Unwise Or Unconstitutional?: the Copyright Term Extension Act, the Eldred Decision, and the Freezing of the Public Domain for Private Benefit
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Load more
Recommended publications
-
DEPICTIONS of CHASTITY: VIRTUE MADE VISIBLE Susan L'engle In
DEPICTIONS OF CHASTITY: VIRTUE MADE VISIBLE Susan L’Engle In 1969 a daughter was born to Cher and Sonny Bono. They named her Chastity, an uncommon and burdensome name for a child to bear in this time and place. The negative resonance of this name still prevails, clearly articulated in a 1996 interview with Chastity Bono, where the reporter commented: “When she was born in 1969, Chastity Bono got stuck with that name forever. ‘Not that many people call me Chastity anyway,’ she says. She prefers Chas. Hell, wouldn’t you?”1 Today in the twenty-fi rst century we all have personal takes on the meaning of the word chastity and its relevance to our individual lives, shaped by our upbringing and education and supplemented by input from various media. In the Middle Ages, however, chastity was an all- pervading and multivalent concept that regulated the lives of lay men and women, and clergy alike. The ideals of chastity were expressed verbally by churchmen, theologians, philosophers, poets, and heads of family—and recorded in sermons, Saints’ Lives, advice manuals for rulers, courtesy books, and poems of courtly romance. For many of these texts, artists created images and compositions to illustrate and reinforce the verbal discourse, and it is these visual manifestations that will be analyzed and discussed in this project. As a medievalist I am interested in the various ramifi cations of chas- tity within the strata of medieval society; as an art historian, I want to explore how the notion of chastity can be represented visually, and what circumstances provoke its illustration. -
Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2012
Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2012 Jennifer E. Manning Information Research Specialist Colleen J. Shogan Deputy Director and Senior Specialist November 26, 2012 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL30261 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2012 Summary Ninety-four women currently serve in the 112th Congress: 77 in the House (53 Democrats and 24 Republicans) and 17 in the Senate (12 Democrats and 5 Republicans). Ninety-two women were initially sworn in to the 112th Congress, two women Democratic House Members have since resigned, and four others have been elected. This number (94) is lower than the record number of 95 women who were initially elected to the 111th Congress. The first woman elected to Congress was Representative Jeannette Rankin (R-MT, 1917-1919, 1941-1943). The first woman to serve in the Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA). She was appointed in 1922 and served for only one day. A total of 278 women have served in Congress, 178 Democrats and 100 Republicans. Of these women, 239 (153 Democrats, 86 Republicans) have served only in the House of Representatives; 31 (19 Democrats, 12 Republicans) have served only in the Senate; and 8 (6 Democrats, 2 Republicans) have served in both houses. These figures include one non-voting Delegate each from Guam, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Currently serving Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) holds the record for length of service by a woman in Congress with 35 years (10 of which were spent in the House). -
The United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Copyright Term Extension
A SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES THE UNITED STATES-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT AND THE COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION DR MATTHEW RIMMER LECTURER FACULTY OF LAW THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Faculty Of Law, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200 Work Telephone Number: (02) 61254164 E-Mail Address: [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 3 Executive Summary 4 Part 1 An Act For The Encouragement of Learning 8 Part 2 Free Mickey: The Copyright Term and The Public Domain 12 Part 3 A Gift To IP Producers: The Copyright Term and Competition Policy 27 Part 4 Emerging Standards: The Copyright Term and International Trade 36 Part 5 Robbery Under Arms: The Copyright Term And Cultural Heritage 43 Conclusion 58 Appendix 1: Comparison Of Copyright Duration: United States, European Union, and Australia 62 2 "There is a whole constituency out there with a strong view against copyright term extension and we are arguing that case." Mark Vaile, Minister for Trade (December 2003) "Extending our copyright term by 20 years doesn’t really protect our authors, yet it still taxes our readers." Professor Andrew Christie, Director, Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia, the University of Melbourne "Perpetual Copyright On An Instalment Plan" Professor Peter Jaszi, Washington University "A Piracy Of The Public Domain" Professor Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University "A Gift To Intellectual Property Producers" Henry Ergas "Intellectual Purgatory" Justice Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court of the United States "A No-Brainer" Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate in Economics "Actually, Sonny [Bono] wanted the term of copyright protection to last forever." Mary Bono 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • The first modern copyright legislation - the Statute of Anne - was an "Act for the encouragement of learning". -
Winter Newsletter 2006
Volume 23 Number 1 LLAW NEWSLETTER Page 1 NEWSLETTER Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin A Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries VOLUME 23 NUMBER 2 WINTER 2006 President’s Message WisBlawg (http://www.law.wisc.edu/blogs/wisblawg/) Bev Butula, Davis and Kuelthau just found a new home. Bonnie Shucha’s acclaimed legal blog is a regular read for an endless amount of Anyone else out there watch “Project Runway?” I am legal professionals. She has summed up her goal per- completely addicted to the program. If you have not fectly – “Searching Smarter….With a Little Help from seen it, it is a reality show where aspiring fashion de- a Law Librarian.” If you haven’t had a chance to take a signers must design and create a garment based on the tour, please do! Bonnie has spoke about Blogs and weekly challenge. One week they had to make a cos- RSS feeds at several different conventions/institutes/ tume for figure skater Sasha Cohen. The original and seminars. interesting outfits that go down the runway at the end of the show each week constantly amaze me. The My last stop in this “authorship” tour is the publication contestants have an extraordinary amount of talent. initiative launched by Carol Bannen and currently chaired by Susan O’Toole. Most of you know that Why am I writing about a television show? Well, the AALL/West awarded this project the Marketing Award answer is actually quite simple. The show highlights for the “Best Campaign” in 2004. So many individuals individual skill. -
Circular 1 Copyright Basics
CIRCULAR 1 Copyright Basics Copyright is a form of protection Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the provided by U.S. law to authors of United States to the authors of “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. An original “original works of authorship” from work of authorship is a work that is independently created by the time the works are created in a a human author and possesses at least some minimal degree of creativity. A work is “fixed” when it is captured (either fixed form. This circular provides an by or under the authority of an author) in a sufficiently overview of basic facts about copyright permanent medium such that the work can be perceived, and copyright registration with the reproduced, or communicated for more than a short time. Copyright protection in the United States exists automatically U.S. Copyright Office. It covers from the moment the original work of authorship is fixed.1 • Works eligible for protection • Rights of copyright owners What Works Are Protected? • Who can claim copyright • Duration of copyright Examples of copyrightable works include • Literary works • Musical works, including any accompanying words • Dramatic works, including any accompanying music • Pantomimes and choreographic works • Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works • Motion pictures and other audiovisual works • Sound recordings, which are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds • Architectural works These categories should be viewed broadly for the purpose of registering your work. For example, computer programs and certain “compilations” can be registered as “literary works”; maps and technical drawings can be registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.” w copyright.gov note: Before 1978, federal copyright was generally secured by publishing a work with an appro- priate copyright notice. -
Bestselling Musical Compositions (1913-32) and Their Seu in Cinema (1968-2007) Paul J
University of Chicago Law School Chicago Unbound Coase-Sandor Working Paper Series in Law and Coase-Sandor Institute for Law and Economics Economics 2008 Testing the Over- and Under-Exploitation Hypothesis: Bestselling Musical Compositions (1913-32) and Their seU in Cinema (1968-2007) Paul J. Heald Follow this and additional works at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/law_and_economics Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Paul J. Heald, "Testing the Over- and Under-Exploitation Hypothesis: Bestselling Musical Compositions (1913-32) and Their sU e in Cinema (1968-2007)" (John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics Working Paper No. 429, 2008). This Working Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Coase-Sandor Institute for Law and Economics at Chicago Unbound. It has been accepted for inclusion in Coase-Sandor Working Paper Series in Law and Economics by an authorized administrator of Chicago Unbound. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHICAGO JOHN M. OLIN LAW & ECONOMICS WORKING PAPER NO. 429 (2D SERIES) PUBLIC LAW AND LEGAL THEORY WORKING PAPER NO. 234 TESTING THE OVER‐ AND UNDER‐EXPLOITATION HYPOTHESIS: BESTSELLING MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS (1913–32) AND THEIR USE IN CINEMA (1968–2007) Paul J. Heald THE LAW SCHOOL THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO September 2008 This paper can be downloaded without charge at the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics Working Paper Series: http://www.law.uchicago.edu/Lawecon/index.html and at the Public Law and Legal Theory Working Paper Series: http://www.law.uchicago.edu/academics/publiclaw/index.html and The Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection. -
The Constitutional Law of Intellectual Property After Eldred V. Ashcroft
The Constitutional Law of Intellectual Property After Eldred v. Ashcroft By Pamela Samuelson* I. Introduction The past decade has witnessed an extraordinary blossoming of scholarship on the constitutional law of intellectual property,1 much of which focuses on copyright law.2 Had the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Eldred’s challenge to the constitutionality of the Copyright Term Extension Act,3 this body of scholarship would have undoubtedly proliferated with alacrity. Many scholars would have been eager to offer interpretations of implications of an Eldred-favorable decision for other intellectual property disputes.4 Given the Ashcroft-favorable outcome, some may expect the Eldred decision to “deconstitutionalize” intellectual property law and reduce to a trickle further scholarly * Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Information Management, University of California at Berkeley. Research support for this article was provided by NSF Grant No. SES 9979852. I wish to thank Eddan Katz for his exceptional research assistance with this article. 1 See, e.g., Dan L. Burk, Patenting Speech, 79 Tex. L. Rev. 99 (2000); Paul J. Heald and Suzanna Sherry, Implied Limits on the Legislative Power: The Intellectual Property Clause as an Absolute Constraint on Congress, 2000 U. Ill. L. Rev. 1119 (2000); Robert Patrick Merges and Glenn Harlan Reynolds, The Proper Scope of the Copyright and Patent Power, 37 J. Legis. 45 (2000); Mark A. Lemley, The Constitutionalization of Technology Law, 15 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 529 (2000); Malla Pollack, Unconstitutional Incontestability? The Intersection Of The Intellectual Property And Commerce Clauses Of The Constitution: Beyond A Critique Of Shakespeare Co. v. -
Copyright Law Revision
COPYRIGHT LAW REVISION REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS ON THE GENERAL REVISION OF THE U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW JULY 1961 Printed for the use of the House-- Committee on the Judiciary U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 676682 WASHINGTON : 1961 For sale by the Superlntendent of Documents, U.S. Qo7cmment Prlntlug O5ce Wn~bington25, D.O. - Prlco 45 cent8 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL THE LIBRAR~AWOF CORORESB, Washington, l).C. July 7, 1961. Hon. SAMRAYE~N, Igpealcw of the House of Representatices, Washington. D.C. SIB: As authorized by Congress, the Copyright Office of the =brary of Con- gress has in the past few years made a number of studies preparatory to a general revision of the copyright law, title 17 of the United States Code. That program bas now been completed. Thirty-four studies and a subject index have been published in a series of 12 committee prints issued by the Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The studies have been widely circulated and interested persons were inrited to submit their comments and views. On the basis of the studies and the comments and views received. the Copy- right Ofece has prepared a report on the important issues to be considered and tentative recommendations for their solution in a general revision of the law. I am pleased to submit the report of the Register of Copyrights on general re vision of the copyright law to you find to the Vice President for consideration by the Congress. Very truly yours, L. QUINCYMUMFOBD, Librarian of Congress. -
How Marvel and Sony Sparked Public
Cleveland State Law Review Volume 69 Issue 4 Article 8 6-18-2021 America's Broken Copyright Law: How Marvel and Sony Sparked Public Debate Surrounding the United States' "Broken" Copyright Law and How Congress Can Prevent a Copyright Small Claims Court from Making it Worse Izaak Horstemeier-Zrnich Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev Part of the Intellectual Property Law Commons How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! Recommended Citation Izaak Horstemeier-Zrnich, America's Broken Copyright Law: How Marvel and Sony Sparked Public Debate Surrounding the United States' "Broken" Copyright Law and How Congress Can Prevent a Copyright Small Claims Court from Making it Worse, 69 Clev. St. L. Rev. 927 (2021) available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol69/iss4/8 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cleveland State Law Review by an authorized editor of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AMERICA’S BROKEN COPYRIGHT LAW: HOW MARVEL AND SONY SPARKED PUBLIC DEBATE SURROUNDING THE UNITED STATES’ “BROKEN” COPYRIGHT LAW AND HOW CONGRESS CAN PREVENT A COPYRIGHT SMALL CLAIMS COURT FROM MAKING IT WORSE IZAAK HORSTEMEIER-ZRNICH* ABSTRACT Following failed discussions between Marvel and Sony regarding the use of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, comic fans were left curious as to how Spider-Man could remain outside of the public domain after decades of the character’s existence. -
Reform(Aliz)Ing Copyright
SPRIGMAN FINAL 12/17/2004 3:36 PM REFORM(ALIZ)ING COPYRIGHT Christopher Sprigman* INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 486 I. THE TRADITIONAL CONTOURS OF “CONDITIONAL” COPYRIGHT ....................... 491 A. Formalities in the Early Copyright Statutes ................................................ 491 B. From Conditional to Unconditional Copyright ........................................... 494 1. Voluntary registration and notice............................................................. 494 2. Renewal .................................................................................................... 498 II. FORMALITIES AND THE “TRADITIONAL CONTOURS” OF CONDITIONAL COPYRIGHT .............................................................................................................................. 500 A. Recording Ownership.................................................................................. 500 1. “Signaling” .............................................................................................. 501 2. Maximizing private incentives .................................................................. 501 B. Formalities as a Copyright “Filter”............................................................ 502 1. Registration and notice............................................................................. 502 2. Renewal .................................................................................................... 519 3. Effect -
Supreme Court of the United States
(Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2002 1 Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus ELDRED ET AL. v. ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT No. 01–618. Argued October 9, 2002—Decided January 15, 2003 The Copyright and Patent Clause, U. S. Const., Art. I, §8, cl. 8, provides as to copyrights: “Congress shall have Power . [t]o promote the Progress of Science . by securing [to Authors] for limited Times . the exclusive Right to their . Writings.” In the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), Congress enlarged the duration of copy- rights by 20 years: Under the 1976 Copyright Act (1976 Act), copy- right protection generally lasted from a work’s creation until 50 years after the author’s death; under the CTEA, most copyrights now run from creation until 70 years after the author’s death, 17 U. S. C. §302(a). As in the case of prior copyright extensions, principally in 1831, 1909, and 1976, Congress provided for application of the en- larged terms to existing and future copyrights alike. Petitioners, whose products or services build on copyrighted works that have gone into the public domain, brought this suit seeking a de- termination that the CTEA fails constitutional review under both the Copyright Clause’s “limited Times” prescription and the First Amendment’s free speech guarantee. -
Intellectual Property and the Presumption of Innocence Irina D
Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship 2015 Intellectual Property and the Presumption of Innocence Irina D. Manta Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Irina D. Manta, Intellectual Property and the Presumption of Innocence, 56 1745 (2015) Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/faculty_scholarship/1120 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE IRINA D. MANTA* ABSTRACT Our current methods of imposing criminal convictions on defen- dants for copyright and trademark infringement are constitutionally defective. Previous works have argued that due process under the Sixth Amendment requires prosecutors to prove every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, including the jurisdictionalele- ment. Applying this theory to criminal trademark counterfeiting results in the conclusion that prosecutors should have to demon- strate that an infringing mark needs to have traveled in or affected * Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law, Maurice A. Deane School of