Please be advised: This event will premiere on this page at 12:00 p.m. EDT, Monday, October 25. Register for the event here
Join Hudson Institute Legal Fellow Devlin Hartline and expert panelists Kristen Osenga, Kevin Madigan, and Rick Allen to discuss state sovereign immunity for intellectual property infringement.
Under the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, states enjoy sovereign immunity that generally prevents individuals from suing states in federal court for monetary damages or injunctive relief. In the early 1990s, Congress passed legislation abrogating state sovereign immunity for patent, trademark, and copyright infringement, thus allowing lawsuits against states for intellectual property infringements. However, the courts have held that Congress did not have the authority to abrogate sovereign immunity using its powers under the Commerce Clause and Intellectual Property Clause of Article I.
The Supreme Court has indicated that Congress can use its power under the Fourteenth Amendment to abrogate state sovereign immunity, but it must first show that states' infringements are widespread and persistent, intentional or reckless, and unremedied under state law. So far, the courts held that Congress did not have an adequate record when it attempted abrogation in the early 1990s. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office recently conducted studies to gauge the extent and character of infringements by states. The panelists will discuss the problems of state infringements and explore whether Congress now has enough evidence to abrogate state sovereign immunity for intellectual property infringements. Please join Hudson Institute for this important discussion.
Join Hudson Institute for a conference with leaders from industry, government, academia, and defense to discuss the latest developments in the US-China AI competition.
Join House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (AL-03) for a fireside discussion with Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow on Congress’s role in revitalizing America’s defense industrial base.
Please join Hudson Institute for a special address on the current state-of-play by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will join remotely, followed by a question-and-answer session on the war with Hudson Institute President and CEO John Walters.
Bill Frauenhofer, executive director for semiconductor investment and innovation at the US Department of Commerce, will join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow David Feith for an invitation-only fireside chat on semiconductor onshoring and the role of government capital in strengthening America’s technological and industrial leadership.
