Señalando la experiencia singular del acto de leer, este trabajo presenta la obra de un filósofo del derecho y psicoanalista francés: Pierre Legendre. A pesar de que tal proyecto pudiera constituir una empresa tan imposible como irritante, el propósito principal es resaltar un elemento que no suele observarse con frecuencia en la teoría del derecho: un recorrido por los diversos matices del inconsciente jurídico. El trabajo comienza con algunas referencias a su concepción particular del amor y del espectáculo como recursos (...) legales para dominar a los sujetos. Y continúa con algunos espacios sugerentes donde Legendre encuentra la fuerza vinculante en el imaginario de la institución jurídica. (shrink)

Can one reject copyright law and be a qualified observer of its dispositives? This question was taken up by Bertolt Brecht in an intriguing essay concerning the litigation surrounding the film adaptation ofThe Threepenny Opera(1928). Brecht here develops an experimental observation around the nature of film adaptation and cultural production in copyright. While an experimental approach to law was in itself a subversive gesture, the specific legal process enabled him to expose the paradoxical ways in which the copyright system worked.

The third edition of Webster’s International Dictionary, first published in 1961, represented a novel approach to lexicography. It recorded the English language used in everyday life, incorporating colloquial terms that previous grammarians would have considered unfit for any responsible dictionary. Many were scandalized by the new lexicography. Trademark lawyers were not the most prominent of these critics, but the concerns they expressed are significant because they touched on the core structure of the trademark as a form of property in language. (...) In the course of eavesdropping on everyday usage, Merriam-Webster’s lexicographers picked up on the use of trademarks as common nouns: “thermos” as a generic noun for any vacuum flask, “cellophane” as a term for transparent wrapping, and so on. If Webster’s Third were to be taken as sound evidence of the meaning of words, then the danger was that some of the most familiar marks in the USA would be judged “generic” in the legal sense, and would thereby cease to be proprietary. In this article, we explore the implications of this encounter between law and lexicographic technique. (shrink)