States may not claim immunity in patent cases; a New Jersey federal court rules that states can be held liable for patent infringement

Article Abstract:

A federal district court ruled in the 1996 College Savings Bank case that states cannot claim immunity in patent infringement cases. The defendant denied patent infringement or unfair competition due to false advertisement. It also asserted sovereign immunity, claiming that Congress does not have the power to abrogate a state's 11th Amendment immunity to such claims. However, Congress did so by the patent law amendments of 1992 and since unauthorized use of a patent constitutes an uncompensated taking of property these amendments clearly enforce the 14th Amendment. The unfair competition cause of action was dismissed.

Author: Neuburger, Jeffrey D., Gilman, Philip A.
Cases, Government liability, Patents

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Music industry acts in concert on sound samples; harmonious compromise could resolve licensing issues arising from the downloading of music

Article Abstract:

The article discusses the music industry's controversy over whether samples of recorded music should be freely downloadable and the need for end-users to have a mechanical license to download samples. Such samples of recorded music are considered essential to online promotion. The author reveals an agreement among the representatives of songwriters, record companies, and music publishers on this subject.

Author: Neuburger, Jeffrey D., Israel, Susan
Laws, regulations and rules, Music industry, Downloading

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Copyright law; Web site metabrowsers

Article Abstract:

Some of the copyright issues raised by metabrowser technologies are discussed.The implied-license theories which are often applied to Internet activities such as linking might be used and metabrowser publishers may also try to take advantage of limitations on copyright liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Author: Neuburger, Jeffrey D., Geraci, Stephania R.
Analysis, Innovations, Fair use (Copyright), Fair use (Copyright law), Internet/Web search services, Search engines

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Subjects list: United States
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