Unbundling Fair Uses Author(s): Pamela Samuelson Year: 2009 Abstract: Fair use has been invoked as a defense to claims of copyright infringement in a wide array of cases over the past thirty years, as when someone has drawn expression from an earlier work in order to parody it, quoted from an earlier work in preparing […]

A Reverse Notice and Takedown Regime to Enable Public Interest Uses of Technically Protected Copyrighted Works Author(s): Pamela Samuelson Year: 2007 Abstract: The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) recognized the need to maintain a balance between the rights of authors and the larger public interest in updating copyright law in light of advances in information and […]

Legislative Alternatives to the Google Book Settlement Author(s): Pamela Samuelson Year: 2011 Abstract: In the aftermath of Judge Chin’s rejection of the proposed Google Book settlement, it is time to consider legislative alternatives. This article explores a number of component parts of a legislative package that might accomplish many of the good things that the […]

Privacy as Intellectual Property? Author(s): Pamela Samuelson Year: 2000 Abstract: Some economists and privacy advocates have proposed giving individuals property rights in their personal data to promote information privacy in cyberspace. A property rights approach would allow individuals to negotiate with firms about the uses to which they are willing to have personal data put […]

Why Copyright Law Excludes Systems and Processes from the Scope of its Protection Author(s): Pamela Samuelson Year: 2007 Abstract: Contrary to common perceptions, Baker v. Selden is neither the origin of the idea/expression distinction of U.S. copyright law, nor of the merger doctrine (which holds that if an idea is capable of expression in only […]

The Mixed Heritage of Federal Intellectual Property Law and Ramifications for Statutory Interpretation Author(s): Peter S. Menell Year: 2011 Abstract: This article explores the unique and complex mix of statutory provisions and common law jurisprudence that characterizes federal intellectual property law. Patent and copyright law trace their roots back to terse 1790 enactments on which […]

What Constitutes a Diligent Search Under Present and Proposed Orphan Work Regimes? Author(s): Jennifer Urban Year: 2013 Abstract: Numerous legal regimes or proposals have been devised to address the problem of whether or under what circumstances in-copyright works can be made available if the works are “orphans,” because their rights holders are unknown or cannot […]

A Fresh Look at Tests for Nonliteral Copyright Infringement Author(s): Pamela Samuelson Year: 2013 Abstract: A central puzzle for U.S. copyright law in the 20th and 21st centuries has been how to test for infringement of the exclusive right this law gives authors to control the reproduction of their works in copies. No subtlety of […]

Why Plaintiffs Should Have to Prove Irreparable Harm in Copyright Preliminary Injunction Cases Author(s): Pamela Samuelson Year: 2009 Abstract: It has become lamentably common for courts to issue preliminary injunctions in copyright cases once rights holders have shown a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits without going on to require them to prove that […]

A Method for Reforming the Patent System Author(s): Peter S. Menell Year: 2007 Abstract: The principal recent studies of patent reform (NAS (2004), FTC (2003), Jaffe and Lerner (2004)) contend that a uniform system of patent protection must (or should) be available for anything under the sun made by man based upon one or more […]