George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Protecting Artists from Streaming Piracy Benefits Creativity and Technology

Here’s a brief excerpt of an op-ed by Devlin Hartline & Matthew Barblan that was published in The Hill:

In his recent op-ed in The Hill, Mike Montgomery argues that “[m]aking streaming copyright infringement a felony is a terrible idea” that will create “further rifts between tech and entertainment at a time when these two sectors are not only reliant upon one another, but melding.” Read more

Digital Goods and the ITC: The Most Important Case That Nobody is Talking About

circuit boardBy Devlin Hartline & Matthew Barblan

In its ClearCorrect opinion from early 2014, the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued cease and desist orders preventing the importation of infringing digital goods into the United States. The ITC’s 5-1 opinion has since been appealed to the Federal Circuit, with oral argument scheduled for the morning of August 11th, and the case has drawn a number of amicus briefs on both sides. Read more

CloudFlare Enjoined From Aiding Infringers: Internet Unbroken

Just how far does a court’s power to enjoin reach into cyberspace? It’s clear enough that those directly posting or hosting infringing content are subject to an injunction. But what about a company such as CloudFlare that provides content delivery network and domain name server services? Read more

Curbing the Abuses of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law: An Indictment and Reform Agenda

The following is taken from a CPIP policy brief by Professor Richard A. Epstein.  A PDF of the full policy brief is available here.

Curbing the Abuses of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law:
An Indictment and Reform Agenda

Executive Summary

There are increasing complaints in both the European Union and the United States about a systematic bias in China’s enforcement of its Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).  Read more

IP Promotes Progress by Securing the Individual Liberty of Inventors and Creators

This is the third in a series of posts summarizing CPIP’s 2014 Fall Conference, “Common Ground: How Intellectual Property Unites Creators and Innovators.” The Conference was held at George Mason University School of Law on October 9-10, 2014. Videos of the conference panels and keynote will be available soon. Read more

Intellectual Property Unites Creators and Innovators

This is the first in a series of posts summarizing CPIP’s 2014 Fall Conference, “Common Ground: How Intellectual Property Unites Creators and Innovators.” The Conference was held at George Mason University School of Law on October 9-10, 2014. Videos of the conference panels and remarks, as well as panel summaries, will be available soon. Read more

Patent Policy Debates Characterized by "Intolerably High Ratio of Theory to Evidence"

In an interview with Law360 last week, FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright spoke about the FTC’s upcoming study on PAEs and the state of today’s patent policy debates. The interview is well-worth reading in it’s entirety, and we’ve also highlighted a couple key quotes below. Read more

An Insightful Analysis of “Fair and Reasonable” in the Determination of FRAND Terms

By Steven Tjoe

In his forthcoming George Mason University Law Review article entitled “The Meaning of ‘Fair and Reasonable’ in the Context of Third-Party Determination of FRAND Terms,” Professor Damien Geradin explores the delicate balance of interests protected by the current system of arm’s length negotiations in the standard-setting process, and the detrimental effect disrupting this balance would have on standards-related technologies and our innovation economy. Read more

Anti-Patent Bias in Applying Injunction Test Results in Another District Court’s Reversal – Aria Diagnostics v. Sequenom (Fed. Cir. Aug. 9, 2013)

[Cross Posted to Truth on the Market]

In its recent decision in Douglas Dynamics v. Buyers Products Co. (Fed. Cir., May 21, 2013), the Federal Circuit was forced to reverse a district court’s abuse of its discretion because the trial judge injected an anti-patent bias into the legal test for determining whether a patent-owner should receive a permanent injunction against an infringer. Read more

Guest Post by Richard Epstein: The Dangerous Adventurism of the United States Trade Representative – Lifting the Ban against Apple Products Unnecessarily Opens a Can of Worms in Patent Law

The Dangerous Adventurism of the United States Trade Representative:
Lifting the Ban against Apple Products Unnecessarily Opens a Can of Worms in Patent Law

 Richard A. Epstein

In ordinary times, the business of the International Trade Commission does not appear as the lead story in the Wall Street Journal, predicting massive changes in the high-stakes patent battles. Read more