Events

The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in FCC v. Fox Television, a case dealing with the constitutionality of the FCC's "fleeting expletives" rule whose result could have serious implications for the agency's regulation of speech in broadcast. Panelists will discuss the First Amendment considerations in the case, and debate whether broadcast is still a unique medium that deserves unique regulation or whether drastic changes to the media landscape should lead to higher speech protections in this medium like those enjoyed in print, on cable, and on the Internet.

The shift to electronic health records is underway. However, as technology improves and the amount of personal information stored and shared digitally increases, so do concerns about the safety and privacy of our personal health information. This event will discuss the issues involved in protecting health information, while simultaneously allowing access to appropriate parties, as well as the impact of the law on such efforts.

This Event will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Law Review publishes the only annual book in the country dedicated to the court's decisions, and this year plans to celebrate what is a very special anniversary for the Court.

The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) - the counterpart to the Senate's Protect IP Act. The bill proposes to expand criminal penalties for copyright infringement and give the government (and private parties) new powers to bloc access to websites accused of facilitating infringement. Panelists will discuss and debate whether these provisions promote the public interest in copyright law and policy.

Recently, traditional intellectual property schemes have been shifting due to the rise of new technologies. New media, such as blogs, Wikipedia, and streaming, do not coexist peacefully with traditional methods of protecting intellectual property. Join artists, innovators, practitioners, academics, and policymakers as we discuss how the traditional forms of intellectual property are adapting to new technologies and methods of communication.

This annual program will continue to explore the interface between gender, intellectual property, and creative works.

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PAST EVENTS:

The passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act granted authority to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to create a new trial-like process, whereby anyone may challenge an issued patent. This symposium explores the rule-making that will be required at the agency level, the implementation of the new trial-like process, and industry reaction to the proposed changes.

David Kappos will deliver the Seventh Annual Finnegan Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property at 6:00 at American University Washington College of Law: The America Invents Act: A Patent Law Game Changer in a 21st Century Global Economy. Mr. Kappos is the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In this role since August 2009, he advises the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administration on intellectual property matters.

The Washington College of Law Program on Information Justice & Intellectual Property and Creative Commons are holding the Workshop on the Research and Resource Commons in Scientific Research, with the goal of improving the legal and policy framework governing shared scientific information and material resources, particularly the sharing and use of research data.

Panelists: Prof. Kathryn Montgomery (American University School of Communications), Professor Jeffrey Rosen (George Washington University Law), Marc Rotenberg ( Executive Director of the Electronic Information Privacy Center), Ross Schulman: Public Policy and Regulatory Counsel for the Computer and Communications Industry Association. Cosponsored by the WCL Program on Law and Government, PIJIP, IPLS, and the IP Brief

Charles Cronin (WCL '85) will to discuss his music/copyright site, hosted at UCLA law. He also will discuss digitized materials associated with music infringement disputes in the UK, Canada, and Australia, and an article he’s working on about musical borrowings/appropriations “then and now” (18th – 21st Centuries) and copyright implications.

As part of International Week at WCL, and Open Access week worldwide, PIJIP will host an event October 25 to discuss current trends in open access. Learn more about Creative Commons and copyright, Open Access publishing initiatives, access to scholarly research, and how publications (including our own Intellectual Property Brief!) are making information available. demand.

Copyright's relationship with the First Amendment is back before the U.S. Supreme Court, with oral arguments to be held on October 5th, 2011. The Washington D.C. Chapter of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. and the American University Washington College of Law Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) are co-sponsoring a post-argument event where you can hear lawyers for the Petitioners and the Respondents summarize their views of the case and the Justices' questions.

Professors Patricia Aufderheide, director of the Center for Social Media, and Peter Jaszi, Professor of Law in the Washington College of Law at American University, urge a robust embrace of a principle long-embedded in copyright law, but too often poorly understood -- fair use. By challenging the widely held notion that current copyright law has become unworkable and obsolete in the era of digital technologies, Reclaiming Fair Use: How To Put Balance Back In Copyright from the University of Chicago Press promises to reshape the debate in both scholarly circles and the creative community.

The global intellectual property landscape has witnessed important changes in recent years. Most notably, the public interest dimension of intellectual property has emerged as a paramount concern. Though there seems to be now a fairly broad agreement on the need for a more balanced intellectual property system which effectively promotes innovation, views diverge on how to best achieve it...

Professor Peter DiCola from Northwestern University Law School will give a lecture and multimedia presentation regarding his recently published book Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling. Professor DiCola's lecture will be followed by comments from Professor Peter Jaszi of the American University Washington College of Law, Casey Rae Hunter of the Future of Music Coalition, and Jay Rosenthal of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA).

Trade and intellectual property law converged in the World Trade Organization’s path-breaking agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (1994). Since then, a dominant direction of U.S. foreign policy has been to advocate for foreign countries to adopt increasingly higher standards of intellectual property protection and enforcement, including in the recently negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and in the current negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). There is debate within U.S. technology and media industries, however, about how far this trend should continue, and whether it will impair important U.S. commercial interests.

The extension of intellectual property law to traditional cultural expressions (or folklore) is currently under serious consideration in countries around the world, as well as in the World Intellectual Property Organization. Protection for TCEs has implications for nations and corporations, but also for individuals and groups who practice and transmit the old arts of their places. Some forms of traditional cultural practice are strongly gendered. In particular, this workshop will consider the implications of these legal developments for women and their communities. Register at, http://tinyurl.com/pijipReg

March 16: How Internet Aggregators are Affecting Journalism and What (If Any) Legal Tools are Needed to Support the Industry (12:00-2:00pm, Room 603) The Internet is rapidly changing the business model for traditional print media companies that invest heavily in creating original journalism. This had led to calls for better legal protections for online content, which is often repackaged without permission by aggregators like Google as well as by individual bloggers. But many others believe that “information should be free” and that traditional media companies must adapt accordingly. Sponsored by the Communications and Media Law Society and PIJIP. Register at, http://tinyurl.com/pijipReg (cc) USACE Europe

In Sorrell v. IMS Health, Inc., the Supreme Court is faced with the question of whether a state regulation requiring consent for the sale of physician identifiable prescription records is a violation of the First Amendment. The impact of a Supreme Court ruling on privacy law could reach far beyond health records to the issue of data ownership and privacy protection in internet commerce. Counsel for amici will debate the issue and discuss the ramifications for privacy protections and data-driven industries, from search engines to social networking. Register at http://tinyurl.com/pijipReg

Is the name of Washington D.C.’s beloved football team a source of pride for the D.C. community while being hurtful to members of the Native American Community? This program will discuss where the Supreme Court left off, whether the trademark of the name “Redskins” is disparaging towards the Native American Community Presented by the Sports and Entertainment Law Society and the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property

The American University Law Review will host its second annual “First Look” panel of practitioners and Federal Circuit judges who will discuss their impressions of the Federal Circuit’s decisions in 2010. The panelists will offer their insights on significant cases and jurisprudential trends in the areas of patent, trademark, international trade, government contracts, and veterans’ claims law. Presented by the American University Law Review and the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property

Feb 2: Copyright Clearance and Fair Use: A Master Class with Entertainment Lawyer Michael Donaldson (Feb. 2, 12:00-1:45pm, Room 607 - JD Student Lounge ) An illustrated talk about copyright clearance and fair use in documentary and independent film with Michael Donaldson. Mr. Donaldson serves as General Counsel to Film Independent (home of the Independent Spirit Awards) and the Writers Guild Foundation. He is the industry’s go-to attorney for fair use and other clearance- and rights-related issues. Co-sponsored by the Center for Social Media at the AU School of Communications. Please register at http://bit.ly/feb2copyright

Have you ever wondered how recording artists get signed – or recording agreements get negotiated? Or what the key terms actually mean and how the various clauses operate? What is a fair royalty rate? How about a good advance? Where are the "catches" and the "gotcha clauses"? This program will feature Record Business tips and is geared for beginning or young lawyers looking to learn some basics, ask questions, hear from some experts, meet and network.

PIJIP and Universities Allied for Essential Medicines co-hosted this symposium for NGO representatives, university professors and administrators, and policy makers focused on strategies to increase research on neglected diseases and innovative policies for universities to contribute most effectively to the medicines innovation system. Topics included intellectual property protection, licensing, and alternate models of funding.

Announcing the Sixth Annual Finnegan Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property. United States Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters will deliver this year's lecture. Attorneys John Baumgarten and Arthur Levine will offer additional views on the development of the 1976 Act.

At a consultation with UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Anand Grover, advocates gave testimony relating to their complaint filed with the UN about U.S. trade policies continued from the Bush administration that violate the right to health. A separate panel discussed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement's effect on access to medicine. The webcast for the event is now available, and speakers' presentations will be available shortly.

For international week, PIJIP will host a lunch panel on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). PIJIP faculty members will speak on its potential impact on the internet service providers, libraries, universities, generic drug manufacturers, consumers, and others. The discussion will include a description of PIJIP's conferences and working paper series on ACTA.

Over the past thirty years courts in France and the Netherlands have considered whether manufactured fragrances may be considered expressive works of authorship eligible for copyright protection. Decisions in these European cases have been wildly inconsistent, prompting debate among European intellectual property scholars and practitioners on this question.

Everyone favors "Innovation", while few think well of Congress. Viewed by economists as the savior of our nation's competitive edge in the global economy, "innovation" is heralded daily in the press and countless new books. The unique by-product of our mix of capitalism and democracy, America's innovation eco-system is the envy of the world. Congress, on the other hand, is favored by very few, even in DC.

Interested in a career in Intellectual Property Law (IP)? What is IP? How do I get started? Do I have to have a technical background? What are the current market trends for a career in IP? Come meet and hear from industry experts from the private and public sectors with backgrounds in trademark, copyright, licensing, and patent prosecution during your lunch hour. Learn how law students can prepare for a career in IP during and after law school.

The International Society for the History and Theory of Intellectual Property (ISHTIP) promotes and supports scholarly investigation of the national histories of patent, copyright, and “related” rights; the diverse “roads not taken” in the evolution of these legal structures; contemporary countertrends; and the laws and norms that have been devised in non European cultures around the world to manage intellectual production and exchange. Our second workshop will consider "Geographies of Intellectual Property.”

Kickoff event for the Intellectual Property Program. This is your opportunity to learn about the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, IP Law Society, IP Brief, and IP Clinic. Come meet the IP faculty, staff and student leadership.

Over 80 academics and public interest advocates from 5 continents gathered at WCL on June 17 and 18. They deliberated over concerns with the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial intellectual property treaty being negotiated in secret, and produced an Urgent Communique, which was subsequently signed by over 700 European Parliamentarians, civil society organizations, academics, practitioners and individuals.

The annual “IP/Gender: Mapping the Connections” symposium has provided a forum to examine the gendered dimensions of intellectual property law. This year, the 8th Annual Symposium seeks papers on the special theme of gender and the production of traditional cultural knowledge.

On February 26, 2010, PIJIP, the Program on Law and Government, Health Law and Policy, and the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices will host a discussion of actions state governments have taken to control pharmaceutical costs, as well as the roles of legislation and litigation in pharmaceutical policy.

April 30, 2010: This meeting of approximately 15 scholars in the fields of cyberlaw and intellectual property is designed as an intensive workshop to exchange ideas about the field in general in connection with commentary on five papers that are in progress.

To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of its Federal Circuit issue, the American University Law Review will host a panel of practitioners who will discuss their impressions of the Federal Circuit’s decisions in 2009. The panelists will offer their insights on significant cases and jurisprudential trends in the areas of patent, trademark, international trade, government contracts, and veterans claims law. The event will be held February 4 2010.

In Bilski v. Kappos, the U.S. Supreme Court will address limitations on patentable subject matter in the context of a business method invention, analyzing a body of case law in such a way that some say could call into question the validity of many other patents and types of claims, while others argue it is not restrictive enough. PIJIP and the FCBA will host a panel of experts to discuss the case shortly after the Court hears the oral argument.

IP owners and many governments advocate tougher enforcement of intellectual property than is currently required by the TRIPS Agreement. Critics warn that it risks upsetting the TRIPS Agreement’s balance between the protection of IP-owners’ and IP-users’ rights. On November 5, PIJIP will bring together leading academics and civil society actors to discuss international enforcement of IP.

On October 20, NYU Law Professor Rochelle Dreyfuss will deliver the Fifth Annual Finnegan Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property. Professor Dreyfuss directs the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy, and her scholarship covers areas of intellectual property, privacy, the relationship between science and law, and civil procedure. Her talk's topic will be “What the Federal Circuit Can Learn from the Supreme Court-and Vice Versa.”

PIJIP and Prescription Policy Choices will co-host an October 16 event to discuss actions state governments have taken to control pharmaceutical costs. Topics will include: innovative state legislation; federal appellate litigation by the pharmaceutical industry asserting a First Amendment right to access prescription records for marketing purposes; and the implications of health care reform for access to medicines and the use of health information.

Monday, September 21 at 2pm, Room 516. WCL alumnus Mark Lerner is Senior Vice President for Law and Government, Secretary, and General Counsel for Bally Technologies, a gaming company that designs, manufactures, operates and distributes slot and video machines. As General Counsel, he supervises all intellectual property and related matters for the company.

As part of International Week, PIJIP will host a panel on international copyright. Professors Michael Carroll and Peter Jaszi will be joined by Michele Woods, Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs at the Office of Policy and International Affairs of the U.S. Copyright Office. They will discuss the role of the Copyright Office in setting international policy, and current issues affecting copyright around the world.

Kickoff event for the Intellectual Property Program. This is your opportunity to learn about the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, IP Law Society, IP Brief, and IP Clinic. Come meet the IP faculty, staff and student leadership.

PIJIP and the Dance Heritage Coalition celebrate the release of the “Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use of Dance-Related Materials.” This is the culmination of our work with dance librarians, curators, and archivists on limitations and exceptions to copyright.

The Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors (PIIPA) and PIJIP hosted a conference on April 25 on the past, current, and future needs for pro bono intellectual property services. It focused on the need for assistance in developing countries, and the opportunities for law firms, law school clinics, and other legal service providers to engage in pro bono work in the intellectual property law and policy space.

A screening and discussion of the award-winning, acclaimed documentary by Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno and Jerome Bongiorno that chronicles the 1967 six-day Black urban rebellion in Newark, NJ.

Stanford Professor John Barton and Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler recently outlined a proposed global framework on medicine pricing to protect research and development incentives while promoting greater access to drugs in low and middle income countries. It calls for measures to restrain developed countries from excessive use of price controls, while promoting price discrimination in middle income countries. PIJIP and Knowledge Ecology International will co-host a discussion of this proposal with Professor Barton on February 19 at WCL.

Entertainment industry lawyer Michael Donaldson, author of Clearance and Copyright: Everything the Independent Filmmaker Needs to Know has worked with PIJIP and the AU Center for Social Media on projects promoting the fair use of copyrighted materials. He will discuss the IP issues involved in making movies.

In this meeting with students, professors, and members of the bar, Chief Judge Michel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit discusses the precedents at play within the areas of the law known as “business method” and “software” patents.

Professor Daniel J. Gervais will be the 4th annual Finnegan Distinguished Lecturer in Intellectual Property at American University Washington College of Law. The lecture will be titled “TRIPS 3.0,” and will be held October 21. Professor Gervais is the author of the leading treatise on the history and interpretation of the TRIPS agreement and Editor in Chief of the Journal of World Intellectual Property. He is currently a Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School, previous to which he was professor of law and Acting Dean of the Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa.

WCL grad Theresa Swinehart has served as Vice President, Global and Strategic Partnerships, for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) since 2004. On Thursday, October 2, she will discuss career path after leaving WCL, recent developments in international and domestic law that affect her work in intellectual property law for ICANN, and more.

2008 International Arbitration Summer Session Seminar. Sponsored by the Washington College of Law in cooperation with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. A group of leading practitioners and academics will discuss 1) disputes under the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Rules and 2) current issues regarding the arbitration and mediation of international IP disputes.