Showing archive for: “Copyright”
A Supreme Court ruling against Aereo won’t spell the end of cloud computing
Interested observers on all sides of the contentious debate over Aereo have focused a great deal on the implications for cloud computing if the Supreme Court rules against Aereo. The Court hears oral argument next week, and the cloud computing issue is sure to make an appearance. Several parties that filed amicus briefs in the ... A Supreme Court ruling against Aereo won’t spell the end of cloud computing
Mark Schultz on the Mercatus Center’s Unhelpful Business Advice for the Creative Industries
Over at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP), Mark Schultz has an important blog posting on the Mercatus Center‘s recent launch of its new copyright piracy website, piracydata.org. The launch of this website has caused a bit of a tempest in a teapot with a positive report on it in the Washington Post ... Mark Schultz on the Mercatus Center’s Unhelpful Business Advice for the Creative Industries
How Copyright Drives Innovation in Scholarly Publishing
[Cross posted at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property blog.] Today’s public policy debates frame copyright policy solely in terms of a “trade off” between the benefits of incentivizing new works and the social deadweight losses imposed by the access restrictions imposed by these (temporary) “monopolies.” I recently posted to SSRN a new ... How Copyright Drives Innovation in Scholarly Publishing
Copyright, Property Rights, and the Free Market
Over at Cato Unbound, there has been a discussion this past month on copyright and copyright reform. In his recent contribution to this discussion, Mark Schultz posted an excellent essay today, Where are the Creators? Consider Creators in Copyright Reform, that calls out the cramped, reductionist view of copyright policy that leads some libertarians and ... Copyright, Property Rights, and the Free Market
Encouragement vs. Incentive: Some Food for Thought in the Copyright Debates
Given the kerfuffle among libertarians and conservatives in the past month over what is basic copyright policy, my colleague and copyright law expert, Chris Newman, sent me this interesting Google Ngram graph on the use of “encouragement” vs. “incentive.” I won’t commit the fallacy of hasty generalization by inferring any conclusions from this single comparison, ... Encouragement vs. Incentive: Some Food for Thought in the Copyright Debates
The “Common Law Property” Myth in the Libertarian Critique of IP Rights (Part 2)
In Part One, I addressed the argument by some libertarians that so-called “traditional property rights in land” are based in inductive, ground-up “common law court decisions,” but that intellectual property (IP) rights are top-down, artificial statutory entitlements. Thus, for instance, libertarian law professor, Tom Bell, has written in the University of Illinois Journal of Law, ... The “Common Law Property” Myth in the Libertarian Critique of IP Rights (Part 2)
The “Common Law Property” Myth in the Libertarian Critique of IP Rights (Part 1)
In libertarian critiques of intellectual property (IP) rights, such as copyrights and patents, it’s common to the hear the claim that “traditional property rights in land” is based in inductive, ground-up “common law court decisions,” but that IP rights are top-down, artificial statutory entitlements. Thus, the argument goes, property rights in land are rooted solely ... The “Common Law Property” Myth in the Libertarian Critique of IP Rights (Part 1)
Hill Event on December 13: “CopyRIGHT: Can Free Marketeers Agree on Copyright Reform?”
What promises to be an interesting and lively panel discussion on copyright will occur on the Hill on December 13. Even better, it includes not one but two Truth on the Market bloggers–Geoff and me! Come one, come all! EVENT ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 30, 2012 CONTACT: Will Rinehart (202) 599-0408 Register for ... Hill Event on December 13: “CopyRIGHT: Can Free Marketeers Agree on Copyright Reform?”
The Case for Copyright
Mark Schultz, law professor and specialist in copyright law, has written an excellent response to the Republican Study Committee policy brief on copyright law that has been making the rounds on the Internet the past several days. Although the RSC promptly retracted the policy brief, the blogosphere has erupted in commentary on what appeared to ... The Case for Copyright
Rethinking Intellectual Property Theory: A Review of Rob Merges’s Justifying Intellectual Property
My colleague, Eric Claeys, has posted to SSRN an interesting and important review of Robert Merges’s new book, Justifying Intellectual Property (Harvard University Press, 2012). Here’s the abstract: This article contributes to a symposium issue on the Philosophical Foundations of Intellectual Property. In a popular Saturday Night Live skit, a famous record producer helps a ... Rethinking Intellectual Property Theory: A Review of Rob Merges’s Justifying Intellectual Property
The “Patent Litigation Explosion” Canard
We often hear today that there’s an unprecedented “patent litigation explosion” that’s killing innovation. Last week, the New York Times plied this claim without abandon in its hit piece on high-tech patents. It’s become so commonplace that this phrase garners over 1.3 million hits on Google. It’s especially common fare in discussions about the “smart ... The “Patent Litigation Explosion” Canard
Today’s Software Patents Look a Lot Like Early Pharma Patents
The recent New York Times article on the high-tech industry argues that software patents and the current “smart phone war” are a disaster for innovation, and it backs this with quotes and cites from a horde of academics and judges, like Judge Richard Posner, that software patents are causing “chaos.” Judge Posner in particular has ... Today’s Software Patents Look a Lot Like Early Pharma Patents
