Podcast (stream or download):

From the archives:

Ananda recaps the Golan oral arguments and Tony talks about the problems faced by non-practicing entities seeking redress before the International Trade Commission.

Ananda attended the Oct. 5 oral argument before the Supreme Court in the Golan case. He talks about Justice Ginsburg's spirited attack on the petitioner, demanding to know why Shostakovich shouldn't be given the same treatment as Sondheim. The members of the court also pressed the petitioners' counsel on the odd argument that in not extending copyright protection to some works, Congress had actually given them copyright protection with a term of "zero." The court also explores the issue of what the public domain actually is. Is it merely a group of works not protected by copyright law or is it something in which the public has a kind of property interest?

Tony talks about the Mezzalingua case, in which the International Trade Commission refused to stop imports of software because the rights holder was a "non-practicing entity" and thus was unable to argue that there was a "domestic industry" for its products. The ITC also rejected the argument that spending money on litigation constituted a "substantial investment" in a product. However, the decision seems to offer a roadmap to rights holders in the form of a balancing test with several factors that can be considered by the ITC in deciding whether an NPE should be given relief.