The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Allen v. Cooper, ostensibly to decide the fate of the Copyright Remedies Clarification Act (“CRCA”). The CRCA was enacted in 1990, the first of three laws designed to ensure that states and their instrumentalities, e.g. state universities, would be liable for intellectual property infringement. The Trademark Remedy Clarification Act (“TRCA”) and the Patent and Plant Variety Protection Remedy Clarification Act (“PCA”) were enacted in 1992, but struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board, 527 U.S. 666 (1999) and Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank, 527 U.S. 627 (1999), respectively.
