Article I powers

[Lederman, Marty]

Congress has "pass[ed] a statute under its Commerce Clause powers to protect oral expressions," and it was upheld against a challenge that it "violat[ed] Congress' powers under the IP clause."  See US v. Moghadam, 175 F.3d 1269 (11th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1026 (2000).  It's a very interesting case.

Marty Lederman

-----Original Message-----
From: Shubha Ghosh [mailto:lawsg at LANGATE.GSU.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 9:09 AM
To: CONLAWPROF at listserv.ucla.edu@inetgw
Subject: Article I powers


I have a simple Conlaw 101 question about the interaction of the Commerce Clause and the Intellectual Property Clause (and other provisions of Article I).

As background, it is fairly clear that federal copyright protection does not extend to non-fixed, oral expression.  Could Congress pass a statute under its Commerce Clause powers to protect oral expressions or would such a statute be struck down as violating Congress' powers under the IP clause?

Put another way, are the provisions of Article I independent or are they interdependent?

To take another example:  the IP clause permits Congress to create exclusive rights for limited periods.  Could Congress under its Commerce Clause power pass a patent act that grants a patent forever?