Author Archive for anupam-chander
Further Studies of Bilateral Free Trade Agreements Needed
posted by Anupam Chander
As Larry Helfer writes, the United States has “regime shifted” in international trade, moving from the multilateral, global negotiations in the WTO, where liberalizing trade has stalled, to bilateral or regional agreements. These agreements have received insufficient attention.
In a recent paper written as part of a symposium in honor of Margaret Jane Radin, I offer one example of how we might approach such studies. In the paper, “Exporting DMCA Lockouts,” I compare anti-circumvention provisions in all of the post-DMCA FTAs. To do this, I ran dozens of blacklines, comparing those provisions in various FTAs with each other. This comparative approach revealed a significant amount about the negotiating position of the United States, viz., what aspects of these provisions on which the U.S. would be flexible. Such an approach provides information not only for other potential FTA counterparties, but also demonstrates the extent of our commitment to largely not budge from very strong anti-circumvention rules.
The amount of material for future scholarship in such an approach is quite large. Many aspects of human endeavors are affected by these FTAs–which bind not only our trading partners, but ourselves. Thus, there is a large need for academic inquiry into what these FTAs require.
Here’s my abstract for the paper, which can be downloaded here.
October 30, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Posted in: International & Comparative Law
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For the True IP Geek: Podcasts of IP Conferences
posted by Anupam Chander
The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology has now made podcasts of its fabulous August IP conference available online here.
And the UC Davis Law Review has made our March “Intellectual Property and Social Justice” conference available as free podcasts on iTunes.
Putting audio of academic conferences online is a tremendous advance. It makes the leading scholarship available worldwide to those with access to the Internet. At the same time, it enables scholars who cannot attend multiple sessions occurring simultaneously to listen to what they missed–or to review sessions they found especially valuable.
Law Reviews should make this a standard practice.
The obvious next step: YouTube.
October 20, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Posted in: Intellectual Property, Law School (Law Reviews)
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A Review of UN Secretary Generals Past
posted by Anupam Chander
I have copied here the Wikipedia entry reviewing the history of the UN Secretary General post.
The Security Council has just selected South Korean Ban Ki-Moon for the post of UN Secretary General–the leader of both the free and unfree world.
As the chart shows, the post has moved fitfully between continents.
Early on in the deliberations, many agreed that it was now Asia’s turn. However, U.S. Acting Ambassador John Bolton argued that the job should go to the best qualified candidate regardless of nationality. The United States ultimately agreed to the selection of an Asian SG, albeit one from a historic American ally. One hopes that, when it is North America’s turn, the United States will remember its earlier preference for a wholly merits-based approach. Who knows? The best person for the job then might be an African, a European, or an Asian.
October 3, 2006 at 8:57 pm
Posted in: International & Comparative Law
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‘See At Least One Subtitled Movie A Month’
posted by Anupam Chander
See at least one movie with subtitles a month. 
This is Kwame Anthony Appiah’s injunction to the audience at a Fordham conference on global citizenship over this past weekend. Appiah, the dazzling University professor at Princeton, believes in conversations across cultures. Such conversations, he hopes, will help us to understand one another, perhaps even inculcate global feelings.
Some might argue that this might lead us to recognize what we all hold in common. But Appiah believes in difference as well. The conversation might lead us to recognize what divides and differentiates us as well.
Appiah is not a cultural relativist: tolerance, he notes, suggests a view as to what is not to be tolerated.
So here is my question for you: Have you learned something from watching a film with subtitles (and, if so, what film)? Did it reveal commonality or difference?
October 2, 2006 at 10:17 am
Posted in: International & Comparative Law, Law and Humanities
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