Lecture prepared for INFO 200: Intellectual Foundations of Informatics, at the University of Washington Information School.

1. Intellectual Property
Elisabeth Jones, Michael Eisenberg, Adam Moore
INFO 200, Winter 2009
Image from: http://xkcd.com/14/

2. Why Do We Have
Intellectual Property?
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3. Why Do We Have
Intellectual Property?
Incentive for innovation
Protect artists and inventors
Stimulate the economy
Create wealth
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4. In Groups of 4...
Pick a case: Assign roles:
Music Consumer
AIDS drugs Creator
Television Host (system)
Big6 Host (publisher)
Answer Two Questions:
1. Are intellectual property rights
justified? (copyright or patent)
2. Who is responsible for enforcing IP?
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5. Means vs. Ends (1)
U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8
Congress shall have the right...
“To promote the Progress of Science
and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and
Inventors the exclusive Right to
their respective Writings and
Discoveries.”
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6. Means vs. Ends (2)
End: “To promote the Progress of
Science and useful Arts”
Means: “securing for limited Times
to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries”
Not the other way around!
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7. So, Again: Why IP?
To create an incentive for innovation
IP is a mechanism, not an end in itself
Are there other ways to encourage
innovation?
What makes you want to make things?
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8. Putting the “I” in IP
(it’s different from physical property)
Tangibility: Physical property is just that - physical.
IP doesn’t give you control over any physical item.
Excludability: If I own a physical thing, I have the
right to prevent others from using it, period. For IP,
depending on the type, I may not have that right at all, or
it may be more limited. Plus, once an idea is out, there’s no
putting it back.
Non-rivalrous: If I steal your physical property, you
can’t use it anymore - it’s “rivalrous”; if I steal your
idea, though, you can go on using it.
Zero-Sum: Builds on non-rivalrousness - physical property
is zero-sum, IP tends not to be
The Commons: A pool of items available for use by all
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9. Thomas Jefferson, 1813
“If nature has made any one thing
less susceptible than all others of
exclusive property, it is the action
of the thinking power called an idea,
which an individual may exclusively
possess as long as he keeps it to
himself; but the moment it is
divulged, it forces itself into the
possession of every one, and the
receiver cannot dispossess himself of
it. Its peculiar character, too, is
that no one possesses the less,
because every other possesses the
whole of it. He who receives an idea
from me, receives instruction himself
without lessening mine; as he who
lights his taper at mine, receives
light without darkening me.”
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10. Thomas Jefferson, 1813
“If nature has made any one
thing less susceptible than all
others of exclusive property, it
is the action of the thinking
power called an idea, which an
individual may exclusively
possess as long as he keeps it
to himself; but the moment it is
divulged, it forces itself into
the possession of every one, and
the receiver cannot dispossess
himself of it....”
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11. Thomas Jefferson, 1813
“...Its peculiar character,
too, is that no one possesses
the less, because every other
possesses the whole of it. He
who receives an idea from me,
receives instruction himself
without lessening mine; as he
who lights his taper at mine,
receives light without
darkening me.”
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12. So how is downloading an album
illegally different from stealing
a CD from a store? (Is it?)
?
=
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13. Four Types of IP
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14. Four Types of IP
Copyright
Patent
Trademark
Trade Secret
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15. Copyright
Protects Expression
There was a
1976 Copyright Act:
picture of Mickey
Mouse here, but I
§ 102: (a) Copyright
didn’t want to be
protection subsists, in
sued (or C&D’ed)
accordance with this by Disney, so I
title, in original removed it for the
works of authorship Web.
fixed in any tangible
medium of expression
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16. Copyright Covers...
Literary works
Musical works, including any accompanying words
Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
Choreographic works and pantomimes
Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Sound recordings
Architectural works
Computer software
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17. Copyright Grants
Five Exclusive Rights
Right to reproduce
Right to adapt the work or derive
other works
Right to distribute copies
Right to display the work publicly
Right to perform the work publicly
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18. Copyright is also
Restricted
Idea/Expression Distinction
You cannot copyright an idea, only your expression
of it
“Limited” Duration
In the U.S., copyright expires 70 years after the
author’s death, or after 95 years for corporate
copyright holders (at least in theory)
First Sale
Once you purchase an expressive work, you have the
right to resell it without permission (again, at
least in theory)
Fair Use...
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19. Fair Use
(The Public Has Rights Too!)
Judges consider 4 factors in
considering whether an
otherwise infringing use is
“fair:”
Purpose and character of the
use
Nature of the copyrighted
work
Amount and substantiality of
the portion taken
Effect of the use upon the
potential market for the
original
Image by Shepard Fairey, available, among other places, at http://
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creativebits.org/files/Shepard_Fairey_obama-poster.jpg.

20. Orphan Works
Orphan works are copyrighted works
whose owner cannot be located
Some ways a work can be “orphaned:”
The owner did not register the work
The owner sold rights in the work
and did not register the transfer
The owner died and his heirs cannot
be found
Creates problems for reuse: risks
having to pay huge damages if an
owner emerges
So how do we balance the rights of
the original creators with the
needs of those who wish to build
upon their work?
Definition from Public Knowledge, http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/ow
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Image from http://www.jerrybrito.com/2008/04/25/new-orphan-works-bills-introduced/

21. The Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA)
Huge piece of legislation,
1998
Two provisions are
especially important for
Informatics:
Safe Harbor
Anti-Circumvention
The Copyright Office
accepts applications for
exemptions from anti-
circumvention provisions
every 3 yrs (next=2009!)
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Image from http://xkcd.com/488/

22. The Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA)
Huge piece of legislation,
1998
Two provisions are
especially important for
Informatics:
Safe Harbor
Anti-Circumvention
The Copyright Office
accepts applications for
exemptions from anti-
circumvention provisions
every 3 yrs (next=2009!)
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Image from http://xkcd.com/488/

23. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
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24. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
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25. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
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26. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
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27. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
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28. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
20 of 32

29. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
20 of 32

30. Creative Commons
Provides easy-to-
understand
licenses, so that
you can share your
work on terms that
you choose
Fewer restrictions
than traditional
copyright
Comic from http://
wiki.creativecommons.org
/Howitworks_Comic1
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31. Patent
Protects useful, new
ideas
Grants quot;the right to
exclude others from
making, using or
selling the invention
throughout the United
Statesquot; for 20 years
Broader in scope, but
more limited in
duration than copyright
Image from: http://tothewire.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/caveman-and-electricity/#
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32. Patent Covers...
A Process, such as a new approach to brewing beer
or to depositing circuits on silicon
An Article of Manufacture, such as a kit to
identify an infectious disease or a machine, such
as a new machine tool
A Composition of Matter, such as a novel type of
concrete or a new molecule
New & Useful Improvements of the Above
Any Distinct and New Variety of Plant that is
Asexually Reproduced
Any New, Original, and Ornamental Design for an
article of manufacture
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From Jaffe & Lerner 2004: 27

33. A Patent Application
Must Pass 3 Tests
Utility
Novelty
Non-Obviousness
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34. A Few Patent Issues
Frivolous Patents
Patent Trolling
Chilling Effects
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35. Trademark
Prevent consumer
confusion
Trademarks “protect
words, names, symbols,
sounds, or colors that
distinguish goods and
services from those
manufactured or sold by
others and to indicate
the source of the
goods” (USPTO)
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Image from: http://www.battletrade.com/images/view/10/trademarksjpg.html

36. Trademark
Can be renewed
indefinitely
Must be protected
Explicitly deals
with commerce,
rather than ideas
or expressions
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37. Trade Secret
Protects secrets that
give companies
competitive advantage
Almost unlimited in terms
of content or subject
matter that may be
protected
Typically relies on
private measures, rather
than state action, to
preserve exclusivity
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Image from: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/brands/can_coke_survive_with_no_marketing_89637.asp

38. The Google Books
Library Project
Initially, 5 Libraries:
Harvard, Oxford,
Michigan, Stanford, and
the NYPL
Scanning all the books!
For all but Michigan,
just public domain books,
for the time being
Providing digital copies
to the source libraries
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39. The Google Books
Library Project
2006: The Authors Guild &
the Association of
American Publishers sued
Google for copyright
infringement
Google claimed fair use
A lot of authors disagreed
with the lawsuit
Others said the libraries had
made a huge mistake in
partnering with Google
Now there’s a settlement
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40. The Google Books
Library Project
What do you think?
Does the project
infringe copyrights?
Did the libraries make
a mistake?
Should authors oppose
the project? Should
publishers?
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41. Summary
IP exists to promote innovation; protecting
authors is the mechanism it uses to do that
Copyright protects expression, not ideas
Fair use protects the public’s rights
Patent protects ideas, not expression
Trademarks prevent consumer confusion
Trade Secret protects information that can be
used for competitive advantage
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42. The End!
Lolcat via http://
The images in this presentation do not fall under this license
www.istartedsomething.com/20071121/
- they have been used without permission (fairly, I believe).
a-team-cease-desist-zegoe/