- Welcome From the Dean
- About CUA Law
- Admissions
- Admission Application
- Transfer Application
- LLM Admissions
- Admissions Data
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Admissions Blog
- Student Ambassadors
- Recruiting Calendar
- Law Forums
- Diversity at CUA Law
- Campus Life Video
- Computer Services
- The Nation’s Capital
- Directions to CUA
- Legal Career Services
- Visiting Student Application
- Housing Information
- Financial Aid
- Institutes and Programs
- Clinics and Externships
- Faculty and Administration
- Office of Career and Professional Development
- Law Library
- Law and Social Justice Initiatives
- Offices and Student Services
- News, Publications and Headnotes
- Alumni
- Contact Us
- Contribute to CUA Law
Timed to coincide with an historic Supreme Court case on October 9, CUA law school will bring together some of the world leading experts in intellectual property law.
CUA Internet Symposium To Follow High Court Argument
View WebCast
On the morning of October 9th, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a landmark copyright case that could affect the disposition of some of America’s best-known symbols, cultural icons, and works of art At stake, for example, is how long the Disney Corporation will continue to retain sole legal ownership of Mickey Mouse.
After appearing before the Court, some of the key participants in the case will then move a few miles up the street and continue to illuminate the issues at stake at an Internet law symposium at The Catholic University of America School of Law. In the case Eldred v. Ashcroft, the Court will consider the constitutionality of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. This 1998 statute, extending the basic copyright term by 20 years, has provoked intense debate in both academic and industry circles. Opponents of the law argue that it provides an unconstitutional windfall to copyright owners at the public’s expense. Its supporters insist that the law is a proper exercise of congressional legislative authority. The issues raised are particularly challenging in an age of digital communications, which enable virtually instantaneous transmission of near perfect copies of creative works. As the law seeks to resolve these questions, commentators have suggested that it must confront the meaning of the rule of law itself.
The Catholic University School of Law symposium, “The Rule of Law and the Information Age: Reconciling Private Rights and the Public Interest”, will provide a forum for the debate from a broad academic perspective. It will begin just hours after the close of oral argument in the Eldred case and continuing throughout the following day. The lead counsel for the petitioner in the Supreme Court, Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School, will give the symposium’s keynote address. Other speakers will explore arguments on both sides of the debate from the perspectives of intellectual property law, constitutional and legislative history, comparative law, economics, and philosophy.
The symposium will bring together some of North America’s leading intellectual property experts. Principal addresses will be given by the Honorable Edward J. Damich, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims; Robert W. Hahn, Director of the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies; and Margaret-Jane Radin, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. Panelists include Lillian R. BeVier, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; Amitai Etzioni, Professor, The George Washington University; Shira Perlmutter, Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property Policy at AOL Time Warner; and Marybeth Peters, United States Register of Copyrights.
The event is free and open to the public. To reserve seating, please contact Constantia Dedoulis tel. 202-319-6081. For more information, please see the symposium web page at http://law.cua.edu/news/conference/informationage
3600 John McCormack Rd., NE, Washington, DC 20064 202-319-5140