The FTC’s long-awaited case study of patent assertion entities (PAEs) is expected to be released this spring. Using its subpoena power under Section 6(b) to gather information from a handful of firms, the study promises us a glimpse at their inner workings. Read more
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A New Librarian of Congress and a New Copyright Office
With the Senate considering the confirmation of Dr. Carla Hayden as the next Librarian of Congress, I have joined thirteen other intellectual property law professors in an Open Letter suggesting that her confirmation should serve as an important reminder that the U.S. Read more
Middle Class Artists Want a DMCA System That Works
The following guest post comes from Rebecca Cusey, a second year law student at George Mason University School of Law.
By Rebecca Cusey
Mason Law’s Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic filed comments today with the U.S. Copyright Office detailing the frustrations and futilities experienced by everyday artists as they struggle with the DMCA system to protect their copyrights online. Read more
Copyright Scholars: Courts Have Disrupted the DMCA’s Careful Balance of Interests
The U.S. Copyright Office is conducting a study of the safe harbors under Section 512 of the DMCA, and comments are due today. Working with Victor Morales and Danielle Ely from Mason Law’s Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic, we drafted and submitted comments on behalf of several copyright law scholars. Read more
Weighing the Patent System
Here’s a brief excerpt of an op-ed by Adam Mossoff that was published in The Washington Times:
As the push for legislation making broad and wide-ranging revisions to the patent system has stalled, its advocates have shifted tactics. They have carved out the provision in H.R. Read more
Changes to Patent Venue Rules Risk Collateral Damage to Innovators
Advocates for changing the patent venue rules, which dictate where patent owners can sue alleged infringers, have been arguing that their remedy will cure the supposed disease of abusive “trolls” filing suit after suit in the Eastern District of Texas. This is certainly true, but it’s only true in the sense that cyanide cures the common cold. Read more
No Consensus That Broad Patent ‘Reform’ is Necessary or Helpful
Here’s a brief excerpt of an op-ed by Adam Mossoff & Devlin Hartline that was published in The Hill:
Two recent op-eds published in The Hill argue that broad patent legislation—misleadingly labeled “reform”—is needed because the U.S. patent system is fundamentally broken. Read more
March 18th Conference: A Copyright Office for the 21st Century
CPIP Senior Scholar and Director of Copyright Research & Policy Sandra Aistars will be speaking at a conference on Friday, March 18th, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. The conference is entitled “A Copyright Office for the 21st Century.” Read more
Artur Fischer's Life Illustrates the Power of Invention
Whether taking a photograph, hanging a picture, or doing some work around the house, it’s easy to take for granted all the inventions that make our lives better on a daily basis. But the devices, tools and machines we use every day are all the products of creative genius, hard work and constant innovation. Read more
#AliceStorm: When It Rains, It Pours…
The following guest post from Robert R. Sachs, Partner at Fenwick & West LLP, first appeared on the Bilski Blog, and it is reposted here with permission.
By Robert R. Sachs
Last year I christened the post-Alice impact on patents #Alicestorm, riffing on the hashtag #hellastorm used to refer to the Pineapple Express storms the drenched the Bay Area in December 2014. Read more