Intellectual property (IP) rights help creators limit who uses their work without giving value in return. This protection encourages innovation in thought and expression. Academics featured on this site research topics such as open source licensing, digital rights management, patent reform, IP and technical standards, trademarks, and trade secrets.
A paper written by James Bessen, Michael J. Meurer, and Jennifer Ford is referenced in this article that examines claims of patent infringement by Kim DotCom. Mr. DotCom is the notorious Internet entrepreneur who founded Megaupload.com, which was accused of enabling and abetting copyright infringement through users uploading and downloading music and videos on a massive scale.
… Disney would probably have had to prove that the phrase “Día de los Muertos” had a specific Pixar-only meaning in order to be successful in applying for a trademark. “We don’t want to give terms too wide a protection if they don’t have any sort of significance for the consumer.” — Marshall Leaffer, Intellectual property law expert, Maurer School of Law
"It’s a big deal, and all the patent attorneys I know are busy right now, filing applications before that goes into effect, Saturday, which tells me that most of their clients are better off under the old system." — Robert Barr, Executive Director, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
"Samsung is being sued left and right. A major component of their business is smartphones, and this is becoming a very litigious area." — R. Polk Wagner, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
"It has taken the arrival of high-speed broadband to make that [pirating TV shows] attractive." — James Grimmelmann, Professor, New York University
The Copyright Alert System is a collaborative effort to curb online piracy and promote the lawful use of digital music, movies and TV shows. Professor Jonathan Zittrain, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University, explains aspects of the system.
This story discusses the new Copyright Alert System; it's a collaborative effort to curb online piracy and promote the lawful use of digital music, movies and TV shows. Professor James Grimmelmann, New York University, explains aspects of the system.
"There was a time when access to knowledge was promoted through grants of copyrights to authors who typically transferred them to publishers. Now copyright has become the single most serious impediment to access to knowledge. Academic authors, among others, should use the Internet as a medium through which access to knowledge can be greatly expanded." — Pamela Samuelson, Professor, University of California Berkeley
"This is a CRITICALLY important change that would do incredible good. The CFAA was the hook for the government's bullying of @aaronsw. This law would remove that hook." — Lawrence Lessig, Professor, Harvard University
"It will be hard to convince the Federal Circuit to revisit the injunction issue because the legal arguments involved are not among those that have caused the most recent controversy at the court." — R. Polk Wagner, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Select an Issue
TAP Academics
View all academics with expertise in Intellectual Property
TAP Blog
A selection of articles recently written by TAP scholars explore AI and the impact on privacy, how to safeguard privacy and security in an interconnected world, digital platforms and antitrust, and patent reform to support innovation.
January 15, 2021
View all blog posts about Intellectual Property
Upcoming Events
Navigating and Rectifying the Design Patent Muddle
February 19, 2021,
BCLT/BTLJ Symposium: Navigating and Rectifying the Design Patent Muddle
View all upcoming events for Intellectual Property
Fact Sheets
In the context of technology, “piracy” is a colloquial term for the illegal copying of copyrighted works. The related problem of counterfeiting is the illegal reproduction of patented or trademarked products.
View all fact sheets about Intellectual Property
Featured Article
Technological change is increasing the importance of intangible assets. A new legal concept, the “Intellectual Contract” (IC), would better support innovation, as current Intellectual property (IP) rules are limited.
View all articles on Intellectual Property