Congressional Research Service Reports - 44 Matching Results

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Plants, Patents, and Seed Innovation in the Agricultural Industry

Description: This report offers an overview of the availability of intellectual property rights for plants, focusing upon the seed industry. It initially offers an introduction to seed innovation. The report then reviews the three intellectual property regimes applicable to plant innovation: utility patents, plant patents and plant variety protection certificates. It then details a 2001 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., which held that sexuall… more
Date: September 13, 2002
Creator: Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Copyright Doctrine of Fair Use and the Internet: Caselaw

Description: This report examines the evolving copyright doctrine of fair use within the context of copyrighted works published or placed on the Internet. American courts have been examining the various property rights of copyright owners concurrently with the unauthorized use of these copyrighted materials by Web site operators, Internet consumers, access providers, and other interested parties. This report analyzes the early fair use copyright cases concerning Internet use, as well as the most recent judi… more
Date: March 30, 2000
Creator: Weimer, Douglas R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Copyright Term Extension: Eldred v. Ashcroft

Description: This report examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft. Plaintiffs/Petitioners challenged the constitutionality under the Copyright Clause of a law adding 20 years to the terms of existing and future copyrights. The law was upheld by both the U.S. district court and the court of appeals considering it. Among the questions before the Supreme Court was whether Congress may retrospectively extend the term of copyright for existing copyrights; and, what role and impact, if any… more
Date: February 14, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
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Copyright Law: Statutory Royalty Rates for Webcasters

Description: This report surveys the procedures for and the results of the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel’s (CARP’s) February 20, 2002 Report making recommendations for statutory royalty rates for eligible nonsubscription webcasters.
Date: November 18, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gene Patents: A Brief Overview of Intellectual Property Issues

Description: This report is a brief discussion of the ethical, legal, and economic issues of gene patenting. The courts have upheld gene patents that meet the criteria of patentability defined by the Patent Act. However, the practice of awarding patents on genes has come under intense scrutiny by some scientists, legal scholars, politicians, and other experts.
Date: October 3, 2006
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Copyright Protection for Fashion Design: A Legal Analysis of the Design Piracy Prohibition Act (H.R. 2196)

Description: Fashion design does not currently receive explicit protection under U.S. copyright law. This report analyzes the amendments that the Design Piracy Prohibition Act would make to the Copyright Act to provide for fashion design protection. It also summarizes arguments both in favor of and against extending such protection.
Date: June 1, 2009
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Genetically Engineered Soybeans: Acceptance and Intellectual Property Rights Issues in South America

Description: This report discusses issues regarding genetically engineered soybeans in South America. U.S. soybean growers and trade officials charge that Argentina and Brazil–the United States’ two major export competitors in international soybean markets–gain an unfair trade advantage by routinely saving genetically-engineered (GE), Roundup Ready (RR) soybean seeds from the previous harvest (a practice prohibited in the United States) for planting in subsequent years.
Date: October 17, 2003
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Patents and Drug Importation

Description: This report explores the intellectual property laws and policies concerning the parallel importation of patented pharmaceuticals into the United States.
Date: June 1, 2007
Creator: Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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American Inventors Protection Act of 1999

Description: After several years of consideration, on Friday, November 19, 1999, Congress gave final approval to a bill which makes major changes to the patent laws. On this day the Senate passed the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 as part of the Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999, attached by reference to the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2000. This report summarizes major provisions of the patent reform bill.
Date: February 28, 2000
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Google Library Project: Is Digitization for Purposes of Online Indexing Fair Use Under Copyright Law?

Description: In December 2004, Google announced its Library Project, which was to entail digitizing, indexing, and displaying "snippets" of print books in the collections of five major libraries, among other things. The Library Project was not limited to books in the public domain (e.g., books whose terms of copyright protection had expired), and Google did not seek the permission of copyright holders, in part, because it asserted that its proposed uses were fair uses. Many authors, publishers, and other ri… more
Date: November 27, 2009
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Patents and Drug Importation

Description: This report explores the intellectual property laws and policies concerning the parallel importation of patented pharmaceuticals into the United States.
Date: May 25, 2004
Creator: Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Patents and Drug Importation

Description: This report explores the intellectual property laws and policies concerning the parallel importation of patented pharmaceuticals into the United States.
Date: January 17, 2007
Creator: Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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New York Times Co. v. Tasini: The U.S. Supreme Court Affirms “Authorial” Rights in Copyright

Description: This report examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in New York Times Co. v. Tasini. This case considers whether, under the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 201(c), publishers are “privileged” to include the copyrighted articles of freelance authors in an electronic database.
Date: July 13, 2001
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Influenza Antiviral Drugs and Patent Law Issues

Description: This report examines the role that intellectual property rights play in affecting the availability of a patented drug such as Tamiflu during public health crises. The report also explains one legal mechanism for increasing a patented drug’s production without the patent holder’s consent: governments may abrogate a pharmaceutical company’s patent rights by issuing compulsory licenses to other drug companies to manufacture generic versions of the drug.
Date: August 16, 2007
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Qui Tam: An Abbreviated Look at the False Claims Act and Related Federal Statutes

Description: This is a brief discussion of the constitutional questions raised by qui tam provisions; of the history of such provisions; and of the three existing, active federal qui tam statutes--the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729-3733; the false marking patent statute, 35 U.S.C. 292; and the Indian protection provisions of 25 U.S.C. 201.
Date: August 6, 2009
Creator: Doyle, Charles
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Google Book Search Project: Is Online Indexing a Fair Use Under Copyright Law?

Description: This report provides background on the pending litigation. Google, Inc. is digitally scanning the collections of several prominent libraries in order to create a vast searchable database of literary works. Copyright holders who have not authorized and object to the digitization have filed suit against the company.
Date: December 28, 2005
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade

Description: This report discusses the different kinds of intellectual property rights (IPR); forms of IPR infringement; importance of IPR to the U.S. economy; estimated losses associated with IPR infringement; organizational structure of IPR protection in multilateral, regional, bilateral; U.S. government agencies involved with IPR and trade; and issues for Congress regarding IPR and international trade.
Date: July 23, 2008
Creator: Ilias, Shayerah & Fergusson, Ian F.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intellectual Property in Industrial Designs: Issues in Innovation and Competition

Description: This report identifies several current issues relating to intellectual property in industrial designs. It begins by describing the different sorts of intellectual property protection that apply to industrial designs. The report then identifies current issues at the interface between intellectual property and industrial designs. The report closes by reviewing the impact that sui generis rights regimes may have upon innovation and competition in the United States.
Date: July 1, 2008
Creator: Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Follow-On Biologics: Intellectual Property and Innovation Issues

Description: This report reviews doctrinal and policy issues pertaining to follow-on biologics. The report first introduces the application of federal food and drug legislation to follow-on biologics. It next turns to the patent implications of marketing follow-on biologics. Following this review of substantive law, the remainder of the report introduces innovation policy issues pertaining to follow-on biologics.
Date: August 3, 2009
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H. & Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Exporting Software and the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law: Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp.

Description: Generally speaking, United States patent law does not have extraterritorial effect. The exception, however, is § 271(f) of the Patent Act, which makes it an act of patent infringement to manufacture within the United States the components of a patented invention and then export those disassembled parts for combination abroad into an end product. This report discusses Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp. (550 U.S. ___ , No. 05-1056, decided April 30, 2007), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that sof… more
Date: May 31, 2007
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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