Cotter, Thomas F.

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Foreward to the Fall 1997 Edition

University of Florida Levin College of Law

Journal of Technology Law & Policy Volume 3 Issue 1 Article 1 September 1997 Foreward to the Fall 1997 Edition Thomas F. Cotter Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jtlp Recommended Citation Cotter, Thomas F. (1997) "Foreward to the Fall 1997 Edition," Journal of Technology Law & Policy: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 1. Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jtlp/vol3/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UF Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Technology Law & Policy by an authorized editor of UF Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact kaleita@law.ufl.edu. Jour naiof Technology Law- PolicVolime 3 Fall 1997' Issue 1Published by Students at the University of Florida College of LawReturn to Table of Contents!'Comment on this ArticlForeword to the Fall 1997 Editionby Thomas F. Cotter, University of Florida College of Law [*ICite as: Thomas F. Cotter, Foreword to the Fall 1997 Edition, 3.1 J. TECH. L. & POL'Y 0,<http://joumal.law.ufl.edul-techlaw/3- 1/foreword.html> (1997).(1) I am very honored to have been asked to write this brief foreword for Volume 3, Issue 1 of theUniversity of Florida's on-line law journal, the Journal of Technology Law and Policy. In its three yearsof existence, the journal has provided a forum for authors to share their views and insights on some ofthe most significant contemporary issues relating to intellectual property and technology law. As theimportance of this body of law continues to grow at an exponential rate, lawyers and other policymakersneed access to well-reasoned commentary on issues the likes of which no one had ever dreamed of whenintellectual property laws began to develop. Whether laws that were created for a very different worldcan continue to keep pace with modem technology--as the saying goes, whether we can force "new wineinto old wineskins"--or whether newer, different approaches are necessary presents one of the mostinteresting questions facing legal policymakers today.{2} Our current issue highlights some of the ways in which legal policymakers have addressed, or mayconsider addressing, the adaptation of intellectual property law to a changing world. Cary Fowler's ByPolicy or Law: The Challenge of Determining the Status and Future of Agro Diversity discusses thedifficulty of protecting plant varieties under existing patent and plant patent laws in the United Statesand under international law, and suggests some possible alternatives. In Computer Associates v. Altai:French Software Copyright Act Not Barred by U.S. Decision, Sue Mota discusses the applicability ofissue and claim preclusion doctrine to a dispute involving the alleged infringement of copyrightableelements in computer software--an issue that policymakers will continue to confront as cases involvingsoftware copyrights (and patents) continue to make their way into the courts of countries havingdifferent standards for assessing infringement. (Having just completed teaching a course in InternationalIntellectual Property at the University of Florida's Summer Abroad Program in Montpellier, France, Ican attest to just how important some of these differences remain, and to how the intellectual propertylawyer must be familiar not only with the laws of her own jurisdiction but of others as well.) WesleyAustin's A Thoughtful and Practical Analysis of Database Protection Under Copyright Law, and aCritique of Sui Generis Protection provides yet another example of how different alternatives areavailable for protecting (or choosing not to protect) an intellectual product, and how Americanpolicymakers must ultimately choose between the traditional model exemplified in the Supreme Court'sFeist decision or following the lead of the European Union in enacting an entirely new form ofintellectual property protection for uncopyrightable data. Finally, John Tomaszewski's TheEnforceability of Adhesive Arbitration Clauses in International Software Licenses discusses anotherissue of importance to the international technology law bar, and demonstrates how different approachesto the enforceability of arbitration agreements and adhesion contracts can lead to problems in connectionwith international transactions.{3} We hope that you find these articles useful in your research or practice, and that you will continue tocheck out our offerings as they become available on-line. Please let us know how we can improve ourproduct, and share with us the fruits of your research so that we can share them with others.ENDNOTES[*M About the Author: Thomas F. Cotter is an Associate Professor and Director of Intellectual PropertyStudies at the University of Florida College of Law.Copyright 1997 by the Journal of Technology Law & Policy; and Thomas F. Cotter

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Foreward to the Fall 1997 Edition

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