Intellectual property law incentivizes inventors to disclose their inventions to the public and exploit those creations commercially. But inventors also need the ability to partner with individuals and corporations with access to capital in order to commercialize their inventions. Consequently, licensing is an essential component of any intellectual property regime.
For two days in June of 2010, sixteen scholars and practitioners discussed topics such as barriers to efficient licensing, remedies for unlicensed use, and the limits of contractual solutions to licensing problems. The Licensing of Intellectual Property was organized by Richard Epstein, Omri Ben-Shahar, and Jonathan Masur of The University of Chicago Law School.
Professors Florencia Marotta-Wurgler (New York University School of Law) and Robert Hillman (Cornell University Law School) discussed the benefits and limits of disclosure requirements for software licensing. Professor Mark Lemley (Stanford Law School) questioned the conventional wisdom about the users of open source software, while Professor David McGowan (University of San Diego School of Law) explored the paradoxical—both conservative and anarchic—nature of open source licensing. And Professor Randal Picker (The University of Chicago Law School) took participants through decades of Sears catalogs and Gillette sales data to undermine the notion that “It’s not the razors; it’s the blades.”
All of the articles presented will appear in the Winter 2011 issue of The University of Chicago Law Review.
Below are video links to each of the presentations.
Florencia Marotta-Wurgler, New York University School of Law, “Will Increased Disclosure Help? Evaluating the Recommendations of the ALI’s 'Principles of the Law of Software Contracts’”
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Podcast
Robert A. Hillman, Cornell University Law School, “Defending Disclosure in Software Licensing” (co-authored with Maureen O'Rourke, Boston University School of Law)
Video
Podcast
Anne Kelley, Microsoft Corporation, “Practicing Effectively in the Patent Marketplace”
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Podcast
Mark A. Lemley, Stanford Law School, “Who Chooses Open Source Software?” (co-authored with Ziv Shafir, J.D. Candidate, Stanford Law School)
Video
Podcast
Omri Ben-Shahar, The University of Chicago Law School, “Damages for Unlicensed Use”
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Podcast
Randal C. Picker, The University of Chicago Law School, “The Razors-and-Blades Myth”
Video
Podcast
Christopher Sprigman, University of Virginia School of Law, and Christoper Buccafusco, Chicago-Kent College of Law, “The Creativity Effect”
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Podcast
Richard Epstein, New York University School of Law and The University of Chicago Law School, and F. Scott Kieff, George Washington University Law School, “Questioning the Frequency and Wisdom of Compulsory Licensing for Pharmaceutical Patents”
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Podcast
Rebecca Eisenberg, University of Michigan Law School, “Unlicensed Use of Patented Inventions”
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Podcast
David McGowan, University of San Diego School of Law, “The Tory Anarchism of Open Source Licensing”
Video
Podcast
Jonathan Masur, The University of Chicago Law School, “Third-Party Patent Doctrines and Licensing Behavior”
Video
Podcast
Guy A. Rub, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, “Contracting around Copyright: The Uneasy Case of Unbundling of Rights in Creative Works”
Video
Podcast
Summary provided by The University of Chicago Law Review.