Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Cheaper Watches And Copyright Law: Navigating "Gray Markets" After The Supreme Court's Split In Costco V. Omega, S.A., Parker A. Howell

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Some manufacturers seek to prevent unauthorized importation and sale of their foreign-made products, called “gray market” goods or “parallel imports,” through copyright law. U.S. copyright law prohibits importation of copyrighted works without the copyright owner’s permission. At least one manufacturer, Omega, sought to extend this protection to its watches, a useful product, by affixing copyrighted logos. In Costco v. Omega, S.A., Omega claimed Costco violated its distribution right by selling the watches in the U.S., while Costco contended that a first sale abroad had extinguished Omega’s rights. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed by an evenly …

Loaded Question: Examining Loadable Kernel Modules Under The General Public License V2, Curt Blake, Joseph Probst

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This Article examines the intersection of Linux loadable kernel modules and the license under which Linux is distributed, the General Public License (GPL) Version 2. Section I of this Article discusses ambiguous terms contained within the GPL and various interpretations of these ambiguities. Next, Section II analyzes the changing scope of legal protection for computer software, particularly as it pertains to derivative works and as applied to loadable kernel modules. Section III highlights provisions contained within the GPL that may attempt to reach beyond a traditional works analysis and examines these provisions in light of recent developments at the intersection …

Ethics: Conflicts Of Interest Issues In Patent Litigation, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

To understand what conflicts to avoid, this Article looks at recent decisions in patent litigation cases where conflict of interest issues have been decided. The discussion is divided up as follows. In Part I, choice of law regarding conflicts issues is discussed. In Part II, the common issues surrounding attorney and/or firm disqualifications for conflicts of interest are explored. Part III looks at conflicts of interest involving current clients. Part IV examines conflicts of interest concerning former clients. In Part V, a different type of conflict of interest—the lawyer as a witness situation—is discussed. Part VI moves to conflicts of …

Copyright's Gray Market, Redux, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

In an earlier entry in this series, I discussed an important issue in copyright law – whether the first sale doctrine applies to goods manufactured abroad. The Supreme Court was set to decide the issue in Costco v. Omega, but the Court split 4-4 and so left the matter unresolved.

Now the issue is back before the Supreme Court, in a case for which certiorari was granted this month: Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons. Supap Kirtsaeng is a native of Thailand who moved to the United States to attend college. To subsidize his tuition, he began importing textbooks that …

Trademark Tension, Part I, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

In this Intellectual Property Viewpoints series, we tend to focus on copyright and patent law – the “big two” IP regimes that govern innovation in the arts and sciences. But there is a third IP regime, a cousin to copyright and patent, which is important to almost any enterprise, even if its business has nothing to do with innovation. That’s trademark law.

Over the last several decades, trademark law has grown from its modest roots and experienced an expansion that rivals that of its more high-profile cousins. In this essay and the next, I will discuss this phenomenon, and in …

I 4 An I: Why Changing The Standard For Overcoming The Presumption Of Patent Validity Will Cause More Harm Than Good, John A. Morrissett

Law Student Publications

First, this paper describes the interests behind the presumption of patent validity and the historical treatment of the burden of proof required to overcome that presumption. While precedent does not bind the Supreme Court, it is important to consider how and why a particular standard has been applied in addition to Congress’s inaction in implementing a new standard. Second, this paper examines arguments in support of maintaining the status quo, changing to a preponderance of the evidence standard, and adopting a dual standard where some evidence must rise to the level of clear and convincing evidence while other evidence need …

Book Review Of Patent Reform In The 112th Congress: Innovation Issues, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Librarian’S Copyright Companion, James S. Heller, Paul Hellyer, Benjamin J. Keele

Library Staff Publications

The transition from print to digital continues. The Copyright Act has changed a little, but not for the better. This book begins with the premise that copyright exists to promote the dissemination of information, and while creators have certain rights, so do users. This new edition updates every chapter and adds a new chapter on the library as a publisher. Also included is information on recent developments such as Creative Common licenses and the use of digital video (e.g. YouTube) in the classroom.

Welcoming Remarks, Joseph J. Norton

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

China Patent Re-Examination, Zheng Chu, Alfonso Chan, Shelley Zheng

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

The America Invents Act: Strategic Perspectives, Sharon Barner, Hal Wegner, Jonathan Spivey, W. Keith Robinson

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Top Tens In 2011: Patent, Trademark, Copyright And Trade Secret Cases, Stephen M. Mcjohn

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This paper discusses notable intellectual property law cases in the United States in 2011. Patent cases addressed such issues as the scope of patent subject matter (the patentability of human genes and methods for testing for genetic links to cancer), the standards for challenges to the validity of patents (such as where technology that was not considered by the patent office is put in evidence), and the breadth of patent protection (especially with respect to the scope of protection for software patents). Other cases tested the borders of trademark protection – distinctiveness, functionality, and the interplay between trademark law and …

Top Tens In 2012: Patent, Trademark, Copyright And Trade Secret Cases, Stephen M. Mcjohn

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

back on the scope of patent subject matter in Prometheus, while according Congress great latitude in extending copyright protection in Golan. Prometheus was one of a number of cases in which the concept of functionality cut across the various areas of intellectual property. Prometheus cut back on patents on innovations that were not sufficiently functional, because they effectively claimed a law of nature. The Federal Circuit, in Myriad Genetics, by contrast, held isolated genes patentable (and the Supreme Court has decided to hear that case). The strongest rationale may be that isolated genes play different functions than their counterpart in …

Biopiracy In The Brazilian Amazon: Learning From International And Comparative Law Successes And Shortcomings To Help Promote Biodiversity Conservation In Brazil, Vanessa Danley

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mge Ups Systems, Inc. V. Ge Consumer & Industrial, Inc., Alexander Hill

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Who Fights For The Users? A Look At The First Sale Doctrine And Why It Should Apply In The Digital World, Tristan Cavadas

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Personal Jurisdiction And Joinder In Mass Copyright Troll Litigation, Jason R. Lafond

Maryland Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

We’Re (Not) Gonna Take It! – Golan And The Shrinking Pubic Domain, Daniel Kohn

Student Works

No abstract provided.

More Money, More Problems: The Bitcoin Virtual Currency And The Legal Problems That Face It, Daniel Smith

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

No abstract provided.

Responding To Self-Produced Child Pornography: Examining Legislative Sucessesses And Shortcomings To Reach An Approppriate Solution, Shawn P. Barnes

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

No abstract provided.