Prof. Jim Gibson, University of Richmond School of Law December 22, 2009 2010 marks the 300th anniversary of the Statute of Anne, the English legislation that ushered in the modern era of copyright law.  The Statute of Anne is celebrated for a number of reasons, and perhaps foremost among them is its rejection of copyright [...]

Prof. Jane C. Ginsburg, Columbia University School of Law* December 8, 2009 The last clause of the first copyright act, the 1710 English Statute of Anne, anticipated authors’ weaker bargaining position, and, so long as the author lived through the first 14-year term, re-vested a second term of copyright in the author. Fourteen years of [...]

Prof. Doug Lichtman, UCLA School of Law December 1, 2009 The United States Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in a patent case called In Re Bilski.  At issue is the question of under what conditions an innovative process falls within the subject matter of patent law.  On one view, some processes should be excluded [...]

Prof. Randal C. Picker, The University of Chicago Law School November 18, 2009 My favorite German word is festschrift.  What could be nicer than commemorative essays to celebrate an event?  The University of Chicago Law Review is publishing essays in celebration of Judge Frank Easterbrook’s 25th year on the bench.  My essay focuses on what [...]

Prof. Jane C. Ginsburg, Columbia University School of Law* October 20, 2009 A recent audacious and, happily, unsuccessful attempt to impose U.S. copyright formalities on foreign-published works illustrates the difficulties of adapting international norms that presume the existence of national borders to a world of simultaneous and pervasive communication of works of authorship. In Moberg [...]

Prof. Jim Gibson, University of Richmond School of Law October 7, 2009 People who study copyright law for a living must frequently endure the disappointment of seeing an interesting case settle out of court.  For example, lurking behind the current Google Books controversy is a fascinating fair use argument – but if the proposed settlement [...]

Prof. Justin Hughes, Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University October 2, 2009 Last week, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski gave an address at The Brookings Institution in which he proposed that the FCC’s position on “net neutrality” be strengthened and deepened – through converting four existing principles into rules and adding two new net [...]

Prof. Douglas Lichtman, UCLA School of Law Sept. 24, 2009 Section 106(2) of the Copyright Act recognizes in authors the exclusive right to prepare derivative work.  This is in addition to the other exclusive rights listed in Section 106, such as the exclusive right to make reproductions and the exclusive right to engage in public [...]

Prof. Peter S. Menell, School of Law, University of California at Berkeley Director, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Sept. 16, 2009 From ancient origins in the ill-fated Library of Alexandria through the Middle Ages and into modern copyright regimes, societies have long sought to preserve and catalog human knowledge and make it publicly accessible.  [...]

Prof. Stan Liebowitz, University of Texas at Dallas Sept. 1, 2009 Two pieces of copyright legislation have been floating around Congress during the last two years that are diametrically opposed to each other.  One is the “Performance Rights Act” and the other is the obscurely named “Local Radio Freedom Act.” The purpose of the first [...]