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Property
Owners Victorious in New York Eminent Domain Case »
Threat
of Eminent Domain Abuse Prompts Calling for Supreme Court Decision »
Victory!
Limewire No Longer Allowed to Profit from Theft »
Three
Cheers for the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland! »
Counterfeit
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Australian
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World
IP Day 2010: Celebrating Property Rights Around the Globe »
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Property Owners Victorious in New York Eminent Domain
Case
Friday, May 21, 2010 12:00 pm | By Robert
Kramer

This Wednesday there was a celebration in Auburn, N.Y. when the
Auburn Industrial Development Agency voted unanimously against the use of
eminent domain on the part of Pioneer Companies, who wished to build a Hilton
Garden Inn on a plot of land currently occupied by several private
residences.

The project is a recent example of an attempt at using
eminent domain for the benefit of a private party, rather than public use.
Mayor Michael Quill argued that the project would yield $160,000 in tax revenue
for the city, at what he perceived is the relatively small cost of removing
several families from their homes.  Community support for the soon-to-be
displaced families grew as negotiations were drawn out between the two
parties.  In the end, the public pressure proved too much, and the Auburn
Industrial Development Agency ruled that eminent domain use was out of the
question.

The victory should stand as a case of legal precedence to be
followed for eminent domain use, one where its use is reserved for truly public
projects and isn't subject to the political connections of private
industry.  For now, the people of Auburn can sleep easy and carry on with
the lives they've fought hard to preserve.

Tags: BIGSTORY
EmDom
NewYork
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Threat of Eminent Domain Abuse Prompts Calling for Supreme Court
Decision
Thursday, May 20, 2010 10:31 am | By
Robert Kramer

A recent case of eminent domain abuse has been brought to the
nation's attention this week, when the Institute for Justice commented on
the City of Milwaukee’s attempt to repossess a plot of land from the local
Veterans of Foreign War post without paying just compensation. A ruling issued
by the Wisconsin Supreme Court declared that the VFW stood to receive no
compensation for the lease it has held since 1961.  The case is calling
into question the responsibility of the government in its use of eminent domain;
should it make payments equal to the value of the land itself, or equal to the
value of all assets lost?  As Dana Berliner of IJ stated “It is completely
impossible that just compensation for a 50-year or 60-year lease is
zero.”

This abuse of eminent domain shines some light on an issue that
has been consistently afflicting our nation in recent years.  Economic
development is dependent on well-defined and secure private property
rights.  When people are uncertain that they can safely occupy their home
or run their business without fear of losing it to the government for an
ambiguously defined "public" use, production stagnates as incentives to put more
money into an establishment are lost.

The Institute for Justice and
National Association of Home Builders want to bring the case before the Supreme
Court.  If it agrees to hear the case, we can only hope that a ruling is
given in favor of private establishments across the country, one where owners of
repossessed land are given a just compensation for their lost assets, free from
fear of being further abused by the government.

Tags: EmDom
Wisconsin
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Victory! Limewire No Longer Allowed to Profit from
Theft
Thursday, May 13, 2010 1:11 pm | By Kelsey
Zahourek

This
week, the District Court of Manhattan has handed a deserved victory to recording
artists when Judge Kimba M. Wood found Limewire can be held liable for copyright
infringement. This decision continues the strong precedent in favor of
protecting intellectual property rights set by the Supreme Court nearly five
years ago in the MGM Studios v. Grokster decision, which ruled that software
developers can be held liable when their products foster the infringement of
copyrighted movies and music. In a unanimous decision, the high court ruled
against companies such as Grokster which base their business on the theft of
intellectual property rights.

These cases, which seek to stop the illegal downloading of copyrighted
material by holding accountable the peer-to-peer (P2P) companies which provide
it, are instrumental in laying the foundation for intellectual property rights
protection. Yesterday’s ruling is a victory not just for the entertainment
industry, but ultimately for legitimate free markets and the American
consumer.

This ruling will assist in greatly discouraging the illegal activities that
have been taking place for too long and sends a strong signal that intellectual
property rights violations will not be tolerated.

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HOT IntProp
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