The Fair Play, Fair Pay Act of 2015: What’s at Stake and for Whom?
William W. Shields and Jeffrey S. Becker The United States Copyright Act is primed to take center stage during this current legislative session, as several members of Congress introduced comprehensive legislation earlier this year known as the Fair Play, Fair Pay Act of 2015 (FPFPA). This bill seeks to modify the Copyright Act in three key ways. First, it would create a terrestrial public performance right for recording artists and owners of master sound recordings. Second, it would eliminate the Copyright Act’s exemption against federal copyright protection for sound recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972. Third, it would establish...
Remembering the Public’s Interest in the Patent System – A Post-Grant Opposition Designed to Benefit the Public
Eric Williams The problems associated with the existence of bad patents and the need for an effective, inexpensive vehicle for challenging them are nothing new. Over the past twenty-five years, several laws were proposed and passed intending to remedy these ills. Most recently, Congress introduced a bill aimed at curbing the adverse effects of bad patents, and prominent policy organizations and commentators advocated for, inter alia, the adoption of a new post-grant opposition as an antidote to the poison of bad patents. While these recent developments are certainly promising, without due attention given to the “advancement or social benefit gained...