Last month, global health initiative UNITAID launched an appeal for suggestions on breaking down barriers that frustrate the progress of public health. UNITAID is a multilateral partnership hosted by the World Health Organization whose mission is to develop systematic approaches to identifying challenges in the treatment of devastating diseases such as HIV, TB, and malaria. Read more
Blog
Criminal Copyright Infringement is Crime of "Moral Turpitude"
Cross-posted from the Law Theories blog.
This past Friday, the Board of Immigration Appeals held that criminal copyright infringement constitutes a “crime involving moral turpitude” under immigration law. The Board reasoned that criminal copyright infringement is inherently immoral because it involves the willful theft of property and causes harm to both the copyright owner and society. Read more
Federal Circuit Again Finds Computer-Implemented Invention Patent Eligible
In Tuesday’s McRO v. Bandai decision, the Federal Circuit has once again reversed a district court’s determination that a computer-implemented invention (aka “software patent”) was not patent eligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act. This continues the Federal Circuit’s recent trend of clarifying the Supreme Court’s two-step patent-eligibility test under Mayo and Alice. Read more
European Union Draws a Line on Infringing Hyperlinks
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
Last week, the European Court of Justice—the judicial authority of the European Union—issued an anticipated decision in the Sanoma hyperlinking case, declaring that commercial linking with knowledge of unauthorized content constitutes copyright infringement. The opinion comes after years of similar cases in Europe stirred debate over whether linking to pirated works was a ‘communication to the public’ and therefore infringing, and provides a sensible test that protects the works of authors and creators while ensuring the internet remains a bastion of free speech. Read more
Scalia Law Alums Help Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic Draft Influential Amicus Brief
Last spring, the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic at Scalia Law School filed an amicus brief on behalf of intellectual property law scholars in the Fox News v. TVEyes copyright infringement case. Assisting the students on the project was practicing IP attorney and Scalia Law alum Jennifer Atkins, who volunteered her time—and the time of her firm, Cloudigy Law—to work closely with the Clinic to craft a professional and influential brief. Read more
Despite What You Hear, Notice and Takedown is Failing Creators and Copyright Owners
In a recent op-ed in the LA Times, Professors Chris Sprigman and Mark Lemley praise the notice and takedown provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) as “a bit of copyright law worth saving.” They argue that Section 512 of the DMCA continues to serve its purpose of balancing the rights of copyright owners and creators with those of Internet service providers (ISPs), while leaving both sides only “slightly disappointed.” Read more
CloudFlare’s Desperate New Strategy to Protect Pirate Sites
San Francisco-based CloudFlare has earned a somewhat dubious reputation in the online world. Website owners can set up CloudFlare in just a few minutes, gaining the performance, security, and privacy benefits the service provides. Traffic routed through CloudFlare’s global content delivery network is cached for faster delivery times and protected from numerous online threats. Read more
The European Union Extends Copyright in Design—and Critics Balk (Yet Again)
The European Union recently decided to support the productive labors of designers by extending legal protections of their works in all areas of copyright, design, and patent law. Just as past legislation in the United States extending copyright terms was attacked with histrionic allegations that this was merely rent-seeking behavior by politically powerful corporations, the EU’s extension of protections for designs have come under similar attack. Read more
Law Professors & Economists Urge Caution on VENUE Act in Letter to Congress
Today, 28 law professors, economists, and political scientists from across the nation submitted a letter to Congress expressing serious concerns about the recent push for sweeping changes to patent litigation venue rules, such as those proposed in the VENUE Act. The letter is copied below, and it can be downloaded here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2816062 Read more
CPIP Scholars File Amicus Brief in Trading Technologies v. CQG
Earlier this month, CPIP Senior Scholar Adam Mossoff penned an amicus brief in Trading Technologies v. CQG, currently on appeal to the Federal Circuit. The brief was joined by nine other IP scholars, including CPIP Senior Scholars Mark Schultz and Kristen Osenga. Read more