Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

When Real People Become Fictional: The Collision Of Trademark, Copyright, And Publicity Rights In Online Stories About Celebrities, Stacey M. Lantagne

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

"Fanficion is frequently defined as the writing of fiction involving the characters or setting of someone else’s creation. However, there is a subset of fanfiction that is known as Real Person Fiction, or RPF. This subset writes stories not about other people’s fictional creations but about real people, whether they be hockey players or movie stars, and it has long been the scene of heated debate in the fan community. Some fans who readily and enthusiastically engage with fanfiction draw strict “squick” lines about RPF and call it “creepy” and “disturbing.” "Perhaps for this reason, scholars have paid little attention …

Copyright Competition: The Shifting Boundaries Of Convergence Between U.S. And Canadian Copyright Regimes In The Digital Age, David Amar

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The great copyright debate between protecting creators and encouraging information-sharing has always been a contentious and likely unresolvable battle. However, with the crafting of new legislation designed to rein in unscrupulous sharing in the age of online sharing and piracy, the discussion grows ever more heated. The economies of Canada and the U.S. have always been intertwined, and in a copyright context, this has never been clearer. Since Canada began to appear on the U.S. “Special 301” piracy reports, the two nations have been locked into a system of promulgating ever-more restrictive copyright policy, the logical extreme of which may …

La Insoportable Levedad Del Legislador Argentino En Materia De Derecho De Autor Digresiones Jurídico-Económicos En Torno Al Proyecto Legislativo Que Propone Extender La Duración De Las Obras Fotográficas, Maximiliano Marzetti

Maximiliano Marzetti

Este aporte tiene una doble finalidad, catártica y educativa. Por un lado quiero desahogarme al ver como la historia se repite: la vetusta ley de propiedad intelectual N° 11.723 sólo se retoca para extender privilegios económicos de un sector y no en beneficio del bien común. Por otro, continúo mi prédica para intentar convencer a colegas y legisladores para que se adentren en el fabuloso mundo de la multidisciplina. Necesitamos legisladores que sepan de derecho, economía y ciencias sociales, o al menos que sepan escuchar a quienes saben.

El Rompecabezas Incompleto. La Omisión Normativa Y Jurisprudencial Sobre La Protección Por El Derecho De Autor De Personajes Y Objetos De La Obra, Javier André Murillo Chávez

Javier André Murillo Chávez

No abstract provided.

Technological Neutrality: (Pre)Serving The Purposes Of Copyright Law, Carys J. Craig

Carys Craig

In the realm of law, neutrality is widely hailed as a fundamental principle of fairness, justice and equity; it is also, however, widely criticized as a myth that too often obscures the inevitable reality of perspective, interest or agenda.The principle of technological neutrality, recently articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada when applying copyright law to online activities, seems similarly fundamental in the copyright realm — and equally mythical. In what is now dubbed the Supreme Court’s “Copyright Pentalogy” — five copyright judgments released concurrently by the Court in June 2012 — the unprecedented importance accorded by the Court to …

Orphans In Turmoil: How A Legislative Solution Can Help Put The Orphan Works Dilemma To Rest, Vicenç Feliú

Vicenç Feliú

The orphan works issue has continued to grow in the United States despite strong efforts to find a workable solution. Stakeholders on both sides of the issue have proposed and opposed both solutions and compromises that could have alleviated the problem and are still no closer to an agreement. This paper posits that the solutions offered in the proposed legislation of 2006 and 2008 provide a strong working foundation for a legislative answer to the issue. To create a workable solution to the orphan works issue, a new legislative effort would have to take into account the questions raised by …

Patent Trolls: Moral Panics, Motions In Limine, And Patent Reform, Edward Lee

Edward Lee

No abstract provided.

Abriendo Caminos: Acceso A La Cultura, Educación A Distancia Y Digitalización De Obras En Los Límites Y Excepciones A Los Derechos De Autor, Javier André Murillo Chávez

Javier André Murillo Chávez

No abstract provided.

From Kafka To Kafta: Intellectual Property, And The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement 2014 (KAFTA) is a Kafkaesque agreement – with its secret texts, speculative claims, and shadowy tribunals. Australia and South Korea have signed a new free trade agreement - the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement2014 (KAFTA). Is it a fair trade fairytale? Or is it a dirty deal done dirt cheap? Or somewhere in between? It is hard to tell, given the initial secrecy of the negotiations, and the complexity of the texts of the agreement. There has been much debate in the Australian Parliament over the transparency of the trade agreement; the scope of market access …

De Dumb Starbucks Y Otros Demonios ¿La Parodia Justifica El Uso De Marca Ajena?, Javier André Murillo Chávez

Javier André Murillo Chávez

No abstract provided.

Key Change: The Role Of The Creative Industries In Climate Change Action, Tim Hollo

Matthew Rimmer

The role of the creative industries – arts and artists – in helping to drive the changes in laws and behaviours that are necessary to tackle climate change, while not superficially obvious, is a deep one. Arts and artists of all kinds, as cultural practitioners, have been closely entwined with social change and social control since time immemorial, in large part because they help shape our understanding of the world, framing ideas, prefiguring change, and opening hearts and minds to new ways of thinking. They have played a major role in campaigns for law reform on many issues, and climate …

The Fairest Of Them All: The Creative Interests Of Female Fan Fiction Writers And The Fair Use Doctrine, Pamela Kalinowski

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Rauschenberg, Royalties, And Artists' Rights: Potential Droit De Suite Legislation In The United States, M. Elizabeth Petty

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Trick Or Treaty? The Australian Debate Over The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta), Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

The secretive 2011Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement – known in short by the catchy acronym ACTA – is a controversial trade pact designed to provide for stronger enforcement of intellectual property rights. The preamble to the treaty reads like pulp fiction – it raises moral panics about piracy, counterfeiting, organised crime, and border security. The agreement contains provisions on civil remedies and criminal offences; copyright law and trademark law; the regulation of the digital environment; and border measures. Memorably, Susan Sell called the international treaty a TRIPS Double-Plus Agreement, because its obligations far exceed those of the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement …

The Global Trade Mark, Edward Lee

Edward Lee

This Article offers a proposal for WTO countries to adopt global IP rights for a special class of trademarks: famous or well-known marks. Well-known marks are well-suited for greater departure from the territoriality principle, given the transnational protections for well-known marks that already exist under the Paris Convention and TRIPS Agreement. This Article proposes creating a Global Trademark (GTM) for well-known marks, to be governed by one, uniform international law. The GTM will span all countries in the WTO. The GTM is inspired, in part, by the Community Trade Mark (CTM) in the European Union, the first truly transnational IP …

Paracopyright: A Peculiar Right To Control Access, Joseph Liu

Joseph P. Liu

Trademark Protection And Territoriality: Challenges In The Global Economy, Edward Lee

Edward Lee

No abstract provided.

Doma's Ghost And Copyright Reversionary Interests, Brad A. Greenberg

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property Policy, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

A Submission To The Australian Law Reform Commission On Copyright And The Digital Economy: Open Access, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis Submission is based upon work in progress, which has been presented at this forum and published in the form of opinion-editorials:1. Matthew Rimmer, 'Aaron's Army Fights the Trans-Pacific Partnership', Open Access Research Issues in the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Australian National University, 3 May 2013.2. Matthew Rimmer, 'Aaron's Army Fights the Trans-Pacific Partnership', The Conversation, 8 March 2013, https://theconversation.edu.au/aarons-army-fights-the-trans-pacific-partnership-12273 and Delimiter http://delimiter.com.au/2013/03/08/aarons-army-fights-the-trans-pacific-partnership/ RECOMMENDATIONSIn its discussion paper, the Australian Law Reform Commission proposed a broad, flexible exception of fair use. The Commission emphasized that the new fair use exception should contain: (a) an express statement that a fair …

A Submission To The Australian Law Reform Commission On Copyright And The Digital Economy: It Pricing, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis submission draws upon a number of pieces of research on copyright and consumer rights – including:1. Matthew Rimmer, 'Clash of the Titans: Apple, Adobe, and Microsoft Under Fire at the IT Pricing Inquiry', The Conversation, 22 March 2013, https://theconversation.edu.au/clash-of-the-titans-apple-adobe-and-microsoft-under-fire-at-it-pricing-inquiry-128782. Matthew Rimmer, 'When the Price is Not Right: Technology Price Gouging in Australia', The Conversation, 23 November 2012, http://theconversation.edu.au/when-the-price-is-not-right-technology-price-gouging-in-australia-105823. Matthew Rimmer, 'IT Pricing: Copyright Law, Consumer Rights, and Competition Policy', A submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications Inquiry into IT Pricing, 19 September 2012, http://works.bepress.com/matthew_rimmer/121/In addition, this submission draws upon a number of …

Do – Re – Mi: Una Aproximación A La Obra Musical Desde El Derecho De Propiedad Intelectual Y La Teoría Musical, Javier André Murillo Chávez

Javier André Murillo Chávez

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of How To Fix Copyright By William Patry, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Pirates Of The Australian Election, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

“Pirate parties” have proliferated across Europe and North America in the past decade, championing issues such as intellectual property (IP), freedom of speech, and the protection of privacy and anonymity.This year, the movement hit Australian shores: The Pirate Party Australia was officially registered by the Australian Electoral Commission in January 2013. (You can read its principles and platform here.)“More than ever before, there is a necessity in Australia for a party that holds empowerment, participation, free culture and openness as its central tenets”, Pirate Party founder Rodney Serkowski said in a press release announcing the group’s successful registration. Their first …

Conviviendo Con El Enemigo: Sobre Los Conflictos Entre El Derecho De Autor Y El Derecho De La Propiedad Industrial, Javier André Murillo Chávez

Javier André Murillo Chávez

No abstract provided.

Digital Content Contracts For Consumers, Marco Loos, Chantal Mak, Lucie Guibault, Lodewijk Pessers, Natali Helberger

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The application of consumer law to digital content contracts encounters a number of obstacles. Some of these are rather typical for digital content markets, e.g., the legal consequences of the classification of digital content as “goods” or “services”, and more importantly, the absence of general benchmarks to evaluate the conformity of digital content. Other problems, such as the limited usefulness of consumer information and the position of underage consumers, are not as such reserved to digital consumers, but they are amplified in the digital content markets. Moreover, particular attention is paid to the complex relationship between copyright law and consumer …

Intellectual Property Defenses, Gideon Parchomovsky, Alex Stein

All Faculty Scholarship

In this Essay, we offer an integrated theory of intellectual property defenses. We demonstrate that all intellectual property defenses can be fitted into three conceptual categories: general, individualized and class defenses. A general defense is the inverse of a right in rem. It goes to the validity of the intellectual property right asserted by the plaintiff, and when raised successfully it relieves not only the actual defendant, but also the public at large, of the duty to comply with the plaintiff’s intellectual property right. An individualized defense, as we define it, is the inverse of an in personam right: it …

Streaming While Teaching: The Legality Of Using Person Streaming Video Accounts For The Classroom, Jonathan I. Ezor

Scholarly Works

Educators are constantly seeking new sources of relevant material to illustrate doctrinal and practice topics. With the growing understanding of students’ different learning styles, as well as the expansion of high-speed network connections and large displays in the classroom, streaming video has begun gaining popularity as an educational tool. Films, television programs, and real-time and archived legislative and court sessions may provide examples (both positive and negative) to enhance pedagogy. One increasingly common source for streaming content is a commercial video provider such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. Even where such providers do not offer educational or institutional services, educators …

Copyright-Exempt Nonprofits: A Simple Proposal To Spur Innovation, Edward Lee

Edward Lee

New types of social networks have recently emerged that have facilitated the growth of a different kind of user-generated content: curation. The user finds various content from the Internet and then organizes or “curates” the content in a social network platform in a way that better serves the user’s purpose. For example, on Pinterest, users can “pin” content from the web onto their virtual “pinboards” that have topical categories of the users’ choice. The content typically involves a photograph (in reduced size) from the original web page that is then displayed on the user’s pinboard. Clicking on the photograph displays …

The Fight For The Future: How People Defeated Hollywood And Saved The Internet—For Now, Edward Lee

Edward Lee

No abstract provided.