Monthly Archives: March, 2024
Guy Rub, ‘Copyright and Copying Rights’
ABSTRACT Federal copyright law limits the copying of certain informational goods. But can state laws also do that? Until recently, the dominant approach was that they could. However, two recent Second Circuit decisions seem to suggest that only copyright law is allowed to do it. In other words, the Second Circuit assumes that copyright law […]
Gordley and Jiang, ‘The Misconceived Doctrine of Causa and the Incoherence of Contemporary Contract Law’
ABSTRACT Causa is a doctrine that decides when and whether a promise is enforceable. It has long been ignored in civil law and adopted a different name in common law. As the original meaning of the doctrine was forgotten since the 19th century, contract law as a whole lost its moral foundation and can no […]
D Theodore Rave, ‘Multidistrict Litigation and the Field of Dreams’
ABSTRACT This essay analyzes the so-called ‘Field of Dreams’ problem in multidistrict litigation (MDL). Once an MDL is up and running, the story goes, plaintiffs’ lawyers flood the proceeding with meritless claims in the hopes that they will be swept into a global settlement before anyone ever looks closely at them. Critics have called this […]
‘Detrimental reliance and the dangers of emails: Hudson v Hathway [2022] EWCA Civ 1648′
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Hudson v Hathway [2022] EWCA Civ 1648 is arguably the most important decision on the subject of constructive trusts of the family home since the House of Lords decided Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17. The decision brings clarity to an area of law that is notoriously nebulous. As […]
Xiaoqian Hu, ‘Property and Prosperity: A Demythifying Story’
ABSTRACT Commonsense wisdom holds that legal protection of private property rights is essential for economic growth. China presents a ‘puzzle’ for commons-ense wisdom. Scholars agree that China achieved tremendous growth in the past 40 years – without formal property law, and more specifically, without a legal system to recognize and protect private property rights. This […]
Branislav Hazucha, ‘Online Content Removal in the Eyes of Copyright Users: The Role of Harm and Wrongful Gain’
ABSTRACT A number of online content removals on social networks that allow sharing of user-generated content have recently caused a notable outcry and drawn public attention. This is particularly the case where the removals were automated, the removed content relied upon a handful of copyright exceptions for transformative uses, such as parody, criticism and research, […]
Samuel Tyrer, ‘A New Theorisation of “Home” as a Thing in Property’
ABSTRACT Laws are impacting on home in ways that undermine that experience for individuals. The implications of this are yet to be fully unpacked from a property law theory perspective. This article contributes here by theorising that laws, in impacting home, are simultaneously distributing that experience, to a greater or lesser extent, or not at […]
Ben Siegel, ‘Trial by Trademark: Why the Trademark System Needs to Stand on Its Own Two Marks’
ABSTRACT While IP-intensive industries continue to produce a significant portion of the American economy, trademarks consistently remain a substantial portion. Given trademarks’ increasingly pivotal role in the global economy, the complexities and nuances of trademark law demand a specialized approach. In examining the current trademark landscape, many scholars have underscored the paradox of its fractured […]
Brendan Walker-Munro, ‘Do Androids Dream of a Duty of Care: Arguing for Civil Liability for Autonomous Military Systems in Australia’
ABSTRACT Much of the scholarship surrounding the use of autonomous military systems (AMS) has examined their compliance with international law, as well as individual and State responsibility for the misuse of such systems. Weaponised AMS, or autonomous weapon systems, have been a particular focal point of this scholarship. However, very little attention has been devoted […]
Koutras and Rigby, ‘The Three-step Test Through the Lenses of International and European Laws: The Australian Perspective’
ABSTRACT The paper examines the open access movement and its principles concerning creative outputs and related access opportunities, considering copyright protection. The international and ongoing integration of open access practise has brought about a reconsideration of foundational principles of copyright law. The paper’s discussion considers the three-step test legal edifice, which is deeply rooted in […]