IP Policy and Law Reform

PIJIP is actively engaged in the analysis and reform of patent, trademark and copyright laws.  PIJIP faculty and staff have filed amicus briefs in the Supreme Court and Federal Appellate Courts, drafted model legislative provisions, prepared and delivered testimony to Congress, and consulted for numerous domestic and international non-profit and intergovernmental organizations and legislators on issues involving intellectual property law reform. In addition, PIJIP events held throughout the year highlighted many intellectual property law reform issues.  Most of the PIJIP events remain available for download via webcast. 

Each Fall, PIJIP sponsors a distinguished lecture on intellectual property sponsored by a preeminent law firm in the field, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, which is attended by many of the nation’s leading scholars and practitioners. This past year, the Distinguished Lecture was given by Judge Alex Kozinski, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Judge Kozinski’s lecture on “Rethinking Fair Use” was well attended, and the webcast of the event was the third most viewed WCL webcast of the year.  In the fall of 2007, the Distinguished Lecture will be given by Professor J. Thomas McCarthy, author of the well known treatise McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition.

Much of PIJIP’s work on law reform and other issues has been posted on PIJIP’s website,  www.pijip.org, which has been reorganized and expanded.  As a result, PIJIP’s website has been visited much more frequently by the public.

Trademark Dilution
PIJIP supports research and public events analyzing the law and policy of the trademark dilution doctrine, including examination of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Moseley v. V Secret Catalogue and the amended statute.

Reports, Submissions and Publications
Christine Haight Farley, Trademark Dilution Law: A Remedy in Search of a Harm, 16 Fordham Intell. Prop., Media & Ent. L.J. 101 (2006). SSRN Link

Events

Patent Reform
PIJIP research and activities examine U.S. patent law reform proposals, including many which are currently being considered by the Congress.

Reports, Submissions and Publications
Joshua Sarnoff, Analysis of Supreme Court patent law decision in KSR v. Teleflex, No. 04-135. SCOTUS Blog Link

Joshua Sarnoff, The Historic and Modern Doctrine of Equivalents and Claiming the Future, Part I (1790-1870), 87 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Socy. 371 (2005). SSRN Link

Joshua Sarnoff, The Historic and Modern Doctrine of Equivalents and Claiming the Future, Part II (1870-1952), 87 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Socy. 441 (2005). SSRN Link

Joshua Sarnoff, The Doctrine of Equivalents and Claiming the Future After Festo, 14 Fed. Cir. B.J. 403 (2005). SSRN Link

Cross-cutting Events
Brown Bag Lunch Speaker Series. 
PIJIP sponsors brown bag lunches with area academics to discuss on-going research and recent events on IP and information justice topics.  The lunches are normally held on a Tuesday from 12:30-2pm. To be added to a mailing list to recieve Brownbag Lunch invitations, email sroberts@wcl.american.edu

Works in Progress Intellectual Property Colloquium, September 28-29, 2007. 
The Colloquium offers an opportunity for intellectual property scholars to present their works-in-progress and get early feedback from their colleagues.

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property, October 25, 2007. 
Each Fall, PIJIP sponsors a distinguished lecture on intellectual property that is attended by many of the nation’s leading IP scholars and practitioners.  On October 25, 2007, Trademark Professor Thomas McCarthy will deliver the Distinguished Lecture. The most recent lecture was given by Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who discussed "Revisiting Fair Use.”

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