Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Protecting Nominative Fair Use, Parody, And Other Speech-Interests By Reforming The Inconsistent Exemptions From Trademark Liability, Samuel M. Duncan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Federal trademark law exempts certain communicative uses of a trademark from liability so that the public can freely use a trademark to comment on the markowner or to describe its products. These exemptions for "speech-interests" are badly flawed because their scope is inconsistent between infringement and dilution law, and because the cost and difficulty of claiming their protection varies significantly from court to court. Many speech-interests remain vulnerable to the chilling threat of litigation even though they are "protected" by current law. This Note proposes a simple statutory reform that will remedy this inconsistency by creating an express safe harbor …

Approval Of New Pharmacogenomic Tests: Is The Canadian Regulatory Process Adequate?, Yann Joly, Emma Ramos-Paque

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In the first part of our analysis, we will examine the impact which pharmacogenomics is expected to have on drug research and development, on the drug approval process and on post-marketing surveillance and clinical practice. This will allow us to show how pharmacogenomic testing could be beneficial to drug companies, regulatory bodies, and patients. The second part of our analysis will focus on the regulatory framework applicable to the approval of pharmacoge- nomic tests in Canada, although we are aware of the fact that most manufacturers decide to approve their tests outside of Canada. As mentioned, the applicable regu- lations …

The Regulation Of Personal Health Record Systems In Canada, James Williams, Jens H. Weber-Jahnke

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper analyzes the regulatory regime for PHR systems in Canada. The first part of the paper consists of an introduction to some of the major issues associ- ated with these applications, with a focus on privacy, security, data quality, and interoperability. Following this preliminary discussion, the bulk of the analysis deals with the legal instruments that apply to PHR products developed by private sector organizations. Due to space constraints, the paper concentrates on legislative and regulatory instruments, deferring a discussion of the possible impacts of tort, product liability, and contract law on PHR systems. Despite this omission, it is …

Canada's Digital Economy Strategy: Toward An Openness Framework, Michael Geist

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This essay is an expanded version of my submission to the digital economy consultation. It opens with general issues such as digital policy leadership, cost issues, and emphasizes the need for a principle-based strategy that embraces the benefits associated with “open,” whether open access, open spectrum or open data. It then provides specific recommendations on a wide range of issues including tele- communications policy, privacy, and copyright.

Neutralizing Actual Controversy: How Patent Holders Can Reduce The Risk Of Declaratory Judgment In Patent Disputes, Homer Yan-Hsien Hsu

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Alleged patent infringers may bring declaratory judgment actions against patentees when actual controversies exist over infringement or validity. Such declaratory judgment actions are important strategic tools because they allow alleged infringers to take initiative and bring actions, thereby eliminating the risk of doing business without knowing whether continued product use would constitute infringement. Declaratory judgment actions also provide alleged infringers an opportunity to choose the forum in which to bring their suits. In order to bring such an action, however, there must be an actual controversy between the parties to establish standing. The United States Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in …

The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act At Twenty: Has Full Protection Made A Difference?, David Shipley

Scholarly Works

Even though our copyright statutes were silent about architecture until 1990, it was well established that plans, blueprints and models were copyrightable writings under the 1909 Act's category of "drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character," and then as "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works" under the 1976 Act. The scope of an architect's copyright protection was, however, quite limited. The unauthorized copying of plans or blueprints constituted infringement, but most authorities concluded that plans were not infringed by using them, without the architect's permission, to construct the building they depicted. Moreover, the prevailing view was that an …

Equity And Efficiency In Intellectual Property Taxation, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

Faculty Publications

This article evaluates the Current US income tax regime governing intellectual property by focusing on the traditional principles of tax policy - tax fairness and efficiency. It highlights the shortcomings of the current tax system in fulfilling both of these tenets.

From Knowledge To Ideas: The Two Faces Of Innovation, James Bessen

Faculty Scholarship

Innovative ideas have unique properties arising from low communication costs. But ideas come from knowledge that is costly to communicate. “Formalizing” knowledge — codifying, developing standards, etc. — reduces these costs. In a simple model, formalization is associated with changes in the nature of competition between two equilibrium regimes. In one, knowledge is formalized, new technology replaces old and patents increase innovation incentives. In the other, knowledge is not formalized, old technology coexists with new, patents decrease innovation incentives and firms sometimes freely exchange knowledge. The equilibrium changes as technology improves over a life-cycle, affecting firm strategy, innovation policy, geographic …

Space Age Love Song: The Mix Tape In A Digital Universe, Megan M. Carpenter

Nevada Law Journal

Mix tapes are the classic, iconic form of music sharing. Mix tape creators of the past believed they were making a piece of art larger than the sum of its parts. And even in the face of technological development so rapid and far-reaching as to remove the literal “tape” from “mix tape,” there are nonetheless modern incarnations that crop up on a regular basis, from mix CDs to mix-sharing websites. The technology is different, but the song remains the same.

Private Ordering And Orphan Works: Our Least Worst Hope?, Keith Porcaro

Duke Law & Technology Review

The political capture of copyright law by industry groups has inadvertently led to orphan works problems arising in less organized industries, such as publishing. Google Book Search (GBS) is a prime example of how private ordering can circumvent legislative inefficiencies. Digital technologies such as GBS can open up a new business model for publishers and other content industries, centered around aggregated rights holdings. However, the economic inertia that private ordering represents may pose a threat to the knowledge-oriented goals of copyright law.

The Intel And Microsoft Settlements, Robert H. Lande

All Faculty Scholarship

This article briefly compares and contrasts the recent U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust settlement with Intel, and the antitrust cases brought against Microsoft. The article praises the FTC's settlement with Intel, and predicts that history will judge it very favorably compared to the settlement by the U.S. Department of Justice of its antitrust case against Microsoft.

Keeping The Leds On And The Electric Motors Running: Clean Tech In Court After Ebay, Eric Lane

Duke Law & Technology Review

The recent rise of non-practicing patentees (NPPs) in the clean technology space comes at a time when the international community is debating the role of intellectual property rights in the deployment and implementation of technologies to combat climate change. While the impact of intellectual property rights on the deployment of clean technology has been studied, less attention has been given to the role intellectual property regimes play in maintaining the operation of those technologies already deployed in the fight against global warming. This iBrief focuses on clean technologies that have already achieved substantial market penetration and observes that recent trends …

Draft Of Beck Speech - 2010, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

I come here with a sense of gratitude, to the intellectually stimulating BU community of students, staff and faculty, that has taught me so much, and grateful today especially to those who made this event possible. I would like to thank you all for coming, thank Dean O'Rourke for hosting this wonderful event, Mary Gallagher and Cornell Stinson for organizing it, and most especially I thank Phil Beck for his generosity to the Boston University School of Law in funding this Chair. It's immensely flattering to me having been chosen the initial recipient, and flattering to the school that Phil …

Draft Of Beck Lecture - 2010, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

I am grateful to the wonderful BU community that has taught me so much, and to those who made this event possible. I thank Dean O'Rourke for hosting this wonderful event, Mary Gallagher, Cornell Stinson and Erin Elwood for organizing it, and I thank you all for coming. I am honored to follow Bill Ryckman in the Chair, a man I admire. Most especially I thank Phil Beck for his generosity to the Boston University School of Law in funding this Chair. It's flattering to me having been chosen its recipient, and flattering to the school that Phil chose us …

Acta, Fool: Explaining The Irrational Support For A New Institution, Gabriel Michael

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The key players in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations were driven to establish a new institution for intellectual property enforcement because the traditional venues for such matters, the WTO and WIPO, had become inhospitable forums. Yet given the significant division in U.S. domestic economic interests over ACTA’s provisions and the lack of solid theoretical or empirical evidence supporting claims made by proponents of the agreement, it is puzzling that ACTA has commanded the support of the U.S. executive, even across two administrations from opposing political parties. I show why this support cannot be explained as a result of the …

Wipo And The Acta Threat, Sara Bannerman

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been seen as a potentially existential threat to the existing World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – as a new plurilateral institution that could replace the older multilateral organization. The ACTA threat to WIPO has a number of predecessors. WIPO’s centrality to international intellectual property norm-setting encountered its first major challenge in 1952 when the Universal Copyright Convention was established under UNESCO. It encountered a second major challenge with the establishment of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (the TRIPs Agreement). The ACTA challenge thus potentially represents a third instance where a …

Acta And Public Health, Peter Maybarduk

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Although the term “anti-counterfeiting” suggests an agreement limited to preventing trade in counterfeit products, ACTA’s draft provisions, to date, would set new minimum enforcement standards for a range of intellectual property rights. In several areas, these standards could impede legitimate competition, shortchange legal process and shift costs of enforcing private commercial rights to the public.

The parties to ACTA have agreed to narrow some of its provisions in recent months. Despite these improvements to its text, ACTA continues to present risks for global access to medicines, including potentially restricting free transit of generics, imposing chilling effects on the medicines trade, …

Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights By Diminishing Privacy: How The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Jeopardizes The Right To Privacy, Alberto Cerda Silva

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Enforcing the law in the digital environment is one of the main challenges of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). In order to enforce the intellectual property law, unlike previous international agreements on the matter, ACTA attempts to set forth provisions concerned with privacy and personal data. Special provisions refer to law enforcement in the digital environment; ACTA would require the adoption of domestic law to allow identifying supposed infringers and, consequently, the collaboration of the online service providers (OSPs) with rights holders. However, those provisions raise some human rights concerns, particularly as related to the right to privacy of Internet …

A Definite Claim On Claim Indefiniteness: An Empirical Study Of Definiteness Cases Of The Past Decade With A Focus On The Federal Circuit And The Insolubly Ambiguous Standard, Christa J. Laser

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Physicality And The Information Age: A Normative Perspective On The Patent Eligibility Of Non-Physical Methods, Ben Mceniery

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.