Once the die was cast (i.e. after oral arguments) in Google v. Oracle, I don’t think I was alone in feeling that if the Supreme Court held that the computer code at issue in this case was not properly a subject of copyright protection, that would be an acceptably narrow decision, even though many might disagree with it as a ...

In April 1787, as James Madison was limbering up his philosophical muscles ahead of the Constitutional Convention, Thomas Jefferson shipped him several crates from Paris filled with books comprising what one might call the Enlightenment in a Box. I mention this footnote of American history only to observe that every book Madison received—indeed every book that ever influenced an American ...

Episode Contents 58:12 – Overview of the American Law Institute and Restatements of Law 06:13 – Restatements have never addressed areas of primarily statutory law. 08:53 – Development of the 1976 Copyright Act 15:17 – “Why we are not opposed to the idea of a Restatement.” 25:09 – Criticism of the project’s lack of transparency. 31:28 – Criticism of the ...

I realize the Court will rule anytime now, and that I may be gilding the proverbial lily here; but I drafted this post in early January, and then the world got a little crazy and distracting. Anyway, FWIW, below is my last observation about Google v. Oracle. At least until after the decision. 🙂 In Google v. Oracle, the Supreme ...

In late January, I published a post advocating that we go ahead and cancel some culture. That piece was addressing the subject of platform responsibility, asserting that Facebook et al should feel free to stop amplifying disinformation, hate-mongering, and (unfortunately) sedition and that it should do so without all the dithering about speech rights. There, I asserted that neither Facebook, ...

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