scholarly journals Beyond Invention: Patent as Knowledge Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Madison
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
The United States ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Invention Patent ◽  
Patentable Subject Matter

The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Bilski v. Kappos, concerning the legal standard for determining patentable subject matter under the American Patent Act, is used as a starting point for a brief review of historical, philosophical, and cultural influences on subject matter questions in both patent and copyright law. The article suggests that patent and copyright law jurisprudence was constructed initially by the Court with explicit attention to the relationship between these forms of intellectual property law and the roles of knowledge in society. Over time, explicit attention to that relationship has largely disappeared from the Court’s opinions. The article suggests that renewing consideration of the idea of a law of knowledge would bring some clarity not only to patentable subject matter questions in particular but also to much of intellectual property law in general.

The Emergence and Development of United States Intellectual Property Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oren Bracha
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
The United States ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Trademark Law ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Further Development

This chapter surveys the history of intellectual property law in the United States from its colonial origins to the present, and focuses on the three subfields that have a claim for seniority in terms of their longevity and importance: patent, copyright, and trademark. The development of these subfields is described as a process in which law has interacted with technology, economic factors, ideology, and politics. The chapter describes how at the end of the eighteenth-century American patent and copyright law emerged out of two sources: British laws and institutions and local colonial practices. The further development of American intellectual property law is analysed as comprising three stages: early patent, copyright, and trademark law; the consolidation of the modern framework of these fields through significant transformations beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century; and the various developments from the early twentieth century to the present.

Fixing Improvisation

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthea Kraut
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
African American ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Tap Dance ◽  
American Vernacular ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter juxtaposes brief case studies of African American vernacular dancers from the first half of the twentieth century in order to reexamine the relationship between the ideology of intellectual property law and the traditions of jazz and tap dance, which rely heavily on improvisation. The examples of the blackface performer Johnny Hudgins, who claimed a copyright in his pantomime routine in the 1920s, and of Fred and Sledge, the class-act dance duo featured in the hit 1948 musical Kiss Me, Kate, whose choreography was copyrighted by the white modern dancer Hanya Holm, prompt a rethinking of the assumed opposition between the originality and fixity requirements of copyright law and the improvisatory ethos of jazz and tap dance. Ultimately, the chapter argues that whether claiming or disavowing uniqueness, embracing or resisting documentation, African American vernacular dancers were both advantaged and hampered by copyright law.

7. Rights akin to copyright: database right and performers’ rights

2019 ◽  
pp. 238-264
Author(s):  
Abbe Brown ◽  
Smita Kheria ◽  
Jane Cornwell ◽  
Marta Iljadica
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Database Right

This chapter considers two rights similar to copyright in many ways, in terms of both subject matter and the substantive contents of the rights: (1) the special or sui generis database right, which operates alongside the copyright in databases; and (2) performers’ rights. Both rights have been relatively recently introduced into the armoury of intellectual property law. The chapter gives an account of each of these rights, comparing them with copyright but also underlining the differences between the regimes, and the reasons behind these differences. The chapter considers relevant the relevant international and EU frameworks and also highlights the nature and importance of these rights.

scholarly journals An Autonomous EU Functionality Doctrine for Shape Exclusions

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-577
Author(s):  
Uma Suthersanen ◽  
Marc D Mimler
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Property Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Functionality Doctrine

Abstract Exclusionary subject matter are often underpinned by public interest considerations. In the case of shapes of products, the Court of Justice of the European Union has aligned the interpretation of the relevant exclusionary provisions within design and trade mark laws. More recently, European jurisprudence within copyright law in relation to conditions of protection has imported the same considerations so as to regulate the protection of shapes of products. This article explores the multitude of doctrinal and policy reasons underpinning shape exclusions and argues that the Court is consciously creating an EU autonomous functionality doctrine within intellectual property law. We also argue that the Court is building a European macro-rationale within these laws namely to ensure that protection does not unduly restrict market freedom and competition.

scholarly journals Documenting the copyright sphere: can festivals solve the problem of copyright clearance for documentaries?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-470
Author(s):  
Oğulcan Ekiz
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Documentary Film ◽  
Property Law ◽  
International Level ◽  
Policy Perspective ◽  
Copyright Policy ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Copyright Clearance ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Limitations And Exceptions

The starting point of this article is a short documentary film that I and five colleagues produced in the course of the Business of Film module at Queen Mary University of London's Intellectual Property Law LLM Programme. During the process of production, we faced some borderline issues regarding our unauthorized uses of others’ copyright works. When we put ourselves into the copyright's author's shoes, three problems arose regarding our use of possible limitations and exceptions: the lack of guidance; the fear of liability; and the unharmonized status of limitations and exceptions at an international level. This article examines these problems from a copyright policy perspective and invites documentary festivals to undertake a mission of guiding new documentary directors through the complex, unharmonized world of copyright limitations and exceptions.

Concurrent Liability in Contract and Intellectual Property Law: Licensing Agreements in Light of Case C-666/18 IT Development SAS

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 989-997
Author(s):  
Jens Schovsbo ◽  
Thomas Riis
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Copyright Holder ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Starting Point

Abstract It is the starting point in some jurisdictions that if a licensing agreement has been breached, the licensor may choose to establish their claims against the licensee on the basis of either contract or intellectual property law. This article argues that such a starting point should not be upheld. Not least because of developments in EU law, the intellectual property rights (IPR) system contains special remedies and procedures, which systematically and unilaterally benefit one of the parties to a contract, viz. the rightholder (licensor). The ability to have recourse against a contractual party via IPR instead of contract law ought to be limited as far as possible, i.e. restricted to those instances where this is prescribed by law. In the recent judgment of the CJEU, C-666/18 IT Development SAS, the Court held that a copyright holder/licensor must be able to rely on the remedies and procedures of the Enforcement Directive (IPRED). Consequently, freedom of choice between contract and IPR law is guaranteed in this respect. It is notable that this judgment deals exclusively with IPRED and does not have any broader effect in relation to the basic question of choice between contract and IPR law outside of the scope of the IPRED. Therefore, freedom of choice could still be limited, and licensees shielded against the special remedies and procedures which are at rightholders’ disposal outside of the IPRED.***

scholarly journals CELEBRITY PERSONA: LEGAL RIGHTS IN MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (19) ◽  
pp. 145-155
Author(s):  
Nor Azlina Mohd Noor ◽  
Ahmad Shamsul Abd Aziz ◽  
Mazita Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Personal Data Protection ◽  
Legal Provisions

A celebrity has its own persona and has a right that can be protected by the law. The status of a celebrity can be obtained in certain circumstances such as through birth or descent as well as through skills or occupation. Celebrity rights are special and unique rights. This is because the right seems to be the property and belongs to the celebrity. The words celebrity is often associated with fame, money, power, publicity, extravaganza, achievements, fandom, culture, and is sometimes matters relating to scandal or even for something shameful. Accordingly, the public has no right to arbitrarily use the celebrity's right. Celebrity rights can be made up of three main rights which are personality, privacy, and publicity rights. In the age of social media, almost everyone can be a celebrity. Therefore, legal protection for celebrities is very important to be discussed. In Malaysia, there is no specific legislation regarding celebrity rights such as those found in other countries such as the United States. An issue that needs to be taken into account is in the absence of the specific law, how do the rights of these celebrities are legally protected in Malaysia. Therefore, this article discusses celebrity rights and related laws in Malaysia, especially under intellectual property law. This article applied the method of legal research through library research. This article concludes that while Malaysia does not have any specific legal provisions for celebrity rights, the infringement of celebrity rights can be catered upon through a variety of relevant laws such as intellectual property law like several provisions relating to copyright and trademark protection. In addition, with the advent of social media, celebrity rights are also protected by laws such as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Privacy-related laws such as the Tort law and the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 can also be used to protect these celebrity rights.

scholarly journals Pornografía no consentida: alternativas en el ordenamiento jurídico de la propiedad intelectual de Estados Unidos

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (00) ◽  
pp. 141-169
Author(s):  
Fredrick Vega Lozada
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Legal System ◽  
North American ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Electronic Communications ◽  
Privacy Act

Non-consensual pornography is an act of violence that undermines the dignity, reputation and honor of people. This research presents some of the existing legal alternatives to face these acts of violence with intellectual property law, specifically with copyright. This research is based on the legal system of the United States of America, the United States Copyright Law of 1976, the Electronic Non-Theft Act of 1997, The Communication Decency Law of 1996, The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 and the exceptions and clarifications presented by the jurisprudence. The investigation concludes that there are alternatives available to victims of these acts of non-consensual pornography. However, to make North American copyright remedies accessible to victims, it is recommended to amend some of the current Acts analyzed.

scholarly journals Should the New Zealand Parliament Allow the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand to Continue to Grant Patents for Isolated Human Genes?

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Ruth Upperton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Human Genes ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Myriad Genetics ◽  
Patentable Subject Matter

It is time for New Zealanders to decide whether we want to allow patents over isolated human genes. In making this decision, we should take heed of the pitfalls other jurisdictions have encountered in this area. In this article, I determine the approach New Zealand intellectual property law should take to the patenting of isolated human genes, with reference to the arguments and issues raised by the Myriad Genetics litigation in the United States of America. I conclude that a nuanced approach should be adopted. Isolated human genes are not patentable subject-matter from a legal perspective; however, patents in the field of gene therapeutics should be allowed on policy grounds.

CRIMINALISING COPYRIGHT: A STORY OF PUBLISHERS, PIRATES AND PIECES OF EIGHT

2007 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 625-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Film Industry ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
One Year

On 6 December 2006, the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property unveiled its much-anticipated report investigating whether intellectual property law was still “fit for purpose in an era of globalisation, digitisation and increasing economic specialisation”. The Review, which had one year in which to cover the entire field of intellectual property law, concluded that there was no need for radical overhaul of the system. However, it did make a number of recommendations for reform and one area it considered to be particularly important was strengthening enforcement of IP rights. In recent years, concerns about the inadequate enforcement of intellectual property laws have focused mainly on copyright law and the entertainment industries. More specifically, they have centred on the opportunities for copyright infringement offered by digital technology and the internet. The music industry was the first to find itself out of its depth in the brave new digital world, and the film industry quickly followed. “Piracy”, we are told, is now rife and must be fought at every opportunity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document