests of originality and authorship in the application of copyright to works generated by intelligent agents. It is argued that works created by intelligent agents may meet the tests of originality and authorship. It is also argued that the con- cepts of ‘‘author’’, ‘‘owner’’, and ‘‘maker’’ are distinct from one another in Canadian copyright law. …

Biotechnology Unglued: Science, Society, And Social Cohesion By Michael D. Mehta, Ed. (Vancouver: Ubc Press, 2005), Chidi Oguamanam

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In Biotechnology Unglued, Mehta and his thirteen-member interdisciplinary team, comprising mainly of social scientists using a number of ‘‘case studies’’, explore in nine essays ‘‘how advances in agricultural, medical, and forensic biotechnology may threaten the social cohesiveness of different kinds of communities and at different scales’’. In a way, the project is a successful attempt to underscore the theme of (and imperative for) social accountability of science and bio/technological innovations. This 208-page collection of nine essays in a corresponding number of chapters is a remarkable effort. It is a departure from the traditional concerns regarding biotechnology innovations which, hitherto, emphasized …

The Forgotten Originality Requirement: A Constitutional Hurdle For Gene Patents, Oskar Liivak

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Originality has always been a part of patent law. It bars patents that are obtained by copying from someone or from somewhere. Modern judicial interpretations of the patent act have ignored this second element of originality. But as originality is, at least arguably, a constitutional limit of the Patent and Copyright clause, the courts must interpret the patent act consistently to include originality. As a specific example, the paper focuses on patents claiming isolated and purified naturally-occurring gene sequences. The paper concludes that such patents are not original – they are instead just the result of copying – and thus …

Traditional Knowledge & Intellectual Property: A Trips-Compatible Approach, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Should intellectual property provide a means for strengthening the range of incentives that local communities need for conserving and developing genetic resources and traditional knowledge (TK)? If so, how and at what cost? To be able to suggest answers, a number of issues must be resolved. They are the focus of the Article. First, one must build, and then cross, a cultural bridge to explain current forms of intellectual property to holders of traditional knowledge, including definitional efforts to determine the nature and depth of the overlap(s). This achieves a dual objective: it allows intellectual property circles to understand and …

When Will We Have Cross-Border Licensing Of Copyright And Related Rights In Europe?, Lucie Guibault

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In Europe, much has been written recently about the collective management of copyright and related rights. April 2004 saw the publication of the European Commission’s Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on the Management of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internal Market.1 This communication confirms the Commission’s intention to adopt, in the not too distant future, a directive on the governance of the societies for collective management of copyright and related rights (collecting societies) in Europe. In addition to describing the current situation in the area of collective management of copyright and related rights in the European …

Enhancing Patent Disclosure For Faithful Claim Construction, Joe Miller

Scholarly Works

Claim construction jurisprudence is in disarray. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reverses trial court claim construction decisions at a worryingly high rate. The proportion of Federal Circuit claim construction opinions that include separate concurrences or dissents continues to grow. And the muddled mix of issues the Federal Circuit framed for en banc review in the Phillips case suggests that the court is having trouble reaching consensus on what the central questions are, much less on how to answer them. Perhaps the path to adequately predictable claim construction is continued tinkering with the analytical constructs internal to …

American Corporate Copyright: A Brilliant, Uncoordinated Plan, Paul J. Heald

Scholarly Works

At first glance, American copyright law and policy seem to be dictated entirely by a monolithic block of corporate rightsholders. Over the last twenty years, powerful interests including Disney, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Microsoft, and the American Motion Picture Association (AMPA), have successfully lobbied Congress for copyright term extensions, copyright restoration, software anticircumvention legislation, protection against audio bootlegging, and a series of bilateral and international agreements designed to increase protection for American copyright owners overseas. Even the failure to protect databases in America, widely touted as a victory for the public interest, has been driven …

What Do Flexible Road Signs, Children's Clothes And The Allied Campaign In Europe During Wwii Have In Common? The Public Domain And The Supreme Court's Intellectual Property Jurisprudence, David E. Shipley

Scholarly Works

Part I of this article discusses the impact of the Sears, Compco and Bonito Boats, and the uncertainty over whether the principles of federal intellectual property announced in these decisions serve as limitations on the scope of protection that can be afforded under trademark legislation enacted by Congress under its Commerce Clause power. Part II presents the Supreme Court's reaffirmation of fundamental principles intellectual property policy in a series of cases decided in the last decade: Qualitex, Wal-Mart, TrafFix, Mosley and Dastar. Part III summarizes some of the common themes emerging from these decisions …