Center News

Possible ramifications of SOPA/PIPA
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle equates efforts to curb online piracy to "the Tower of Babel introduced into IP addresses." » The American Prospect

Prof. Jennifer Jenkins ’Til the End of Eternity?
CSPD Director Jennifer Jenkins comments on how current copyright terms impact our literary heritage. » Huffington Post Books

Public Domain Day: January 1, 2012
On January 1st each year, Public Domain Day marks the expiration of copyright protection for many works. Once again, the Center for the Study of the Public Domain marks this day with information on the public domain and how it affects culture and innovation in the United States. » more

Who's Afraid of the Federal Circuit
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai responds to Jonathan Masur’s recent Yale Law Journal article “Patent Inflation” (121 Yale L.J. 470 (2011)). » more

Boyle talks about aggressive federal enforcement of online piracy policy
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle says new online piracy policies are at odds with administration's position on internet speech in other countries. » The American Prospect

Prof. David Lange Golan v. Holder: Copyright in the Image of the First Amendment
Faculty Co-Director David Lange co-authored (with Risa Weaver and Shiveh Reed) this article on the case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court on the "restoration" of copyright for foreign works that had entered the public domain under prior U.S. law. (11 J. Marshall Rev. of Intell. Prop. L. 83 (2011)). Prof. Lange also discusses the case in a podcast for Suffolk University (listen at iTunesU or LegalTalkNetwork). This podcast is the first of a monthly series with Prof. Lange.

Rai receives 2011 World Technology Award for Law
Faculty Co-Director Arti K. Rai was honored as one of twenty individuals and ten organizations for their innovative work in a variety of fields. The awards were announced at a ceremony held in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City at the end of the WTN's 2011 Summit. » more

Intellectual Property and Biotechnology
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai’s new volume for Edward Elgar Publishing’s Critical Concepts in Intellectual Property Law series is now available. From Elgar’s description: “[T]his timely volume . . . brings together a wide range of articles that reveal the important role of intellectual property law in the formation and development of the dynamic and economically significant biotechnology industry.” » more

In Memoriam: Professor Keith Aoki
It is with great sadness that we note the death of Keith Aoki, Professor of Law at UC Davis Law School, and long-time collaborator with the Center. Prof. Aoki combined many different talents: scholar, artist, musician, mentor, father, husband, gentleness, humor, and so much more. Describing Prof. Aoki's contributions to the Center is difficult to do in a small space, but Prof. James Boyle, Faculty Co-Director, shares a marvelous tribute to Prof. Aoki and Prof. Jennifer Jenkins, Director, offers her own personal remembrance.

Microsoft Patent Infringement Case
Faculty Co-Director Professor Arti Rai talks about the Supreme Court's decision in Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. » InsideCounsel

IP Rules for Synthetic Biology
Faculty Co-Director Professor Arti Rai is one of several experts discussing patent/innovation issues for synthetic biology in a recent issue of GEN. » Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

U.K. Review of Intellectual Property and Growth
The U.K. Intellectual Property Office has released Professor Ian Hargreaves' final report and supporting documents. Faculty Co-Director James Boyle served on the panel of experts advising Professor Hargreaves during this seven month process. » UK IPO

Just Vogue: International Intellectual Property Issues in Fashion
Professor Jennifer Jenkins, Director of the Center, discusses current intellectual property issues in fashion law from both a domestic and international perspective. Professor Jerome Reichman, Faculty Co-Director of the Center, provides additional insight and commentary. » view the webcast

Patent Reform and the Progress of Innovation
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai lauds the Senate's passage of the "America Invents Act" and urges quick adoption by the House of Representatives and President Obama. » Science Progress

Brookings Institution Report Endowed by Their Creator?: The Future of Constitutional Personhood
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle examines how constitutional law should meet the challenges posed by artificially created entities. » Brookings Institution

Faculty Co-Director James Boyle responds to recent NY Times op-ed on copyright
Prof. Boyle discusses the arguments made by Scott Turow, Paul Aiken and James Shapiro in "Would the Bard Have Survived the Web?" and the perils of extending government power to shut down websites suspected of infringing copyright. » Financial Times

Roundtable on Federal Government Engagement in Standards
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai was a panelist at this January 2011 Department of Commerce/White House program exploring the role of standards in achieving national priorities. » View the video

Indigendous/Traditional Knowledge & Intellectual Property PDF Indigenous/Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property
The Center is pleased to announce the release of a new policy guide on indigenous and traditional knowledge, prepared by scholar Dr. Jane Anderson. This paper offers an analysis of the wide range of proposals for protecting indigenous knowledge, along with illustrative examples, in order to assist policymakers and citizens navigating this complex field. » Read the paper

James Boyle honored by Electronic Frontier Foundation for public domain scholarship
Professor Boyle, Faculty Co-Director of the Center, received one of the Foundation's 2010 Pioneer Awards for his work "to celebrate and protect the values of cultural and scientific openness." » EFF

Copyright's Futures?
A preview from the Center's forthcoming comic book Theft! A History of Music – a history of musical borrowing and regulation, from Plato to hip hop – is featured in the San Francisco Chronicle. »more about the comic

Patent Reform: Unleashing Innovation, Promoting Economic Growth & Producing High-Paying Jobs
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai (then Administrator, Office of External Affairs, at the USPTO) is co-author of a Commerce Department white paper on the key role of technological innovation in economic growth and the importance of reforming U.S. patent law to encourage innovation. » more

Golan v. Holder: Does Restoring Copyright in Foreign Works violate the First Amendment?
Faculty Co-Director David Lange is part of a panel at GWU Law School discussing this important case now before the 10th Circuit. Listen to the podcast.

The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle's book, recently named American Society for Information Science and Technology Book of the Year for 2009, explores the importance of the public domain to music, culture, science, and economic welfare and explains what we must do to protect it. Prof. Boyle discusses the book on BBC's In Business, NPR, North Carolina Public Radio, Connecticut Public Radio, and BBC's Thinking Allowed. In addition to the ASIST honor, The Public Domain received the 2008 McGannon Award from Fordham University’s Donald McGannon Communication Research Center. Visit the book's web site to read the book online, check the reviews, and more; or buy the book.

Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom

2009 Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, recognized for her work in governing the commons, was persuaded by the Duke Conference on the Public Domain to write an article for the Center's Collected Papers, applying her ideas to intellectual property and the intangible commons.

COMMUNIA The European Thematic Network on the Digital Public Domain
The Center for the Study of the Public Domain is a member of the COMMUNIA Thematic Network, devoted to developing analysis and policy recommendations surrounding public domain issues in Europe and beyond. Learn more about COMMUNIA, its goals and its projects.

Multilingual Educational Resources about Intellectual Property and the Public Domain
Find Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish translations of educational resources created for the Center to promote greater awareness and understanding about IP and the public domain. Visit the site.

IP and Synthetic Biology
Read Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai's seminal articles about intellectual property and "synthetic biology" - the attempt to construct new biological functions and systems, starting at the genetic level: Synthetic Biology: The Intellectual Property Puzzle (with Sapna Kumar) and Synthetic Biology: Caught Between Property Rights, the Public Domain, and the Commons (with James Boyle). Here Professor Rai's recent lecture on The Paradigm Shift of Synthetic Biology: Tensions Between Innovation and Security given at the University of Minnesota [ more information ].

7 Ways To Ruin A Technological Revolution
If you wanted to undermine the technological revolution of the last 30 years, using the law, how would you do it? Faculty Co-Director James Boyle provides answers at a Google Tech Talk. View the webcast