Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Copyright For Literate Robots, James Grimmelmann

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Almost by accident, copyright has concluded that copyright law is for humans only: reading performed by computers doesn't count as infringement. Conceptually, this makes sense: copyright's ideal of romantic readership involves humans writing for other humans. But in an age when more and more manipulation of copyrighted works is carried out by automated processes, this split between human reading (infringement) and robotic reading (exempt) has odd consequences and creates its own tendencies toward a copyright system in which humans occupy a surprisingly peripheral place. This essay describes the shifts in fair use law that brought us here and reflects on …

There's No Such Thing As A Computer-Authored Work - And It's A Good Thing, Too, James Grimmelmann

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Treating computers as authors for copyright purposes is a non-solution to a non-problem. It is a non-solution because unless and until computer programs can qualify as persons in life and law, it does no practical good to call them "authors" when someone else will end up owning the copyright anyway. And it responds to a non-problem because there is nothing actually distinctive about computer-generated works.

There are five plausible ways in which computer-generated works might be considered meaningfully different from human-generated works: (1) they are embedded in digital copies, (2) people create them using computers rather than by hand, (3) …

Copyright In Pantomime, Brian L. Frye

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Why does the Copyright Act specifically provide for the protection of “pantomimes”? This Article shows that the Copyright Act of 1976 amended the subject matter of copyright to include pantomimes simply in order to conform it to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It further shows that the Berlin Act of 1909 amended the Berne Convention to provide for copyright protection of “les pantomimes” and “entertainments in dumb show” in order to ensure copyright protection of silent motion pictures. Unfortunately, the original purpose of providing copyright protection to '“pantomimes” was forgotten. This Article argues that …

What’S In A Name, Brother—Profit Or Publicity: An Analysis Of Trademarking Ring Names In Professional Wrestling, Alissa M. Harrington

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Video Games And Intellectual Property: Similarities, Differences, And A New Approach To Protection, John Kuehl

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

At The Crossroads Of Intellectual Property And Government Contracting: Case Studies And Practical Pointers, Courtney A. Hofflander, Theodore M. Thompson Ii

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

#Trademarklaw: Protecting And Maximizing The Value Of Trademarks In An Evolving Social Media Marketplace, Betsy A. Butwin

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Picasso On Staff: Employee Classification, Copyrights, And The Creative Process, Sarah A. Howes

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Strength In Intellectual Property Protection And Foreign Direct Investment Flows In Least Developed Countries, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

Ip Litigation In United States District Courts: 1994 To 2014, Matthew Sag

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article undertakes a broad-based empirical review of intellectual property (“IP”) litigation in U.S. federal district courts from 1994 to 2014. Unlike the prior literature, this study analyzes federal copyright, patent, and trademark litigation trends as a unified whole. It undertakes a systematic analysis of the records of more than 190,000 cases filed in federal courts and examines the subject matter, geographical, and temporal variation within federal IP litigation over the last two decades.

This Article analyzes changes in the distribution of IP litigation over time and their regional distribution. The key findings of this Article stem from an attempt …

A Collision Course Between Trips Flexibilities And Investor-State Proceedings, Cynthia M. Ho

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article discusses an important, yet understudied threat to patent, as well as other intellectual property sovereignty under TRIPS: pending and potential challenges by companies under international agreements protecting investments. Although such agreements have existed for decades, Philip Morris and Eli Lilly are blazing a new path for companies to sue countries they claim interfere with their intellectual property rights through so-called investor-state arbitrations. These suits seek hundreds of millions in compensation and even injunctive relief for alleged violations of internationally agreed intellectual property norms. The suits fundamentally challenge TRIPS flexibilities at the very time the Declaration on Patent Protection …

Creative Equity: A Practical Approach To The Actor's Copyright, Sarah Howes

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Copyrighting Tattoos: Artist Vs. Client In The Battle Of The (Waiver) Forms, Brayndi L. Grassi

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Performance Right—A World In Transition, Todd Brabec

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trademarks And Brands In 3d Printing, Tabrez Y. Ebrahim

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Panel 1: Issues In The U.S. For Chinese Businesses, Cindy Yang, Jamie D. Underwood, Mark Cohen

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The symposium examines the bidirectional intellectual property (IP) challenges between the U.S. and China, highlighting that while Chinese businesses face significant IP issues in the U.S., American companies also encounter complexities in China. The discussion emphasizes the evolving nature of IP litigation in both countries, with a focus on fashion and brand protection. Panelists provide insights into strategies for navigating these challenges, including the use of design patents, trademarks, and trade dress, as well as the role of administrative bodies like the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).

Panel 2: Issues In China For U.S. Businesses, Dan Harris, Cedric Lam, Ling Zhao, Lara Miller, Stephen Lamar

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The symposium examines the challenges of enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights in China, particularly for U.S. companies, and highlights the efforts of organizations like the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) to address counterfeit goods on platforms like Alibaba. It underscores the complexities of protecting IP in China despite relatively straightforward registration processes.

Improving Technology Neutrality Through Compulsory Licensing, Jake Linford

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Changing Life Science Patent Landscape, Arti K. Rai, Jacob S. Sherkow

Articles & Chapters

Over the past two decades, patent law in the life sciences has been buffeted by numerous controversies. With courts, legislatures and patent offices all responding, one could be forgiven for believing that the main constant has been change. In the following article, we look back at some of the major events in life science intellectual property (IP) law and business practice over the past 20 years and then suggest where IP practice in the life sciences may be heading in the coming years.

Much Ado About Transformativeness: The Seventh Circuit And Market-Centered Fair Use, Aaron B. Wicker

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

In Kienitz v. Sconnie Nation LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ultimately rejected the concept of transformative use having a central role within the doctrine of fair use. In doing so, the Seventh Circuit broke with judicial precedent, namely the Supreme Court’s holding in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., where the Court unanimously held that the inquiry for the first factor of fair use is whether, and to what extent, the work is transformative. The Seventh Circuit’s 2014 decision raises questions about the scope of the holding in Campbell and about whether this holding …

Who Owns This Article? Applying Copyright’S Work-Made-For-Hire Doctrine To Librarians’ Scholarship, Paul Hellyer

Library Staff Publications

The Copyright Act of 1976 provides that works—including scholarship—written within the scope of employment belong to employers. But copyright law and actual practices widely diverge. The academic community generally allows librarians to claim ownership of their writing, even when that ignores copyright law. Mr. Hellyer supports copyright ownership by librarians, and calls for the law and common practices to be harmonized.

What Is Digital Rights Management?, Frederick W. Dingledy, Alex Berrio Matamoros

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

End Of The Parallel Between Patent Law's § 284 Willfullness And § 285 Exceptional Case Analysis, Don Zhe Nan Wang

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Patent law’s “willful infringement” analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 284 and the “exceptional case” analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 285 are largely considered parallel, and essentially identical. In 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States drastically changed the standards for the § 285 exceptional case analysis in its Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc. and Highmark Inc. v. Allcare Health Management System, Inc. decisions. This prompted two federal circuit judges to call for similar changes to the § 284 willful infringement analysis. On October 19, 2015, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to review whether such a …

International Collaboration On Ip/Access To Medicines: Birth Of South Africa’S Fix The Patent Laws Campaign, Brook J. Baker

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Redskins: The Property Right To Racism, M. Alexander Pearl

Faculty Articles

Everyone has an opinion, from President Obama to Matthew McConaughey, about the Washington football team name. This Article comprehensively analyzes the legal and social issues surrounding the mascot controversy. I focus my inquiry on the interaction of trademark law and Indian law. I offer three primary contributions in this Article. First, the current mainstream conception of harm caused by the team name is subjective, and I argue that the harm caused by the team name and logo is objective, testable, and demonstrable. Psychological research shows that these images harm Native people. Second, the remedies offered by the Lanham Act are …

Foreword: The Food Law Era, Nathan Cortez

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Was There A Body In The Trunk: Volatile Organic Compounds In The Trial Of Casey Anthony And The Evolving Search For A Chemical Profile For Human Decomposition, John Ensiminger, Megan A. Ferguson, L. E. Papet

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Loser Pays" In Patent Examination, Neel U. Sukhatme

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Many scholars and practitioners believe there are too many “weak” patents—those that should not have issued but somehow get approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). To the extent they exist, such patents unnecessarily tax real innovation and generate welfare losses for society.

Some commentators have focused on the PTO’s failure to exclude weak patents, or the damage caused by these patents in litigation, often by patent trolls. But this scholarly discussion misses the point. The present Article argues that weak patents largely stem from a pricing problem: namely, a patent applicant pays higher patent fees when she …

The First Amendment Walks Into A Bar: Trademark Registration And Free Speech, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Section 2 of the Lanham Act, the federal law governing trademarks, lists a number of bars that preclude registration of a trademark on the federal register. These reasons include: the claimed matter is functional, meaning it affects the cost or quality of the underlying product or service; the claimed matter is merely descriptive, meaning that consumers don’t understand that it indicates source and instead think that it just describes some characteristic of the product; the claimed matter is deceptively misdescriptive, which is like descriptiveness except not true; the claimed matter is deceptive, meaning that the untruth would be material to …

Trademark Exhaustion And The Internet Of Resold Things, Yvette Joy Liebesman

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the past ten years, casual resellers have migrated from garage sales, swap meets, and classified ads to eBay and Craigslist, turning side hobbies into lucrative businesses. Today, 30 million new ads are posted on Craigslist every month, and six million new listings are posted daily on eBay.¹ The explosive online market has affected the sales of new goods, troubling manufacturers² who seek to curtail the growth of this secondary market through several avenues—some legitimate, and others not so much. For example, to combat diversion to resellers outside of its official distribution chain, Tiffany, Inc., the well-known jeweler, …