Well, 2013 turned out to be a very busy year (on a personal level, so there aren’t as many articles posted here during the year!), and 2014 promises to be very interesting. Given the public debates about copyright reform, we will probably be covering copyright law more than previously. However, the 1976 version of the Copyright Act took over two decades to finalize (“In fact, former Register of Copyrights Barbara Ringer, who had worked closely with Congress for much of the 1976 revision process, later called it a ‘good 1950 copyright law.'” from March 20, 2013 Speech By Maria Pallante), so I do not expect that all of the issues raised about digital publication and distribution (among others) will be resolved overnight.
We expect to see more proposals on the trademark side as well, although it’s likely that members of Congress may avoid controversial issues this year. As a result, it is hard to predict whether we expect to see any revisions to the COICA/PIPA/SOPA drafts (relating to counterfeiting by predatory foreign websites), given that these proposals each had their own challenges in public debate.
I look forward to your comments in the coming year, and wish you all the best in your own practices!
Chronological Index of Articles Posted in 2013:
January
February
- February 3, 2013, Webinar Scheduled for February 12, 2013
March
- March 12, 2013, Common Questions: Can I Copyright My ‘Knight in Shining Armor’ Story?
- March 27, 2013, FTC Issues New Guidance on Online Advertising Disclosures
April
June
July
- July 21, 2013, Online Piracy and Counterfeiting: Ad Networks Adopt New “Best Practices Guidelines”
- July 22, 2013, USPTO Extends Deadline for Voluntary Best Practices Study
August
- August 15, 2013, IPEC Victoria Espinel Steps Down
October
- October 2, 2013, New Copyright Proposal Addresses Performance Rights