Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Thomas A. Ward

CommScope

Welcome to the winter edition of New Matter for 2019. The cover art for this issue shows an advertisement for the opera "The Marriage of Figaro" composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The opera premiered May 1, 1786. Interestingly, the U.S. constitution was signed in September of 1787. In theory, the founding fathers and drafters of the constitution containing the clause of Article I, Section 8, clause 8, which is the foundation of U.S. intellectual property could have seen the opera. They may have had the importance of protecting such works in mind when they drafted the U.S. constitution. In this manner Mozart and other works being created at this time could have had an effect on the drafters of the constitution. This and the many other works created and protected by IP rights since that time show that intellectual property rights created by the constitution was a significant decision.

Thank you to the writers of the articles in this edition. We continue to welcome article submissions in the field of IP from anyone who is interested in writing. Submission guidelines are included at the end of each issue of New Matter. If you would like to propose an article for submission, please email our Acquisitions Editor, Amanda Nye.