Led Zeppelin just won a major copyright case defending against infringement claims from the estate of Randy California—songwriter for the band Spirit. At first listen, the opening guitar part of Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven does sound a lot like California’s guitar part in the middle of Taurus. But as I explain in a longer blog … Continue reading “No Stairway (Infringement) and the Importance of Shared Design Tools in Innovation”
Author: Sean O'Connor
Sean O’Connor is the Boeing International Professor at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle. His research focuses on intellectual property and business law, especially in the context of start-ups and commercializing innovation in technology and arts. Professor O’Connor received his law degree from Stanford Law School, a master’s degree in philosophy from Arizona State University, and a bachelor’s degree in history from University of Massachusetts. Before graduate school he was a singer-songwriter and rock band front man with two self-released albums that received local airplay in the Northeast. He is currently working on Method+ology and the Means of Innovation forthcoming by Oxford University Press.