Last week, a group of law professors wrote a letter to the acting Librarian of Congress in which they claim that the current FCC proposal to regulate cable video navigation systems does not deprive copyright owners of the exclusive rights guaranteed by the Copyright Act. Read more
Category: Commercialization
Repetition of Junk Science & Epithets Does Not Make Them True
Here’s a brief excerpt of a post by Adam Mossoff that was published on IPWatchdog.
In their recent submission to the Washington Post’s series on so-called “patent reform” and “patent trolls,” James Bessen and Michael Meurer repeat the same junk science claims we’ve all heard many times before. Read more
Busting Smartphone Patent Licensing Myths
CPIP has released a new policy brief, Busting Smartphone Patent Licensing Myths, by Keith Mallinson, Founder of WiseHarbor. Mr. Mallinson is an expert with 25 years of experience in the wired and wireless telecommunications, media, and entertainment markets.
Mr. Mallinson discusses several common myths concerning smartphone patent licensing and argues that antitrust interventions and SSO policy changes based on these myths may have the unintended consequence of pushing patent owners away from open and collaborative patent licensing. Read more
Google’s Patent Starter Program: What it Really Means for Startups
The following guest post comes from Brad Sheafe, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Dominion Harbor Group, LLC.
By Brad Sheafe
Recalling its rags-to-riches story of two guys with nothing but a great idea, a garage, and a hope of making the world a better place, Google recently announced its new Patent Starter Program. Read more
Making Copyright Work for Creative Upstarts
The following post is by CPIP Research Associate Matt McIntee, a rising 2L at George Mason University School of Law. McIntee reviews a paper from CPIP’s 2014 Fall Conference, Common Ground: How Intellectual Property Unites Creators and Innovators.
By Matt McIntee
In Making Copyright Work for Creative Upstarts, recently published in the George Mason Law Review, Professor Sean Pager demonstrates how the current copyright system can be improved to better support creative upstarts. Read more
How Rhetorical Epithets Have Led the FTC Astray in its Study of Patent Licensing Firms
We’ve all heard the narrative about patent licensing firms, often referred to pejoratively as “patent trolls.” These patent owners, who choose to license their innovations rather than build them, are the supposed poster-children of a “broken” patent system. It’s as if commercializing one’s property, just like a landlord leases his land for another to use, is suddenly a bad thing. Read more
The Commercial Value of Software Patents in the High-Tech Industry
In CPIP’s newest policy brief, Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat examines the important role patents play in commercializing software innovation and supporting technology markets. He explains how a proper understanding of this commercial role requires a broader view of patents in software innovation than the all-too-common focus on a small handful of litigated patents and legal questions of patentability and patent quality. Read more
Copyright’s Republic: Promoting an Independent and Professional Class of Creators and Creative Businesses
By Mark Schultz and Devlin Hartline
The following essay is the first in a series of CPIP essays celebrating the 225th anniversary of the Copyright Act by recognizing the rich purposes, benefits, and contributions of copyright. This series of essays will be published together in a forthcoming collection entitled “Copyright’s Republic: Copyright for the Last and the Next 225 Years.” Read more
Copyright’s Republic: Copyright for the Last and the Next 225 Years
By Mark Schultz and Devlin Hartline
This past Sunday marked the 225th anniversary of the first U.S. Copyright Act. As we move well into the twenty-first century, a claim that copyright no longer “works” in the “digital age” has become commonplace – so commonplace, in fact, that it’s arguably the dominant cliché in modern copyright discussions. 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