Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

The God Paradox, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Scholarly Articles

Not available.

Of Silos And Constellations: Comparing Notions Of Originality In Copyright Law, Daniel J. Gervais, Elizabeth F. Judge

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Originality is a central theme in the efforts to understand human evolution, thinking, innovation, and creativity. Artists strive to be "original," however the term is understood by each of them. It is also one of the major concepts in copyright law. This paper considers the evolution of the notion of originality since 2002 (when one of the coauthors published an article entitled Feist Goes Global: A Comparative Analysis Of The Notion Of Originality In Copyright Law) and continues the analysis, in particular whether the notion of "creative choices," which seems to have substantial normative heft in several jurisdictions, is optimal …

Of Clusters And Assumptions: Innovation As Part Of A Full Trips Implementation, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Because TRIPS introduced a high(er) level of intellectual property protection in a number of developing countries, it provides an opportunity to examine the impact of the introduction of (property) rights on a variety of intangibles in legal systems from which those rights were absent. One question is whether, and if so how, 18th century European rules, updated in concert with other Western nations until 1989, can be successfully integrated into the social, cultural, economic and legal fabric of dozens of developing nations, and how success is measured in that context. TRIPS also allows us to consider the impact of high(er) …

The Ethical Visions Of Copyright Law, James Grimmelmann

Faculty Scholarship

This symposium essay explores the imagined ethics of copyright: the ethical stories that people tell to justify, make sense of, and challenge copyright law. Such ethical visions are everywhere in intellectual property discourse, and legal scholarship ought to pay more attention to them. The essay focuses on a deontic vision of reciprocity in the author-audience relationship, a set of linked claims that authors and audiences ought to respect each other and express this respect through voluntary transactions.

Versions of this default ethical vision animate groups as seemingly antagonistic as the music industry, file sharers, free software advocates, and Creative Commons. …

Using Ethnographic Methods To Articulate Community-Based Conceptions Of Cultural Heritage Management, Julie Hollowell, George Nicholas

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

How can ethnographic methods help communities articulate and enact their own conceptions of heritage management? This and related questions are being explored through an international research project, ‘Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage’. The project includes up to twenty community- based initiatives that incorporate community-based participatory research and ethnographic methods to explore emerging intellectual property-related issues in archaeological contexts; the means by which they are being addressed or resolved; and the broader implications of these issues and concerns. We discuss three examples that use ethnography to (a) articulate local or customary laws and principles of archaeological heritage management among a …

Clean Technology Transfer And Intellectual Property Rights, Nitya Nanda, Nidhi Srivastava

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Who's Your Daddy? A Psychoanalytic Exegesis Of The Supreme Court's Recent Patent Jurisprudence, Gretchen S. Sween

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Debate On In Re Bilski, Lauren Katzenellenbogen, Bob Irvine, David Donoghue

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Discussion Of Employer Assignment Agreements After Ddb Technologies V. Mlb Advanced Media, Mike Baniak, Todd Dawson

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Scary Patents, Stephen Mcjohn

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Nobody Reads Your Privacy Policy Or Online Contract? Lessons Learned And Questions Raised By The Ftc's Action Against Sears, Susan E. Gindin

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Effect: Tougher Standards But Courts Return To The Prior Practice Of Granting Injunctions For Patent Infringement, Stacy Streur

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Betting On Prohibition: The Federal Government's Approach To Internet Gambling, Kraig P. Grahmann

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Reexamination And Improving Patent Quality, Roger Shang

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Protection And Enforcement Of Well-Known Mark Rights In China: History, Theory And Future, Jing "Brad" Luo, Shubha Ghosh

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Youtube—The Next Generation Of Infringing On Creative Works: What Can Be Done To Protect The Screenwriters?, Ashlee M. Knuckey

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Observer And The Observed: Re-Imagining Privacy Dichotomies In Information Privacy Law, Marcy Peek

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Egyptian Goddess V. Swisa: What Is The 'Point'?, A.C. Dike

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

A Discussion On The Patentability Of Signals: Examining In Re Nuijten, Damien Howard

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Well-Pleaded Complaint Rule And Jurisdiction Over Patent Law Counterclaims: An Empirical Assessment Of Holmes Group And Proposals For Improvement, Jiwen Chen

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Copyrighting Stage Directions & The Constitutional Mandate To "Promote The Progress Of Science", Jessica Talati

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Panel On Tafas V. Dudas, Patent Rules Changes And Patent Reform, Matthew Sag, Sean Seymore, Chris Singer

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

In Re Bilski: A Midpoint In The Evolution Of Business Methods, R. David Donoghue, Micael A. Grill

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Alternative Software Protection In View Of In Re Bilski, Lauren Katzenellenbogen, Charles Duan, James Skelley

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Innovation And Liability For Contributory Copyright Infringement, David Mcgowan

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Freedom: Striking A Fair Balance Between Copyright And Other Intellectual Property Protections In Cartoon Characters, Laurie Richter

St. Thomas Law Review

The purpose of this article is to express the reasons why copyright statutes should be overhauled to provide explicit rights reserved to the public, as opposed to the present structure of copyright law, which provides rights to a copyright owner, subject to the many exceptions that have sprung up over the past few years. Some of these exceptions, which seem to have engulfed the basic premise of copyright theory, are the broadly framed but vague protections offered by the fair use doctrine. These rights include the right of a lawful owner of a copy to sell or otherwise dispose of …

Of Patents And Property, James Bessen, Michael J. Meurer

Faculty Scholarship

Do patents behave substantially like property rights in tangible assets, in that they encourage development and innovation? This article notes that historical evidence, cross-country evidence, economic experiments, and estimates of net benefits all indicate that general property rights institutions have a substantial direct effect on economic growth. Conversely, with a few important exceptions like chemicals and pharmaceuticals, empirical evidence indicates that intellectual property rights have at best only a weak and indirect effect on economic growth. Further, it appears that for public firms in most industries today, patents may actually discourage investment in innovation for fear of winding up on …

Trespass-Copyright Parallels And The Harm-Benefit Distinction, Wendy J. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

Currently, the elements of a plaintiff’s cause of action for copyright largely follow the tort of trespass to land in that volitional entry (for land) or volitional copying (for copyright) gives rise to liability regardless of proof of harm and without any need for the plaintiff to prove the defendant acted unreasonably. Many scholars have criticized copyright law for following the strict liability model of real property trespass, and have suggested alternatives that would more resemble conditional causes of action such as unfair competition, nuisance, or negligence. In Foreseeability and Copyright Incentives, Professor Shyamkrishna Balganesh argues that copyright plaintiffs …

The New Private Ordering Of Intellectual Property, Lawrence M. Sung

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Ideology And Exceptionalism In Intellectual Property: An Empirical Study, Matthew Sag, Tonja Jacobi, Maxim Sytch

Faculty Articles

In this Article, we examine the effect of judicial ideology on IP case outcomes before the Supreme Court from 1954 to 2006. We find that ideology is a significant determinant of IP cases: the more conservative a justice is, the more likely he or she is to vote in favor of recognizing and enforcing rights to intellectual property. We also find evidence that the relationship is more complex than a purely ideological account would suggest; our results suggest that law matters too. We find that a number of factors that are specific to IP are also consequential. Additionally, we show …