Tag Archives: Supreme Court
A Copyright Farewell to Justice John Paul Stevens
The Forrest Gump of the Supreme Court, former Justice John Paul Stevens, died on July 16, 2019, at the age of 99. Entitling him as “Forrest Gump” is to honor him, as being around some of the most significant events of the 20th Century. He met Amelia Earhart. He received from Charles Lindbergh a caged […]
A Tilted Playing Field: Copyright Infringement and Attorneys’ Fees
In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread. […]
A Tilted Playing Field: Copyright Infringement and Attorneys’ Fees
In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread. […]
What Season Is It? It’s Duck Season!
By: Andrew K Jacobson Look at the picture: what is it? A duck? A rabbit? Both? Depending on what hunting season it happens to be, a lot can depend on the answer. The same is true in copyright. Cable companies rebroadcast transmissions to their customers from broadcasters. Originally, the Supreme Court ruled that was acceptable, […]
What Season Is It? It’s Duck Season!
By: Andrew K Jacobson Look at the picture: what is it? A duck? A rabbit? Both? Depending on what hunting season it happens to be, a lot can depend on the answer. The same is true in copyright. Cable companies rebroadcast transmissions to their customers from broadcasters. Originally, the Supreme Court ruled that was acceptable, […]
Where Exceptional Becomes Normal
by: Andrew K Jacobson Garrison Keillor’s fictional Lake Wobegon is famous as the place “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” Exceptional gets defined down when it applies to everyone. Last month, the US Supreme Court has defined down the term exceptional regarding patent […]
Wisdom of the Supremes
“For protection against abuses by legislatures the people must resort to the polls, not to the courts.” Munn v. Illinois, 94 US 113, 134 (1877). Courts are good at procedural issues, and rights protection. They are ill-equipped to decide the best way to do things.
The Breyer Copyright Manifesto
The length of US copyrights has been growing ever longer. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer‘s recent dissent in Golan v. Holder, 565 U.S. ___ (2012) (“Golan”), relies on the Constitution to reveal the folly of that lengthening. While some wonder why judges write dissenting opinions, those dissents sometimes grow into majority opinions later. Justice Breyer’s Golan […]
