Biography
Joseph Fishman’s research focuses on intellectual property, particularly as it affects the music industry. His recent scholarship has covered such legal issues as infringing similarity between songs, the role of expert witnesses in music copyright litigation, judges' definition of musical originality, and trademark issues related to sound recordings. He is currently writing a book on how law affects the livelihoods of professional songwriters. He has also written extensively on the law of trade secrecy. His work has appeared in leading academic journals, including the Harvard Law Review, NYU Law Review, and the California Law Review, and he is a regular commentator in major media outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, USA Today, and Billboard.
Professor Fishman joined Vanderbilt’s law faculty in fall 2015 after serving as a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School. He earned his A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard College with a joint major in music and religion, his M.Phil. in musicology from the University of Cambridge, and his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School. After law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Jeffrey R. Howard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and for Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He practiced as an associate at Jenner & Block in the firm's content, media, and entertainment group, where he specialized in litigation involving the music industry, before entering the legal academy.
Programs
Education
J.D., Harvard Law School
M.Phil., University of Cambridge
A.B., Harvard College
Related Resources
Publications
Earning Trade Secrets
"Earning Trade Secrets," 109 Cornell Law Review (forthcoming 2024) (with Deepa Varadarajan)
FULL TEXT: SSRNAuthoring Prior Art
“Authoring Prior Art, 75 Vanderbilt Law Review 1159 (2022) (with Kristelia Garcia)
FULL TEXT: SSRNConcept and Feel
"Tonal Concept and Feel," 38 Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 655 (2021) (invited symposium contribution)
FULL TEXT: SSRNOriginality's Other Path
"Originality's Other Path," 109 California Law Review 861 (2021)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Future of Music Trademarks under Dastar,
"The Future of Music Trademarks under Dastar," Chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Music Law and Policy, 2020 (Sean O'Connor, editor)
Derivable Works
"Derivable Works," 67 UCLA Law Review 122 (2020)
FULL TEXT: SSRNSimilar Secrets
“Similar Secrets,” 167 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1051 (2019) (with Deepa Varadarajan)
FULL TEXT: SSRNMusic as a Matter of Law
"Music as a Matter of Law," 131 Harvard Law Review 1861 (2018)
FULL TEXT: SSRNHonest Copying Practices
"Honest Copying Practices," 93 Notre Dame Law Review 267 (2017)
FULL TEXT: SSRNThe Copy Process
"The Copy Process," 91 New York University Law Review 855 (2016)
FULL TEXT: SSRNCreating Around Copyright
"Creating Around Copyright," 128 Harvard Law Review 1333 (2015)
FULL TEXT: SSRNLocating the International Interest in International Cultural Property Disputes
"Locating the International Interest in Intranational Cultural Property Disputes," 35 Yale Journal of International Law 347 (2010)
FULL TEXT: SSRN