Eleanor K. Meltzer Image

Eleanor K. Meltzer

is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Virginia State Bar, currently living near Austin, TX. Eleanor received her undergraduate degree from Stanford and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Meltzer has published articles on trademarks and geographical indications.

Recent Articles by Eleanor K. Meltzer

TPP: What the Government Use of Software Provisions Mean

The language of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s ostensible provision on Government Use of Software (Article QQ.H.11) is short and relatively straight-forward. This article examines the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Intellectual Property (IP) Chapter Article QQ.H.11, “Government Use of Software,” now available via WikiLeaks.

TPP and Protection of Encrypted Program-Carrying Satellite and Cable Signals

It is already a criminal act in the United States to intercept and/or decode an encrypted satellite signal. See 18 U.S.C. §2511. Many in the United States may not realize that similar provisions criminalizing interception of an encrypted program-carrying satellite signal are included in Free Trade Agreements already concluded by the U.S., including the North American Free Trade Agreement. With Article QQ.H.9, one might be tempted to read Paragraph 1 as permitting the possession and use of a device which can receive and de-crypt a program-carrying satellite signal (without authorization of the signal’s lawful distributor), although any of the nefarious activities enumerated in Paragraph 1(a) would be criminal. However, Footnote 153 makes clear that receipt and use, or receipt and decoding of the signal are also distinct, criminal activities.