Acquisition by Creation Flashcards
Acquisition by Creation
aka Intellectual Property
- almost exclusively governed by federal law
Basic idea is that these laws give the creator exclusive rights to their property but only for a limited amount of time
Why do creators only have exclusive rights for a limited period of time?
We to incentivize people to create new ideas and inventions but we also want those to be put to good use
Law allows for exclusive rights for a limited period so that people can develop the product and collect the profits and then after they will be incentivized to create something new
General Rule
In the absence of some recognized right at common law, or under the statutes, a man’s property is limited to the chattels which embody his invention. Others may imitate these at their pleasure.
Ex: Mac and cheese recipe
- the mac and cheese you make is your property, but not the recipe itself
INS v. AP
Rule: A quasi-property right exists in published news such that appropriating the published news gathered by another for further commercial purposes constitutes unfair competition in trade
While there is no continuing property right against the public in uncopyrighted news after it is initially published, a commercial news source does not retain rights to the material against other news sources.
Court decided that if they did not rule for AP, then the news industry would end because nobody would profit.
- Similar to G v. R. - We will treat certain things as property if they are vital to society
