The fall semester is now in full swing at Antonin Scalia Law School, and the CPIP team has been busy this past month with our various programs and events. On September 12-13, we hosted the third meeting of the 2019-2020 Thomas Edison Innovation Fellowship, where the Edison Fellows presented rough drafts of their papers and received valuable feedback. Read more
O’Connor will lead the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property and expand innovation and entrepreneurship programs.
Professor Sean O’Connor, noted innovation law scholar, is joining George Mason University’s Scalia Law faculty as a tenured full professor and Executive Director of the Center for Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP). Read more
Yesterday, Representative Thomas Massie introduced the Restoring America’s Leadership in Innovation Act of 2018 (H.R. 6264). This legislation would reverse many of the harms that have been caused by recent changes to the patent laws from all three branches of government. Read more
By Matthew Barblan & Kevin Madigan
One of the oddities of US copyright law is that sound recordings—the way that our favorite songs are captured on media so that we can listen to them over and over again—were not protected under federal law until the early 1970s. Read more
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
Next week, the Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act is scheduled for markup before the House Judiciary Committee, promising long-overdue support for small creators and copyright owners in their fight against overwhelming infringement in the digital age. Read more
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
Late last month, a preliminary injunction was issued in favor of Netflix, Amazon, and six major studios in their case against the manufacturers of the set-top streaming device TickBox TV. The order comes as use of piracy-enabling streaming devices is on the rise, and it represents an initial victory in the fight against stream-based infringement. Read more
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
Over the past few weeks, widespread criticism has emerged over a superfluous and seemingly partisan effort to override existing copyright law. The target of concern is the American Law Institute’s (ALI) Restatement of the Law, Copyright project which—despite its stated mission to clarify copyright law—has been revealed as an influenced venture that could futher muddle already complex areas of IP law. Read more
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
Last week, the fifth round of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations closed in Mexico City with tensions high and little progress made towards a modernized trade deal. While the most recent talks saw the U.S., Read more
Cross-posted from the Mister Copyright blog.
This month, Congress introduced a bill that would establish a long-discussed small claims court for copyright disputes. The legislation comes after a House Judiciary Committee proposal based on a four-year review of the US Copyright system and a 2013 report by the Copyright Office that recommended “the creation of an alternative forum that will enable copyright owners to pursue small infringement matters and related claims arising under the Copyright Act.” Read more
Last month, the International Trade Administration (ITA)—an agency in the US Department of Commerce that measures and promotes the export of nonagricultural services and goods—released its 2017 Top Markets Report, Media and Entertainment Sector Snapshot. The report provides updates on the steady growth of the US media and entertainment (M&E) sector, which includes the core copyright industries: books, newspapers, periodicals, motion pictures, TV production, recorded music, radio and television broadcasting, video games, and software. Read more
