Intellectual Property Law

"When Bias is Bipartisan: Teaching About the Democratic Process in an Intellectual Property Law Republic"

By Siva Vaidhyanathan

Abstract:
This essay asserts that intellectual property law courses offer law professors the opportunity to teach subject areas rich with complicated statutory and court-made doctrines about which students do not usually have strong or extensively delineated moral views, giving everyone in the classroom a refreshing break from the traditional partisanship of political party politics. It explains that the politics of intellectual property law are somewhat insulated from traditional political party divisions, and as a result, learning copyright law, patent law and trademark law can give students the opportunity to think through complex issues with few concerns about political "bias," leading to more open minded grappling with contextual issues of fairness, rights balancing, and social welfare than may be possible with other controversial legal topics.

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Full post as published by SIVACRACY .NET on April 03, 2008 (boomark / email).