Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Cd-Rom Symposium Transcript Two - 1992, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

MR. METALITZ: I think the point there is that amputation of authorship is really kind of an artifact of the registration process. You wouldn't be that concerned.

The Trademark Protection Of Advertising Slogans: A Modern Perspective, Evynne Grover

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Idea, Process, Or Protected Expression?: Determining The Scope Of Copyright Protection Of The Structure Of Computer Programs, Steven R. Englund

Michigan Law Review

Courts considering the alleged copying of the structure, rather than literal copying of the text, of a computer program have usually concerned themselves with whether protected expression or an unprotected idea was copied. Courts have seldom suggested that it might be an unprotected process that was copied. However, this Note concludes that the legislative history of the 1976 Act indicates that that legislation's drafters envisioned a far more prominent role for the process-expression dichotomy than it has played to date. The process inquiry is at least as important as the idea inquiry in striking the proper balance between promoting progress …

Computer Software Copyright Infringement: The Second Generation, Jeffrey A. Berkowitz

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Arbitration In The Resolution Of Patent Disputes, Mark A. Farley

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Draft Of Desert Theory - 1985, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

The first condition of Lockean theory is that property applies only to labor which appropriates something out of the common. Similarly, possession theory in American law applies only to appropriations of things which are unclaimed. While an intellectual product might seem to be drawn out of the ether, it can in fact be a difficult question whether its producers have drawn on more than commonly-owned resources.

Brief Survey Of And Proposal For Better Reconciliation Of The Options In Patent, Trademark, Copyright And Related Law, Thomas G. Field Jr

Law Faculty Scholarship

Taking up trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets (in that order), [this article] will attempt to summarize briefly the ways in which such rights arise, are perfected, and are enforced. It will also discuss a hypothetical in which all of these options will be discussed in a comparative way. Finally, it will suggest that basic improvements in the area could be realized by dispensing with the often confusing and arbitrary subject matter distinctions which characterize the various subparts of the present intellectual property system.

Notes On Desert Theory: The No-Harm Notion - 1985, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

At first blush, the creation of i/p seems to meet this test of Locke’s proviso, namely, that strangers cannot complain of the ownership if after the appropriation, “there was as good left, as that already possessed, and more than he knew what to do with, or his industry could reach to.” There would seem to be a nearly infinite store of possible melodies, poems, novels, ideas; granting ownership over one variant which has been reduced to expression by a creator wouldn’t seem to interfere with the stranger’s ability to create his own.

Notes On Demarcation And Other Issues - 1985, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Not only is there a problem with demarking the resource (e.g., the problem of larger and larger generality that Hand tries to deal with) but there's also a problem with demarking the TYPE OF USE. In DOW JONES, for example, the defendant was merely making reference to (not copying)the average; ditto the NFL case.

Draft Of Conceptual/Linguistic Analysis - 1984, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

Conceptually, what I'm interested in here is the extent to which the labels “tort” and “property” have utility. So I am interested in discovering also what these categories mean, how they can be used, and the danger in their misuse.

Federal Copyright Law In The Computer Era: Protection For The Authors Of Video Games, Jeffrey B. Mahan

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment analyzes both the manner and scope of copyright protection currently afforded computer video games. It then discusses the means available under federal copyright laws to protect the underlying computer program and concludes that the game should be regarded as a unit. The effect of treating the game as a unit of audiovisual and computer elements—as opposed to considering only the audiovisual display—will be to raise certain appropriations to the level of copyright infringement.

Television Sponsor And Advertising Agency Held Vicariously Liable For Copyright Infringement--Davis V. E.I. Dupont De Nemours & Co., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

DuPont sponsored a dramatization of Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome presented by the CBS television network. Petitioner claimed an infringement of his earlier copyrighted dramatization of the same novel and sought a declaration of liability against CBS, the producer of the program, DuPont, and its advertising agency, Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc. (BBDO). Although DuPont and BBDO were notified before the performance of the possibility of copyright infringement liability and could have stopped the producers from using petitioner's play, they made no attempt to interfere. In petitioner's action in the federal district court, DuPont and BBDO contended that they …

Copyright-Notice Requirements-Pitfalls For The Unwary, Gregor N. Neff

Michigan Law Review

Whether judicial remedy of the situation will be adequate or whether legislative change is necessary to remedy the situation presents another problem; but the need for remedy seems clear. The purpose of this comment is to discuss these pitfalls and to indicate present judicial trends regarding these problems. Proposed remedies, both legislative and judicial, will be listed and evaluated where possible.

Enforcement Of Intellectual Property Rights, Albert R. Teare

Cleveland State Law Review

Wrongful use or appropriation of the property of another is a tort. The owner of a patent has a remedy by civil action for infringement of his patent, and the District Courts of the United States have original jurisdiction of any civil action arising under any act of Congress relating to patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Copryright - Infringement - Parody Of Dramatic Production Held Not To Be Fair Use, William J. Wise S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Prior to December 1938, Patrick Hamilton wrote an original play entitled "Gaslight" which subsequently was published, performed and protected by copyright in both England and the United States. Loew's acquired exclusive motion picture rights to the play on October 7, 1942, and produced an original feature-length motion picture photoplay of the drama, also entitled "Gaslight." In 1945 Jack Benny sought and received permission to produce a 15-minute parody of the motion picture for his radio program. In 1953, without securing Loew's permission, Benny produced a 15-minute filmed parody of the motion picture for his television program. It was entitled "Autolight" …

Recent Decisions, Various Editors

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Malpractice Of Patent Attorneys, B. Joan Holdridge

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will consider briefly the general nature of patent practice, and will indicate those areas where negligence on the part of the attorney could prevent a person from obtaining a patent or from having as full coverage of his invention as that to which he is entitled.

The Patent-Antitrust Problem, Bartholomew Diggins

Michigan Law Review

The Patent-Antitrust section of the Report of the Attorney General's National Committee to Study the Antitrust Laws is an excellent analysis of the existing law and is an invaluable handbook for practitioners in this difficult field. The writer's approach to the problem is different from that of the committee and before commenting specifically on the Report it is only fair to state the writer's views of the problem lest differences in viewpoint give the impression of criticism of the Report.

In any approach to the patent-antitrust problem there is a basic question: does a "patent-antitrust problem" exist? The Report …

Constitutional Law - Commerce Clause - Federal Jurisdiction In Trade-Mark Infringement Proceedings Under The Lanham Act, Richard R. Dailey

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's trade-mark, "Minute Maid," had been registered under the Lanham Act in 1952 and had been used in interstate commerce in connection with the sale of frozen fruit juice concentrates since that time. Defendant's trade-mark consisted in part of the words "Minute Made." Defendant used its mark wholly within the State of Florida in the processing and sale of frozen meat products. Both plaintiff and defendant were Florida corporations. In a suit for trade-mark infringement, jurisdiction of the federal district court depended. on the provisions of the Lanham Act. The complaint alleged damage to plaintiff's good will established in interstate …

Borderland - Where Copyright And Design Patent Meet, Richard W. Pogue

Michigan Law Review

Copyright law and design patent law contemplate basically different objects of protection. Yet at the outer fringes of these types of protection certain concepts overlap to form a rather undefined borderland in which it is difficult to say what law is applicable-copyright law, patent law, neither, or both. It is the purpose of this paper to explore this borderland area in the light of traditional copyright and patent law principles, with attention given to policy considerations involved, and to offer suggestions toward drawing a sharper boundary between the two.

Woe Unto You Trade-Mark Owners, Julius R. Lunsford, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

THE new Trade-Mark Act,1 widely heralded as giving added protection to trade-mark owners, has in its nearly four years of operation resulted, in several spectacular instances, in narrowing the rights conferred by the registration and use of trade-marks. Text author Rudolph Callmann remarked after the act's first birthday: "Despite all the efforts of the bar, our courts still cling to the familiar anachronisms."2 Where do trade-mark owners stand today? The Supreme Court has to date failed to answer this question, and the federal courts have refused to consider the import of the new legislation. Many commentators, attorneys and scholars thought …

Trade Restraints - Patents - Effect Of Illegal Condition In Patent Licensing Agreement, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, owning a patent on a process involving the use of unpatented lecithin in the production of chocolate, assured potential users that the process might be employed by them in the manufacture of chocolate on condition that all lecithin so used be purchased exclusively from plaintiff. Defendant at .first complied with the condition but subsequently, while continuing to use the patented process, began to buy lecithin from plaintiff's competitors. Plaintiff brought suit for an injunction restraining infringement. Defendant, in counterclaiming for an injunction against future suits, in effect asked the court to hold that the implied license under which it …

Federal Courts - Appeal And Error - Does A Statute Which Authorizes An Interlocutory Appeal Require Such Appeal?, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A bill seeking an injunction and an accounting was filed in a United States district court for alleged infringement by defendant of plaintiff's rights in the words of a song. Defendant's appeal from a decree enjoining further use of the song and directing an accounting for profits was denied, because the appeal had been taken more than thirty days after its entry and so the circuit court of appeals was without jurisdiction. The case proceeded to an accounting in the district court, and a final decree was entered from which defendant appealed again to the circuit court. Held, the …

Trade - Marks And Trade Names - Effect Of Word - Mark Acquiring A Descriptive Connotation, Grover C. Grismore

Michigan Law Review

One of the principal stumbling blocks in the way of the development of a consistent and satisfactory theory of trade-mark protection has been the anomalous distinction that has always been made between the so-called technical or common-law trade-mark, and the non-technical mark or tradename. This distinction, as has been pointed out previously in this Review, grew somewhat accidentally out of the supposed limitations on the jurisdiction of equity. Some of the earliest trade-mark cases proceeded on the theory that to justify the intervention of a court of equity, when the defendant was not shown to have been guilty of …

Patents - Option Of The Court To Permit Contempt Proceedings Or To Require A New Suit

Michigan Law Review

A final injunction was issued by the federal district court of Massachusetts against A, a Michigan corporation. The terms of the injunction were that A should not make, use, or sell lasts, or any colorable imitation thereof, embodying the invention covered by certain enumerated claims belonging to the present complainant. In a subsequent term of court the complainant alleged a violation of the injunction and brought contempt proceedings against A in the district court. The alleged infringement consisted in the manufacture and sale of a device which was slightly changed in form from that which the defendant had made prior …

Patents - Recovery Of Profits In Contempt Proceedings

Michigan Law Review

The facts of this case are stated in the preceding note. The complainant sought to recover in the contempt action the profits of the infringement subsequent to the injunction decree. The circuit court of appeals refused recovery. Held, the decree of the circuit court of appeals should be reversed; profits from the sale of the infringing article are properly an element of the contempt fine. Krentler-Arnold Hinge Last Co. v. Leman (U. S. Feb. 15, 1932) Adv. Op. No. 332. (Reversing the decision in (C. C. A. 1st, 1931) 50 F.(2d) 699).

Restrictions On The Use Of Patented Articles, Edward S. Rogers

Michigan Law Review

The case of Henry v. Dick recently decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, has occasioned considerable unfavorable comment in the public press. It seems to be the opinion of many that the decision lays down a new principle of law, particularly adaptable to the working of a monopoly, and that the public is, under the supposed new principle, exposed to a practically unlimited exploitation by any patentee. It is believed that neither of these contentions is correct.