Hon. Prof. F. Scott Kieff, Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor of Law, and C-LEAF Director of Planning and Publications, recently published “Lessons for Today’s Fields of Intellectual Property and Trade from Epstein’s Insights about Private Law and History,” in The Journal of Legal Studies from the University of Chicago Press.
He joined the faculty at GW Law in 2009, after serving on the faculty at Washington University in Saint Louis, where he was a Professor in the School of Law with a secondary appointment in the School of Medicine’s Department of Neurological Surgery. He was named GW Law’s Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor in 2012, and he served as a Commissioner of the U.S. International Trade Commission (2013-2017).
Q: What is the focus of “Lessons for Today’s Fields of Intellectual Property and Trade”?
In today’s global economy, so many of the things we use in our daily lives were assembled along long and broad global supply chains involving many sub-assemblies, parts, raw materials, and of course lots of diverse talent. That usually means a huge number of business transactions across what some might call the firm-market boundary as well as a significant number of crossings of national borders.
Each crossing of a business firm’s boundaries raises many complex legal questions about property rights and contracts; and each crossing of a national border raises at least many complex legal questions about international trade.
Q: What legal cases or examples does your article explore?
The paper explores three specific examples. The first two examples involve the powerful role our understanding of intent and teamwork (or partnership) can play when judging liability for intellectual property infringement for on-line services. The third involves the powerful leverage we can gain when thinking about how we acquire many types of modern consumer electronic equipment like home internet routers, cable TV set-top-boxes, and streaming devices through what even the Ancient Romans would view as a restricted sale — like a home purchase with mortgage that conveys some title to the occupant and contingent title to the lender — rather than viewing it as a form of lease or rental.
Q: In your opinion, what is the impact of these issues on the larger society?
These simpler and historic approaches have the benefit of allowing diverse business leaders and government officials to collaboratively shelter somewhat from many of today's stormy policy debates around controversial topics like tariffs and trade agreements. While we all have a common stake in those debates resolving one way or the other, we also share a common need to help our community coordinate with each other to thrive together while business is getting done and consumers and workers are getting what they need along the way.
Read “Lessons for Today’s Fields of Intellectual Property and Trade from Epstein’s Insights about Private Law and History” here.
Listen to the Hon. Prof. Kieff discuss “Lessons for Today’s Fields of Intellectual Property and Trade” and his diverse career experiences in an interview with Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew for the GW Law podcast “Testimony with Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew,” Season 3, Episode 3 here.