Intellectual Property

Trademark Strength and Fame: The Federal Circuit Corrects the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

In 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided the Joseph Phelps Vineyards case, reversing the Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision in a case asking whether consumers would likely be confused by a new trademark.

Functionality and Expression in Computer Programs: Refining the Tests for Software Copyright Infringement

Copyright law protects the expressive elements of created works, but not the work’s function. But expressive elements of software programs are hard to distinguish from functional elements. Elements needed to interoperate with other programs should not be protected by copyright.

What We Buy When We Buy Now

Many consumers are unaware that digital books, movies, or musical work cannot be transferred to others. Because consumers’ expectations are shaped in markets for tangible books, records, and CDs, sellers’ use of terms like “buy now” for digital media is deceptive.

Intellectual Property: A Very Short Introduction

Intellectual property (IP) law includes copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret law. Some scholars advocate revisiting and reforming fundamental principles of IP law, because it can be overly complex, raise prices, and restrict free expression and innovation.

Understanding the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016

The Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 (CRFA) bars businesses from requiring their customers to agree not to post online reviews. These “anti-review” clauses prevented consumers from leaving feedback that would identify poorly run businesses.

Strategies for Discerning the Boundaries of Copyright and Patent Protections

Copyright law protects works of authorship, and utility patent law protects technological designs. Products like toys and software are sometimes eligible for both types of protection. Courts resist extending copyright and design patent protection simultaneously.

Computers and Robots Don’t Count: In Copyright Law, It’s All About People

This article describes judge-made rules that shield copies automatically made by computers from liability for copyright infringement. Studying these cases can help decide more difficult cases involving machines such as killer robots.

Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age: 2016 - Chapters 1 and 2

These chapters of Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age: 2016 examine the justifications for intellectual property (IP) law, which includes trade secret, copyright, patent, and trademark law. Trade Secret law protects information used by a business from misappropriation.

Copyright's Framing Problem

Many copyrighted works can be divided into smaller parts. A court’s decision to frame a copyright dispute by considering the whole work often yields a different outcome than considering only a part. Framing decisions are inconsistent. But taking a unified approach to framing makes little sense.

Divert All Trademark Appeals to the Federal Circuit? We Think Not

Some propose that all appeals of federal trademark and false advertising cases from district courts be sent to the Federal Circuit. But courts in other regions have as much or more expertise in trademark law as does the Federal Circuit.