Category IP Law

Will US Follow UK Lead In Case On Copyright And Interoperability?

In a case pitting copyright protection against competition, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit must decide whether World Programming Limited (WPL) violated SAS Institute's copyright by copying software interfaces that enable interoperability. WPL has already won the argument in the UK and in Europe's highest court. The case has drawn strong support on both sides from the tech sector and a civil liberties group.

When Machines Create Intellectual Property, Who Owns What?

The concept of machines that can think and create in ways that are indistinguishable from humans has been the stuff of science fiction for decades. Now, following major advances in artificial intelligence (AI), intellectual property created by machines without human input is fast becoming a reality. The development thus begs the question among legal scholars, legislative bodies, and judiciary branches of governments worldwide of who owns the intellectual property that humans did not create.

Quest For US Termination Of Copyright Made Uncertain By UK Duran Duran Judgment

Efforts to reclaim rights under the US Copyright Act have increased recently as the window of opportunity for works created in the mid-20th century opens. In comparative cases, Paul McCartney's decision to take back copyright assignments of his music in the United States appears to have been the right choice but may hang on a questionable UK ruling denying the same request by members of rock group Duran Duran, several intellectual property lawyers said.

It’s Official: TRIPS Health Amendment In Effect, First Ever To A WTO Agreement

More than a decade after World Trade Organization member states approved the first-ever legal amendment to a WTO agreement, the change to the international intellectual property agreement has entered into effect. Five more members ratified the amendment in recent days, bringing supporters over the minimum needed to put into effect the amendment aimed at boosting exports of medical products made under compulsory licence.

IP Law In The US: A Look Ahead

Whatever else could be said of 2016, it was undeniably interesting. That’s likely to be true, too, for 2017. Even the staid area of US Intellectual Property Law may face dramatic changes. Here's the likely most important of those changes.

Achieving SDG Health Targets Using ‘The Vital Role Of Law’

Effective laws, including those around intellectual property rights, and an enabling legal environment, are as essential to a healthy society as clean water, a group made up of a representative of the World Health Organization, academics and a legal expert for a civil society group, have asserted while launching a key report.

US Supreme Court Eyes Patent-Enforced Post-Sale Restrictions

Few were surprised when, earlier this month, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal in Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International. The case presents two important patent law issues, and the lower court’s ruling on these issues conflicts with Supreme Court precedents, according to many experts.