Center News Archive

Polish translation of Bound By Law? now available
Professor Ewa Ferenc-Szydełko and her students at the Opole University Faculty of Law and Administration have completed a translation of the Center's graphic novel Tales from the Public Domain: Bound By Law?. The Center is honored to share their great work. » Przeczytaj komiks [Read the comic], internecie lub PDF


College & Research Libraries NewsLast sale? Libraries' rights in the digital age
Professor Jennifer Jenkins, Center Director, discusses the current state of the law regarding lending digital assets such as e-books and how it affects libraries in an article for the Association of College & Research Libraries. » College & Research Libraries News


James BoyleWhat Could Have Entered the Public Domain
CSPD Faculty Co-Director James Boyle discusses the public domain and the effect that congressional extension of copyright terms has had on it with host Frank Stasio on WUNC-FM’s The State of Things.


The Denver PostInventors still feel squeezed, despite patent reforms
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai comments on efforts to curb patent trolling for the Denver Post.


News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)ABBA says 'Nej!' to Wake SPCA's viral adoption video
CSPD Director Jennifer Jenkins Jenkins comments on unlikely copyright battle between Wake SPCA and ABBA. » The News & Observer


SCOTUSblogPatentable subject matter at the Supreme Court: An exceptional case?
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai discusses Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics in advance of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court. SCOTUSblog


On The MediaBarely Any U.S. Culture will Enter the Public Domain this Year
CSPD Faculty Co-Director James Boyle discusses copyright term and the public domain on NPR’s On the Media.


Joan Baez Bob DylanWhy There Are Only 100 Copies of the New Bob Dylan Record
CSPD Faculty Co-Director James Boyle discusses the recent copyright term extension in Europe for sound recordings. » NPR


The EconomistPublic Domain: Access Denied
CSPD Faculty Co-Director James Boyle and CSPD Director Jennifer Jenkins discuss public domain day with The Economist.


Huffington PostPublic by Sufferance Alone: The Worst of 2012
CSPD Faculty Co-Director James Boyle and CSPD Director Jennifer Jenkins discuss the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Golan v. Holder and its effect on the public domain. » read the article


The EconomistThe Politics of Internet Activism
CSPD Faculty Co-Director James Boyle is featured in a new article from The Economist entitled "Everything is connected: Can internet activism turn into a real political movement?"  » read the article


Wired (magazine)Let's Tame Software Patent Claims: Lessons From Bioinformatics
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai discusses possible ways to limit patent claims for software in an opinion piece in Wired magazine.


The New York TimesU.S. Disavows Patent at Center of Apple-Samsung Dispute
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai comments on the potential effect of new USPTO rules in patent litigation. » New York Times


The New York TimesSuit Challenging Patent Law Faces Long Odds
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai comments on inventor's suit seeking to challenge constitutionality of the America Invents Act. » New York Times


Princeton Center on Information Technology PolicyPatent Success or Failure? The America Invents Act and Beyond
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai was a panelist at a Princeton University Center for Information Technology Policy program looking at the AIA. » more


Communia Thematic Network COMMUNIA Releases Final Report
The Center was a member of COMMUNIA: The European Thematic Network on the Digital Public Domain, developing analyses and policy recommendations on public domain issues in Europe and beyond. Click to read COMMUNIA's final report or a new book detailing some of COMMUNIA's projects and initiatives


Financial TimesFaculty Co-Director James Boyle responds to recent NY Times op-ed on copyright
Prof. Boyle discusses the arguments made by Scott Turow, Paul Aiken and James Shapiro in "Would the Bard Have Survived the Web?" and the perils of extending government power to shut down websites suspected of infringing copyright. » Financial Times


Roundtable on Federal Government Engagement in Standards
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai was a panelist at this January 2011 Department of Commerce/White House program exploring the role of standards in achieving national priorities. » View the video


Suffolk University Law SchoolGolan, Again
Faculty Co-Director David Lange revisits the recent Supreme Court decision (Golan v. Holder, 565 U.S. __ (2012)) and its aftermath in this segment of his monthly podcast series for Suffolk Law. » Listen at iTunesU or Legal Talk Network.


Duke Law & Technology ReviewOpen Source Innovation, Patent Injunctions, and the Public Interest
The Duke Law & Technology Review has published Faculty Co-Director Prof. James Boyle's latest article on innovation and intellectual property law. » more at DLTR (all Duke Law journals are open access).


Twitter logoBoyle named to list of most influential law professors on Twitter
A list of the "Top 50 Law Professors on Twitter" includes Professor James Boyle, Faculty Co-Director and co-founder of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain. » Follow Prof. Boyle on Twitter.


The Huffington Post’Til the End of Eternity?
CSPD Director Jennifer Jenkins comments on how current copyright terms impact our literary heritage. » Huffington Post Books


St. Louis Public RadioThe Internet, Openness, and Owning Ideas
A discussion with Faculty Co-Director James Boyle on St. Louis Public Radio. » listen


Yale Law School armsWho's Afraid of the Federal Circuit
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai responds to Jonathan Masur’s recent Yale Law Journal article “Patent Inflation” (121 Yale L.J. 470 (2011)). » more


The American ProspectPossible ramifications of SOPA/PIPA
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle equates efforts to curb online piracy to "the Tower of Babel introduced into IP addresses." » The American Prospect


The American ProspectBoyle talks about aggressive federal enforcement of online piracy policy
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle says new online piracy policies are at odds with administration's position on internet speech in other countries. » The American Prospect


Amarrada pela Lei?New Brazilian Portuguese version of Bound by Law? Tales from the Public Domain available
The Center is pleased to announce a new translation of its educational comic, created by Alexandre Marques of Rio de Janeiro. Amarrada pela lei? is the fourth translation of the work we know of. We thank Mr. Marques for this great addition to our work, which he says he was inspired to create because the book explains issues surrounding copyright and fair use in a way that was easier to share with colleagues, friends and family. » Leia o livro | Read the new translation


John Marshall Review of IP LawGolan v. Holder: Copyright in the Image of the First Amendment
Faculty Co-Director David Lange co-authored (with Risa Weaver and Shiveh Reed) this article on the case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court on the "restoration" of copyright for foreign works that had entered the public domain under prior U.S. law. (11 J. Marshall Rev. of Intell. Prop. L. 83 (2011)). Prof. Lange also discusses the case in a podcast for Suffolk University (listen at iTunesU or LegalTalkNetwork). This podcast is the first of a monthly series with Prof. Lange.


World Technology NetworkRai receives 2011 World Technology Award for Law
Faculty Co-Director Arti K. Rai was honored as one of twenty individuals and ten organizations for their innovative work in a variety of fields. The awards were announced at a ceremony held in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City at the end of the WTN's 2011 Summit. » more


IP & Biotechnology edited by Professor Arti K. RaiIntellectual Property and Biotechnology
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai’s new volume for Edward Elgar Publishing’s Critical Concepts in Intellectual Property Law series is now available. From Elgar’s description: “[T]his timely volume . . . brings together a wide range of articles that reveal the important role of intellectual property law in the formation and development of the dynamic and economically significant biotechnology industry.” » more


Inside CounselMicrosoft Patent Infringement Case
Faculty Co-Director Professor Arti Rai talks about the Supreme Court's decision in Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. » InsideCounsel


Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology NewsIP Rules for Synthetic Biology
Faculty Co-Director Professor Arti Rai is one of several experts discussing patent/innovation issues for synthetic biology in a recent issue of GEN. » Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News


Hargreaves Report (U.K.)U.K. Review of Intellectual Property and Growth
The U.K. Intellectual Property Office has released Professor Ian Hargreaves' final report and supporting documents. Faculty Co-Director James Boyle served on the panel of experts advising Professor Hargreaves during this seven month process. » UK IPO


Human Rights and Intellectual PropertyHuman Rights & Intellectual Property: Mapping the Global Interface
Cambridge University Press has just released this new work by Professors Laurence Helfer (Duke Law School) and Graeme Austin (Melbourne University & Victoria University [Wellington]). The book examines human rights and intellectual property rights in critical areas such as healthcare, education, and indigenous peoples' rights, and presents a 'human rights framework for intellectual property' to enhance legal, institutional, and political action in these areas. Read an excerpt or visit CUP for more information.


Issues in FashionJust Vogue: International Intellectual Property Issues in Fashion
Professor Jennifer Jenkins, Director of the Center, discusses current intellectual property issues in fashion law from both a domestic and international perspective. Professor Jerome Reichman, Faculty Co-Director of the Center, provides additional insight and commentary. » view the webcast


Science ProgressPatent Reform and the Progress of Innovation
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai lauds the Senate's passage of the "America Invents Act" and urges quick adoption by the House of Representatives and President Obama. » Science Progress
 


Electronic Frontier FoundationJames Boyle honored by Electronic Frontier Foundation for public domain scholarship
Professor Boyle, Faculty Co-Director of the Center, received one of the Foundation's 2010 Pioneer Awards for his work "to celebrate and protect the values of cultural and scientific openness." » EFF


Copyright's Futures?Copyright's Futures?
A preview from the Center's forthcoming comic book Theft! A History of Music – a history of musical borrowing and regulation, from Plato to hip hop – is featured in the San Francisco Chronicle. »more about the comic


Seal of United States Department of CommercePatent Reform: Unleashing Innovation, Promoting Economic Growth & Producing High-Paying Jobs
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai (then Administrator, Office of External Affairs, at the USPTO) is co-author of a Commerce Department white paper on the key role of technological innovation in economic growth and the importance of reforming U.S. patent law to encourage innovation. » more


George Washington Law SchoolGolan v. Holder: Does Restoring Copyright in Foreign Works violate the First Amendment?
Faculty Co-Director David Lange is part of a panel at GWU Law School discussing this important case now before the 10th Circuit. Listen to the podcast.


Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom

2009 Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, recognized for her work in governing the commons, was persuaded by the Duke Conference on the Public Domain to write an article for the Center's Collected Papers, applying her ideas to intellectual property and the intangible commons.


Ninth Annual Meredith & Kip Frey Lecture in Intellectual PropertyMeredith & Kip Frey Lecture in Intellectual Policy
Innovation Policy: Theory & Practice

Professor Arti K. Rai, Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law at Duke Law School and Faculty Co-Director of the Center, gave the Ninth Annual Meredith & Kip Frey Lecture in Intellectual Property on Thursday, March 24, 2011. Prof. Rai drew on her recent experiences in the executive branch to assess the state of U.S. innovation policy. » background information or » view the webcast


James BoyleProfessor James Boyle named to U.K. IP review panel
Prof. Boyle, Faculty Co-Director, is one of five members of this newly created group to provide expert advice to the government's recently announced independent review of the U.K. intellectual property system. » more


U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Rai reflects on lessons learned during government service
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai discusses her work at the US Patent & Trademark Office. » more


CBC Radio-Canada: A Brief History of CopyrightA Brief History of Copyright
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle discusses the evolution of copyright for the CBC/Radio-Canada in advance of the final reading of Bill C-32 – a comprehensive reform of Canada's copyright law. » CBC


Open Access WeekImplementing the Durham Statement:
Best Practices for Open Access Law Journals

As part of Open Access Week, the Center co-sponsored this workshop with the J. Michael Goodson Law Library at Duke and the Harvard Law Library. The day-long program addressed open access and legal publishing issues with an emphasis on student law reviews and journals. » more


open access at DukeOpen Access Week 2010
In two new short videos prepared by Duke University as part of its celebration of Open Access Week 2010, Jennifer Jenkins, Director of the CSPD, discusses the important role open access can play in collaboration [ » view ] and the highly successful release of Bound By Law?, the Center's open access comic on copyright [ » view ]. And you can find out more about open access by viewing additional videos by James Boyle, Faculty Co-Director of the CSPD, and Richard Danner, Rufty Research Professor of Law and Senior Associate Dean for Information Services.


James BoyleInside the Professor's Studio: James Boyle
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle interviewed by Duke Law student Josh Mitchell. Started last year, "Inside the Professor's Studio" is a series designed to give students fresh insight into the lives that Duke Law professors have led. » more


Inside Higher EdTweaking Technology Transfer
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai comments on a new National Research Council report on how American universities make federally funded research available to the public. » Inside Higher Ed


WUNC's The State of Things: Is the Net Neutral TerritoryIs the Net Neutral Territory?
Faculty Co-Director Professor James Boyle and others examine the question of who should regulate what internet service providers charge for various kinds of content on WUNC's The State of Things.


Arti RaiJerome ReichmanFaculty collaborate for paper on intellectual property rights and climate change technology
Four Duke University experts in international intellectual property law and environmental law and policy analyze mechanisms for fostering innovation. » more


Harper's Bazaar Cover photo by Richard Avedon, 1952Copycats vs copyrights
CSPD Faculty Co-Director Prof. James Boyle and CSPD Director Prof. Jennifer Jenkins weigh in on extending copyright protections to the fashion industry as proposed by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) in his recently introduced 'Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act.' » Newsweek


Open Rights Group - ORGConThe Incredible Shrinking Public Domain
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle discusses innovation, creativity and copyright at ORGCon in London [» watch the video]. Nitya Rajan of the Open Rights Group also interviewed Prof. Boyle for the event.


New York Academy of SciencesThe future of open access in scientific research
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle is named one of seven Science 2.0 Pioneers by The New York Academy of Sciences Magazine. In the article, he discusses the growing importance of open access to scientific research. » more


Houston Law ReviewIntellectual Property in the Twenty-first Century: Will the Developing Countries Lead or Follow?
Professor Jerome Reichman, Faculty Co-Director, discusses critical economic and intellectual property issues for developing countries in a recent article in the Houston Law Review (46 Hous. L. Rev. 1115 (2009)).


Law.GovLAW.GOV
The Law is "America's Operating System": Should it be Open Source?

The Center's workshop, in collaboration with Public.Resource.Org, examined the promise and the challenges of this ambitious project. » more

In connection with the workshop, Faculty Co-Director Professor James Boyle discussed open source law on WUNC's The State of Things. » more


TechTrendsFree: Why Authors are Giving Books Away on the Internet
Faculty Co-Director Professor James Boyle is one of the authors featured by James Hilton III and Professor David Wiley of Brigham Young University in this article focusing on the motivations and economics of offering free ebooks. » March/April 2010 issue of TechTrends


Collective Management of Copyright and Related RightsCollective Management of Copyrights and Human Rights: An Uneasy Alliance Revisited
Professor Laurence Helfer contributes a chapter on "creators' rights" to a forthcoming book on collected management from Kluwer Law International. » Read the essay


Hot Topics Symposium 2011Green Technology and Intellectual Property
Faculty Co-Director Jerome Reichman was a panelist in the recent Duke Law Intellectual Property and Cyberlaw Society's "Hot Topics in Intellectual Property Symposium." » View the webcast


NPR - On the MediaMusic Sampling
"We really have never had a rich fair use discussion about sampling and hip-hop, inside a courtroom, which is remarkable," says Faculty Co-Director Professor James Boyle. » On The Media


Association of Computing MachineryUnstandard standardization: the case of biology
Faculty Co-Director Arti Rai discusses whether the approaches adopted by information and communication technology standards-setting organizations can be applied to biological standards in an article in the January 2010 edition of Communications of the ACM.


The Public Domain ManifestoCenter for the Study of the Public Domain supports The Public Domain Manifesto
COMMUNIA, the European thematic network on the public domain, has drafted a Manifesto that "aims at reminding citizens and policy-makers of a common wealth that, since it belongs to all, [] is often defended by no-one." » more


Connecticutt Public Radio - The Colin McEnroe ShowAppropriation. Plagiarism. When it comes to writing, what do these terms mean?
Professor James Boyle, Faculty Co-Director, takes part in a panel discussion about free-appropriation writers on Connecticut Public Radio's Colin McEnroe Show.


Yale Access 2 Knowledge ConferencePerspectives on Access to Knowledge and Human Rights
Professor Laurence Helfer, Duke Law School, discussed the propertization of intellectual discoveries and developments and other issues at the intersection of IP rights and human rights as a panelist at Yale Law School's recent A2K4 Conference.


Tulane Journal of Technology & Intellectual PropertyThe future of authorship and the role of the public domain in fostering creativity
Faculty Co-Director James Boyle is interviewed as part of the Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property's recent Conversations with Renowned Professors on the Future of Copyright (12 Tul. J. Tech. & Intell. Prop. 35, 84-99 (2009)).


William F. Patry, Moral Panics and the Copyright WarsKip and Meredith Frey Lecture in Intellectual Property
Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars:
A Reply to Jack Valenti

William F. Patry, Senior Copyright Counsel at Google, Inc., delivered the eighth annual Meredith and Kip Frey Lecture in Intellectual Property on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. [ more information | view the webcast ]


FICOD '09 MadridFaculty Co-Director James Boyle discusses 'cultural agoraphobia' at FICOD09 in Madrid
Professor Boyle was a featured speaker at Spain's annual International Forum on Web Content. Watch the video (English). Professor Boyle also spoke with Madrid daily ABC about the future of journalism in an Internet world - read the interview (in Spanish).


Image of empty shelvesThe benefits and challenges of data sharing and data archiving
"[A]t least one [person] has a smarter idea about what to do with your content than you do," says Prof. James Boyle, Faculty Co-Director. Read more about it in this recent article from Nature.


Misunderstanding Open Science Misunderstanding Open Science
Professor James Boyle, Faculty Co-Director, speaks out about the dangers posed by a recently introduced bill that would restrict public access to taxpayer-funded research information. Read his Financial Times column or listen to his comments on American Public Media's Marketplace.


Duke Institute for Genome Science & PolicyIntellectual property protection of databases, and alternative regimes to reconcile public science with the commercialization of research results
Professor Jerome H. Reichman, Faculty Co-Director, and Tracy Lewis are principal investigators on Duke University's Center for Public Genomics project that explores alternatives to the current intellectual property regime in genomics including a possible microbial commons. Find out more.


No Law A conference to honor the publication of
No Law: Intellectual Property in the Image
of an Absolute First Amendment

A distinguished group of scholars discuss the intersection of intellectual property law and the First Amendment. [ view the webcasts | read more about the book | buy the book ]


Brookings InstitutionEconomic Perspectives on Abstract Subject Matter Patents
Professor Arti Rai, Faculty Co-Director, chairs the panel discussion of a joint Brookings Institution, CCIA, and Duke Law School conference on "The Limits of Abstract Patents in an Intangible Economy." Read the transcript.


Committee on Global Thought / Columbia UniversityOwning Knowledge: Science, Health and Law in an Integrated World
Arti Rai, Faculty Co-Director, joins Sherry Glied, Joseph Stiglitz, Sir John Sulston, and Harold Varmus in a panel discussion presented by Columbia University's Committee on Global Thought. Watch the discussion.


Bayh-DoleIs Bayh-Dole Good for Developing Countries? Lessons from the US Experience
Faculty Co-Directors Arti Rai and Jerome Reichman and Senior Fellow Anthony So offer insights for developing countries considering laws modeled on the US Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (with Bhaven N Sampat, Robert Cook-Deegan, Robert Weissman, and Amy Kapczynski). (read the article)


Clinical TrialsThe Case for Public Funding and Public Oversight of Clinical Trials
Faculty Co-Director Jerome Reichman and Senior Fellow Dr. Anthony So argue in The Economists' Voice that clinical drug trials are public goods and should be publicly funded to avoid undersupply, suppression of adverse results, and other problems (with Tracy Lewis) (read)