Résumé

Paul Edward GELLER

 Contact Information

 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

I retired as an attorney at law on January 19, 2019.

Specialized Legal Practice: 1986 through 2018

Representative Clients: Directors Guild of America; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; Independent Film & Television Alliance (formerly AFMA); Allan Kaprow; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios; Motion Picture Association; Rachmaninoff Estate; Recording Industry Association of America; Twentieth-Century Fox Films; Writers Guild of America West; Zynga Inc.

Main Memberships: Copyright Society of the USA, Senior Member; International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP), Emeritus Member; International Literary and Artistic Association-USA (ALAI-USA), 1989-2018; Editorial Advisory Board, European Copyright and Design Reports, 1999-2018; American Bar Association, PTC Committee 302, 1989-93

Writing, Editing, and Teaching: Publications listed and linked below; General Editor, International Copyright Law and Practice, 1986-2013; Adjunct Professor, International Intellectual Property, University of Southern California School of Law, 1987-2001, and Intellectual Property, Stanford Law School, 1989

General Legal Practice: 1977 through 1985

Counsel in business litigation; Transactional counsel for media and other business clients

Adjunct Professor, Comparative Law, Golden Gate University School of Law, 1977-79

Admitted to practice, State Bar of California, December 22, 1976

 

HIGHER EDUCATION; TEACHING

Legal Studies: 1973 to 1976

JD, University of Southern California School of Law, 1976; Southern California Law Review, 1974-76; Curriculum Committee, 1974-75

European Studies; Teaching: 1962 to 1973

Doctorat de 3e cycle, Philosophy, University of Paris X, 1973; French Government Fellow, 1965-67

Instructor, Philosophy, University of Toulouse, 1970-72; Instructor, U.S. Civilization, Institute “Charles V,” University of Paris VII, 1969-70; Instructor, Philosophy, University of Maryland, European Division, 1966; Instructor, English, Adult Education, Schöneberg Borough Hall, Berlin, 1965; Assistant, English, Lycée Pasteur, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1963-64

Fluent French; working knowledge of German

Initial University Studies: 1957 to 1962

MA, History of Ideas, as Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Brandeis University, 1962

BA, with General Honors, University of Chicago, 1961

 

PUBLICATIONS

Terms of Use: You may enable others to access any work listed below (1) if not for profit, (2) if no changes or cuts are made in the text, and (3) if its authorship, publication or other source, and any link furnished here are specified.

My texts here set out analyses and commentary, not legal counsel or advice. Texts linked below may also be accessed, each with an abstract, from my SSRN page.

 

International Copyright: The Introduction,” in International Copyright Law and Practice, ed. Lionel Bently (New Providence, NJ: LexisNexis, 2018)

Opening Dialogue on Intellectual Property,” in Juriste sans frontières: Mélanges Ejan Mackaay (Jurist without Borders: Essays in Honor of Ejan Mackaay), ed. Stéphane Rousseau (Montreal: Thémis, 2015), pp. 341-82

The Celestial Jam Session: Creative Sharing Online Caught in Conflicts of Copyright Laws,” European Intellectual Property Review [EIPR], vol. 37 (2015), pp. 490-97; in initial form in Mélanges en l’honneur du Professeur André Lucas (Essays in Honor of Professor André Lucas), eds. Carine Bernault, et al. (Paris: LexisNexis, 2014), pp. 367-78 (French)

How to Practice Copyright Law Internationally in Perplexing Times?,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 60 (2013) (Essays Honoring the 50th Anniversary of Nimmer on Copyright), pp. 167-200

Delimiting Intellectual Property: Distinct Approaches to Spillovers,” in Spory o własność intelektualną: Księga jubileuszowa dedykowana Profesorom Januszowi Barcie i Ryszardowi Markiewiczowi (Disputed Issues in Intellectual Property: Essays in Honor of Professors Janusz Barta and Ryszard Markiewicz), eds. Andrzej Matlak and Sybilla Stanisławska-Kloc (Warsaw: Wolters Kluwer Polska, 2013), pp. 293-307

A German Approach to Fair Use: Test Cases for TRIPs Criteria for Copyright Limitations?,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 57 (2010), pp. 553-71

Rethinking the Berne-Plus Framework: From Conflicts of Laws to Copyright Reform,” European Intellectual Property Review [EIPR], vol. 31 (2009), pp. 391-95, translated in Propriétés intellectuelles, no. 35 (2010), pp. 699-703 (French)

Beyond the Copyright Crisis: Principles for Change,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 55 (2008), 165-99, translated in Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle, vol. 21 (2009), pp. 47-91 (French), and in Intellectual Property Studies (CASS IP Center), no. 19 (2009), pp. 27-74 (Chinese), and also posted in illustrated and revised form as “Principles for Deciding Hard Copyright Cases on my home page (2024)

Dissolving Intellectual Property,” in Propriété intellectuelle : entre l'art et l'argent (Intellectual Property: Bridging Aesthetics and Economics), ed. Ysolde Gendreau (Montreal: Thémis, 2006), pp. 1-14, and in European Intellectual Property Review [EIPR], vol. 28 (2006), pp. 139-45, translated in Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht Internationaler Teil [GRUR Int.], 2006, pp. 273-77 (German), in Propriétés intellectuelles, no. 18 (2006), pp. 4-9 (French), and in Intellectual Property Studies (CASS IP Center), no. 18 (2007), pp. 17-37 (Chinese)

International Intellectual Property, Conflicts of Laws, and Internet Remedies,” Journal of Intellectual Property Rights (NISCAIR), vol. 10 (2005), pp. 133-40, reprinted in Intellectual Property and Information Wealth, ed. Peter K. Yu (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007), vol. 4, pp. 243-55, and translated in Intellectual Property Studies (CASS IP Center), no. 17 (2005), pp. 1-36 (Chinese); in earlier form in European Intellectual Property Review [EIPR], vol. 22 (2000), pp. 125-30, translated in Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht Internationaler Teil [GRUR Int.], 2000, pp. 659-65 (German); in initial form in Intellectual Property and Information Law: Essays in Honour of H. Cohen Jehoram, eds. Jan Kabel and Gerard Mom (The Hague: Kluwer, 1998), pp. 29-37, translated in Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle, vol. 12 (1999), pp. 227-41 (French)

Conflicts of Laws in Copyright Cases: Infringement and Ownership Issues,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 51 (2004), pp. 315-94

An International Patent Utopia?,” European Intellectual Property Review [EIPR], vol. 25 (2003), pp. 515-21, and in Journal of the Patent & Trademark Office Society, vol. 85 (2003), pp. 582-610; translated in Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht Internationaler Teil [GRUR Int.], 2004, pp. 271-78 (German), in Propriétés intellectuelles, no. 10 (2004), pp. 503-12 (French), and in Intellectual Property Studies (CASS IP Center), no. 15 (2004), pp. 78-115 (Chinese).

Copyright History and the Future: What's Culture Got to Do With It?,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 47 (2000) (The Millennium Volume), pp. 209-64, translated in Forum on Intellectual Property (CASS IP Center), no. 6 (2001), pp. 237-309 (Chinese)

“Mastering Conflicts of Laws in Intellectual Property Litigation,” IPL Newsletter (ABA IP Section), vol. 18, no. 4 (2000), pp. 7-8, 10-12

Zombie and Once-Dead Works: Copyright Retroactivity after the E.C. Term Directive,” The Entertainment and Sports Lawyer (ABA), vol. 18, no. 2 (2000), pp. 7-11, 14

“Overcoming Insularity: Lessons from New British Books for International Intellectual Property,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 46 (1999), pp. 615-29

Hiroshige v. Van Gogh: Resolving the Dilemma of Copyright Scope in Remedying Infringement,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 46 (1998), pp. 39-70, reprinted in Dear Images: Art, Copyright and Culture, eds. Daniel McClean and Karsten Schubert (London: Institute of Contemporary Arts and Ridinghouse, 2002), pp. 421-52; in initial form in Festskrift till Gunnar Karnell (Essays in Honor of Gunnar Karnell), eds. Lars Gorton, et al. (Stockholm: Carlsson Law, 1999), pp. 193-207

From Patchwork to Network: Strategies for International Intellectual Property in Flux,” Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, vol. 9 (1998), pp. 69-90, and in Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, vol. 31 (1998), pp. 553-74, translated in Intellectual Property Studies (CASS IP Center), no. 5 (1998), pp. 1-40 (Chinese)

“Litigating Cross-Border Infringement in International Intellectual Property: Some Practice Tips and Caveats,” New Matter (Calif. Bar IP Section), vol. 22, no. 3 (1997), pp. 1, 3-8

“Conflicts of Laws in Cyberspace: Rethinking International Copyright,” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 44 (1996), pp. 103-17, and in Copyright Bulletin (UNESCO), vol. 31, no. 1 (1997), pp. 3-13 (and translated in French and Spanish in corresponding issues in these languages); in initial form in The Future of Copyright in a Digital Environment, ed. P. Bernt Hugenholtz (The Hague: Kluwer, 1996), pp. 27-48, and in Columbia-VLA Journal of Law & the Arts, vol. 20 (1996), pp. 571-603

“Intellectual Property in the Global Marketplace: Impact of TRIPs Dispute Settlements,” The International Lawyer (ABA), vol. 29 (1995), pp. 99-115, translated in Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht Internationaler Teil [GRUR Int.], 1995, pp. 935-44 (German), in Aktualne Problemy Prawa Prasowego, no. 68 (1997), pp. 9-28 (Polish), and in Propriedad Intelectual en el GATT, ed. Carlos M. Correa (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Ciudad Argentina, 1997), pp. 171-99 (Spanish)

“The Universal Electronic Archive: Issues in International Copyright,” International Review of Industrial Property & Copyright Law [IIC], vol. 25 (1994), pp. 54-69

Toward an Overriding Norm in Copyright: Sign Wealth,” Revue Internationale du Droit d'Auteur [RIDA], no. 159 (1994), pp. 2-109 (also there translated in French and Spanish); in initial and longer form as “Must Copyright Be For Ever Caught Between Marketplace and Authorship Norms?,” in Of Authors and Origins: Essays in Copyright Law, eds. Brad Sherman and Alain Strowel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), pp. 159-201

Legal Transplants in International Copyright: Some Questions of Method,” UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal, vol. 13 (1994), pp. 199-230

“New Dynamics in International Copyright,” Columbia-VLA Journal of Law & the Arts, vol. 16 (1992), pp. 461-73, translated in Copyright (Copyright Research and Information Center), vol. 32, no. 8 (1992), pp. 2-9 (Japanese), in Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle, vol. 5 (1992), pp. 391-405 (French), and in Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht Internationaler Teil [GRUR Int.], 1993, pp. 526-32 (German)

“The Proposed EC Rental Right: Avoiding Some Berne Incompatibilities,” World Intellectual Property Report, vol. 5 (1991), pp. 310-15, and in European Intellectual Property Review [EIPR], vol. 14 (1992), pp. 4-8, translated in Actualité législative Dalloz, 1992, no. 4, pp. 29-34 (French)

“French High Court Remands Huston Colorization Case,” Entertainment Law Reporter, vol. 13, no. 3 (1991), pp. 3-6, in New Matter (Calif. Bar IP Section), vol. 16, no. 4 (1991), pp. 1, 10-11, and in Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 39 (1992), pp. 252-56

Copyright in Factual Compilations: U.S. Supreme Court Decides the Feist Case,” International Review of Industrial Property & Copyright Law [IIC], vol. 22 (1991), pp. 802-08, translated as a case note in Revue Internationale du Droit d'Auteur [RIDA], no. 150 (1991), pp. 115-24 (French)

“Can the GATT Incorporate Berne Whole?,” European Intellectual Property Review [EIPR], vol. 12 (1990), pp. 423-28, and in World Intellectual Property Report (BNA), vol. 4 (1990), pp. 193-98

“Reprography and Other Processes of Mass Use,” in The Reform of Copyright Law: Experiences Abroad (Lausanne: Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, 1990), pp. 35-54, in Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, vol. 38 (1990), pp. 21-40, and in Revue Internationale du Droit d'Auteur [RIDA], no. 153 (1992), pp. 3-73 (also there translated in French and Spanish)

Book Review: “Edelman, La propriété littéraire et artistique,” Intellectual Property Journal, vol. 6 (1990), pp. 113-19, translated in Cahiers de propriété intellectuelle, vol. 3 (1990), pp. 119-24 (French), and in Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht Internationaler Teil [GRUR Int.], 1992, pp. 77-79 (German)

Book Review: “Le Nouveau Droit International Privé Suisse,” American Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 38 (1990), pp. 409-14

“Worldwide ‘Chain of Title’ to Copyright,” Entertainment Law Reporter, vol. 11, no. 5 (1989), pp. 3-8, in World Intellectual Property Report (BNA), vol. 4 (1990), pp. 103-07, and in New Matter (Calif. Bar IP Section), vol. 15, no. 1 (1990), pp. 3, 26-29

“Harmonizing Copyright-Contract Conflicts Analyses,” Copyright (WIPO), vol. 25 (1989), pp. 49-68, translated in Le Droit d'Auteur (OMPI), vol. 102 (1989), pp. 49-73 (French)

“Copyright Protection in the Berne Union: Analyzing the Issues,” Intellectual Property Journal, vol. 5 (1989), pp. 1-50, and in Columbia-VLA Journal of Law & the Arts, vol. 13 (1989), pp. 435-76

“Staffing the Judiciary and ‘Tastes’ in Justice: A Commentary on the Papers by Professors Bell and Clark,” Southern California Law Review, vol. 61 (1988), pp. 1849-64

“Comments on Possible U.S. Compliance with Article 6bis of the Berne Convention,” Columbia-VLA Journal of Law & the Arts, vol. 10 (1986), pp. 665-81

Preassignments of Creators' Rights: An Adhesion Analysis,” Comm/Ent, A Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law, vol. 2 (1979), pp. 1-45

“Freud et Wittgenstein: Propos autour du symptôme,” Annales de l’Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail: Philosophie, vol. 9, no. 6 (1973), pp. 75-81

“Nietzsche, Peirce et le désaveu du sujet,” Annales de l’Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail: Philosophie, vol. 8, no. 2 (1972), pp. 95-110

 

SPEECHES AND PROGRAMS

Panelist, “What's Needed? Re-envisioning the Copyright Act's Architecture for the Digital Age,” Conference, Reforming Copyright: Process, Policy and Politics, Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, California, March 6, 2009

Speaker, “U.S. and German Approaches,” and Panelist, “International Fair Use, Compared,” Symposium, Examining the Derivative Works Right in the Face of Fair Use, University of San Francisco Law School, San Francisco, California, Nov. 1, 2008

Panelist, “The Global Impact of the Internet on Copyright Law,” 2008 Intellectual Property Institute, University of Southern California School of Law, Beverly Hills, California, March 18, 2008

Keynote Speaker, “Dissolving Intellectual Property,” International Congress, Propriété intellectuelle: Entre l'art et l'argent, International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP), University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, July 11, 2005

Speaker, “Going Abroad: Whose Laws Apply?,” Conference, Getting What You Pay For: IP Issues and Risks of Offshoring, Intellectual Property Society, Palo Alto, California, Sept. 14, 2004

Panelist, “International Intellectual Property,” Conference, International Law West Weekend, International Law Association, American Society of International Law, and American Bar Association, Pepperdine Law School, Malibu, California, Jan. 26, 2001

Panelist, “Intellectual Property and the Future of Cyberspace: Does Information Want to be Owned?,” Research Conference, Digital Cultures Project, University of California at Santa Barbara, Goleta, California, Nov. 4, 2000

Panelist, “International Intellectual Property Issues,” 46th Annual Entertainment Law Institute, Representing the Client in the Multimedia World, University of Southern California Law School, Los Angeles, California, Sept. 23, 2000

Luncheon Speaker, “Conflicts of Laws in Intellectual Property Litigation,” 24th Annual Intellectual Property Institute, State Bar of California, IP Section, Santa Monica, California, Nov. 13, 1999

Keynote Speaker, “International Intellectual Property at the Millennium: Tactics and Strategies,” Seminar, Seattle and Beyond: Intellectual Property in the New Millennium, US Council for International Business, International Chamber of Commerce, Palo Alto, California, Oct. 19, 1999

Speaker, “Hiroshige vs. Van Gogh: The Copyright Dilemma,” and Participant, Interdisciplinary Workshop, Creating Intellectual Property, Annenberg Center for Communication, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, Sept. 26-27, 1998

Participant, Meeting, International Intellectual Property, American Law Institute, San Francisco, California, June 1, 1998

Speaker, “Cross-Border Infringement of Intellectual Property: Issues of Jurisdiction and Conflicts of Laws,” and Panelist, “Copyright Infringement Issues,” Symposium, A Balance Between Protection and Exploitation of Digital Content, Japan Software Information Center (SOFTIC), Tokyo, Nov. 13-14, 1997

Speaker, “Tips for Transborder I.P. Transactions,” Plenary Session, Globalization of the Entertainment and Sports Industries, ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries, Miami Beach, Florida, Oct. 18, 1997

Speaker, “From Patchwork to Network: Strategies for International Intellectual Property in Flux,” Conference, Public-Private Initiatives After TRIPs, Duke Law School, Center for Global Information Technologies, Brussels, July 16-19, 1997

Panelist, “Technical Protection & Electronic Rights Management Systems,” Conference, Digital Content: New Products and New Business Models, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, University of California, Berkeley, California, Nov. 8-9, 1996

Panelist, “Private International Law Aspects of the Global Information Infrastructure,” World Forum, The Protection of Intellectual Creations in the Information Society, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Naples, Oct. 18-20, 1995

Speaker, “Conflicts of Law in Cyberspace,” Academy Colloquium, The Future of Copyright in a Digital Environment, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, July 6-7, 1995

Panelist, “TRIPs, Neighboring Rights, and the E.C. Term Directive,” Getting Ready for GATT: Effects at Home on Copyright and Artist Rights, California Copyright Conference, Studio City, California, January 17, 1995

Participant, International Intellectual Property Study Group, Pacific Council on International Policy, Los Angeles, California, 1994-95

Speaker, “Impact of TRIPs Dispute Settlements?,” Trinational Forum, Intellectual Property and Industrial Development, Institute of Legal Research, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, June 8-10, 1994

Speaker, “Impact of TRIPs Dispute Settlements?,” International Conference, Intellectual and Industrial Property: Objectives & Strategies, Commission of the European Community, Athens, April 11-13, 1994

Participant, Conference, Intellectual Property Protection in East Asia, Center for East Asian Studies of the University of Missouri and Law School of Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, Feb. 25-26, 1994

Speaker, “The Universal Electronic Archive: Issues in International Copyright,” Symposium, The Impact of Digital Technology on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 31-April 2, 1993

Speaker, “Le droit d’auteur aux États-Unis et les oeuvres audiovisuelles classiques,” Droit d’auteur et Patrimoine cinématographique, France-U.S.A., Jurista, Nantes, France, November 5, 1992

Speaker, “Dynamiques nouvelles en droit d’auteur international,” Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale (ALAI) de Canada, Montreal, Canada, Sept. 30, 1992, and Centre de recherche en droit public (CRDP), Faculté de Droit, Université de Montréal, Oct. 1, 1992

Speaker, “New Dynamics in International Copyright,” Copyright Research Center of Japan, Tokyo, June 4, 1992

Participant, Trade Workshops, National Committee on US-China Relations and China CCPIT, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, China, May 25-June 2, 1992

Speaker, “Copyright Protection: Some Examples, Both International and National,” Seminar, China-US Intellectual Property Management, AT&T and China SSTC, under the auspices of the Chinese Government, Beijing, May 19-22, 1992

Panelist, Forum, Is Europe Rewriting Distribution Ground Rules?, American Film Marketing Association (AFMA), Santa Monica, California, March 2, 1992

Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for International and Foreign and International Patent, Copyright, and Competition Law, Munich, Germany, Summer, 1991

Instructor, International Training Seminar for Officials from French-speaking Africa, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and US Copyright Office, International Copyright Institute, Washington DC, Sept. 17-25, 1990

Speaker, “Reprography and other Processes of Mass Use,” Colloquium, The Reform of Copyright Law: Experiences Abroad, Swiss Institute of Comparative Law and Centre du Droit de l’Entreprise of the University of Lausanne (CEDIDAC), Lausanne, Nov. 3, 1989

Panelist, “Berne Accession and Implementation,” Joint Program, Current Issues in Entertainment Law, Los Angeles Copyright Society and the Intellectual Property Sections of the State Bar of California and of the Los Angeles County Bar, Dana Point, California, June 3, 1989

Instructor, Seminar, The Fundamentals of International Copyright, Beverly Hills Bar Association and Melville B. Nimmer Memorial Fund, UCLA Faculty Center, Los Angeles, California, March 10, 1989

Speaker, “Consequences of U.S. Accession to the Berne Convention for Foreign Works in the United States and Domestic Works Abroad,” Association of Independent Music Publishers, Los Angeles, California, December 14, 1988

Panelist, Seminar, International Intellectual Property Issues, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California of San Diego, La Jolla, California, July 15, 1988