Congressional Research Service Reports - 127 Matching Results

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Still Fair Use for Google Books: Second Circuit Ruling in Authors Guild v. Google

Description: This legal sidebar discusses the decision in Authors Guild v. Google case, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court's ruling and held that Google's copying and distribution of books as part of its Google Books Project qualifies as fair use under the Copyright Act, and thus Google is not liable for infringement of the authors' copyright in these books.
Date: November 30, 2015
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Repair, Modification, or Resale of Software-Enabled Consumer Electronic Devices: Copyright Law Issues

Description: This report provides a discussion and analysis of copyright law issues that may be implicated by the repair, modification, or resale of software-enabled consumer electronic devices. These issues include software licensing, fair use, the first sale doctrine, and the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Date: August 11, 2016
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Intellectual Property Protection for Noncreative Databases

Description: Copyright law protects works of authorship that exhibit original, creative expression, including creativity in the selection, arrangement, or coordination both of traditional printed and electronic databases. Noncreative databases are not subject to copyright protection, although some protection is available through a combination of contract law, trade secrecy law, and misappropriation doctrines of state law.
Date: September 15, 1999
Creator: Schrader, Dorothy & Jeweler, Robin
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute

Description: This legal sidebar examines cases involving the revocation of the Washington Redskins' federally-registered trademarks (Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse) and the refusal to grant registration for a rock band's name (In re Tam). These cases raise questions about the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act), which denies trademark registration to certain offensive content.
Date: August 8, 2016
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

R&D Partnerships and Intellectual Property: Implications for U.S. Policy

Description: Congressional interest in the value of intellectual property has grown as technology becomes increasingly important to the United States. It is now widely accepted that technological progress accounts for up to one-half of the nation's economic growth. Concurrently, the role of patents has changed as the use of cooperative research and development (R&D) expands to facilitate this technological advancement and generate new products, processes, and services for the marketplace.
Date: December 6, 2000
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Use of Trademarks as Keywords to Trigger Internet Search Engine Advertisements

Description: This report provides a summary and analysis of judicial opinions that have developed the current state of trademark law governing keyword-triggered advertising. It discusses background of the issue, keyword advertising, and litigation related to keyword advertising.
Date: March 22, 2010
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

A Legal Analysis of S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act

Description: This report discusses the legality of S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act). It is related to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but not enacted by the full Senate before the end of the 111th Congress.
Date: July 7, 2011
Creator: Yeh, Brian T. & Miller, Jonathan
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Copyright Term Extension: Estimating the Economic Values

Description: This report considers proposals to extend the duration of copyrights by 20 years (as in H.R. 2589 and other bills) and related proposals to charge a fee to the owners in order to receive the extension. The method of analysis is economic rather than legal. The report reviews the basic economic principals involved in copyright law and gives rough estimates of the value of copyrights on books, music, and movies produced in the 1920s and 1930s — those that would be most immediately affected by an extension of copyright terms.
Date: May 11, 1998
Creator: Rappaport, Edward B
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Intellectual Property in Industrial Designs: Issues in Innovation and Competition

Description: Report that identifies several current issues relating to intellectual property in industrial designs. It describes the different sorts of intellectual property protection that apply to industrial designs, and identifies current issues at the interface between intellectual property and industrial designs.
Date: January 5, 2011
Creator: Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

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

The Copyright Registration Requirement and Federal Court Jurisdiction: A Legal Analysis of Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick

Description: In New York Times Co. v. Tasini, six freelance authors who had contributed articles to several publications, including The New York Times, Newsday, and Time, sued when the publishers licensed rights to copy and sell the articles to electronic databases such as Lexis/Nexis. Shortly after the Court decided Tasini, three preexisting class action infringement suits, which had been suspended pending the decision, were activated and consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A fourth, nearly identical action was coordinated with that consolidated action. Together, these claims comprise the litigation discussed in this report.
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

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

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 sexually reproducing plants may be subject to utility patents.
Date: September 13, 2002
Creator: Thomas, John R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

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, does the First Amendment have in determining the validity of a congressional extension of copyright terms.
Date: February 14, 2003
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

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 judicial interpretations.
Date: March 30, 2000
Creator: Weimer, Douglas R.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department