The Tragicomedy of the Public Domain in Intellectual Property Law

Authors

Samuel Oddi

Abstract

As the overall amount of protected and protectable subject matter expands, duration of protection grows longer, and overlap between types of protection increases, constituencies who rely upon intellectual subject matter as stimuli for the creative process grow concerned about incursions of the private domain into the public. This Article explores the relationship between the public domain as a source of sensory stimuli, the creative process as a generator of ideas, and the interaction among the public and private domains and the intellectual process - both in a "state of nature" and under the protections of an intellectual property system - and offers commentary and suggestions.

Recommended Citation

Samuel Oddi, The Tragicomedy of the Public Domain in Intellectual Property Law, 25 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 1 (2002).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol25/iss1/1