Showing archive for: “Copyright”
Supreme Court’s Samsung v. Apple Decision and the Status of Design Patents
On December 6 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its much anticipated decision in Samsung Electronic Co. v. Apple Inc. The opinion deferred for another day clarification of key policy questions raised by the design patent system. Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor reversed and remanded a Federal Circuit decision upholding a $399 ... Supreme Court’s Samsung v. Apple Decision and the Status of Design Patents
The Internet Association’s vision for the future looks a lot like the past
Last week, the Internet Association (“IA”) — a trade group representing some of America’s most dynamic and fastest growing tech companies, including the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, and eBay — presented the incoming Trump Administration with a ten page policy paper entitled “Policy Roadmap for New Administration, Congress.” The document’s content is not surprising, ... The Internet Association’s vision for the future looks a lot like the past
Truth on the Market welcomes our newest blogger, Neil Turkewitz
Truth on the Market is delighted to welcome our newest blogger, Neil Turkewitz. Neil is the newly minted Senior Policy Counsel at the International Center for Law & Economics (so we welcome him to ICLE, as well!). Prior to joining ICLE, Neil spent 30 years at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), most recently ... Truth on the Market welcomes our newest blogger, Neil Turkewitz
The FTC’s PAE Study Recommendations: Case Not Proven
On October 6, 2016, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued Patent Assertion Entity Activity: An FTC Study (PAE Study), its much-anticipated report on patent assertion entity (PAE) activity. The PAE Study defined PAEs as follows: Patent assertion entities (PAEs) are businesses that acquire patents from third parties and seek to generate revenue by asserting ... The FTC’s PAE Study Recommendations: Case Not Proven
A Set-top Box Set-Back and an Opportunity for Good Government
There must have been a great gnashing of teeth in Chairman Wheeler’s office this morning as the FCC announced that it was pulling the Chairman’s latest modifications to the set-top box proposal from its voting agenda. This is surely but a bump in the road for the Chairman; he will undoubtedly press ever onward in ... A Set-top Box Set-Back and an Opportunity for Good Government
MVPDs “Unlock” the Box (again), but the FCC Doesn’t Seem to Care
The FCC’s blind, headlong drive to “unlock” the set-top box market is disconnected from both legal and market realities. Legally speaking, and as we’ve noted on this blog many times over the past few months (see here, here and here), the set-top box proposal is nothing short of an assault on contracts, property rights, and ... MVPDs “Unlock” the Box (again), but the FCC Doesn’t Seem to Care
A Flag On the Play: Gigi Sohn Commits a Copyright Foul
As Commissioner Wheeler moves forward with his revised set-top box proposal, and on the eve of tomorrow’s senate FCC oversight hearing, we would do well to reflect on some insightful testimony regarding another of the Commission’s rulemakings from ten years ago: We are living in a digital gold age and consumers… are the beneficiaries. Consumers ... A Flag On the Play: Gigi Sohn Commits a Copyright Foul
Chairman Wheeler’s new set-top box proposal: from unmitigated disaster to plain old disaster
Imagine if you will… that a federal regulatory agency were to decide that the iPhone ecosystem was too constraining and too expensive; that consumers — who had otherwise voted for iPhones with their dollars — were being harmed by the fact that the platform was not “open” enough. Such an agency might resolve (on the ... Chairman Wheeler’s new set-top box proposal: from unmitigated disaster to plain old disaster
Justice Department Ignores the Benefits of Contracting Freedom in its Crabbed Reading of Music Distribution Decrees
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ignored sound law and economics principles in its August 4 decision announcing a new interpretation of seventy-five year-old music licensing consent decrees it had entered into separately with the two major American “performing rights organizations” (PROs) — the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers ... Justice Department Ignores the Benefits of Contracting Freedom in its Crabbed Reading of Music Distribution Decrees
No, The FCC Should Not Have the Power to Cancel Contracts
Copyright law, ever a sore point in some quarters, has found a new field of battle in the FCC’s recent set-top box proposal. At the request of members of Congress, the Copyright Office recently wrote a rather thorough letter outlining its view of the FCC’s proposal on rightsholders. In sum, the CR’s letter was an ... No, The FCC Should Not Have the Power to Cancel Contracts
CPIP Conference on Oct. 6-7, 2016: “Intellectual Property and Global Prosperity”
Please Join Us For A Conference On Intellectual Property Law INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & GLOBAL PROSPERITY Keynote Speaker: Dean Kamen October 6-7, 2016 Antonin Scalia Law School George Mason University Arlington, Virginia CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW **9 Hours CLE**
Robust Patent and Copyright Systems Promote a Strong U.S. Economy – and Are Consistent with Originalist Understandings of the Constitution
In a Heritage Foundation Legal Memorandum released today, I explore both the “constitutionalist” as well as utilitarian, economic-welfare-oriented justifications for robust U.S. patent and copyright systems. The Memorandum explains: Intellectual property (IP) is increasingly important to the American private economy, and a discussion of the appropriate public policy toward IP is timely, particularly given the ... Robust Patent and Copyright Systems Promote a Strong U.S. Economy – and Are Consistent with Originalist Understandings of the Constitution
