Dennis S. Karjala

Dennis S. Karjala (December 19, 1939 – April 26, 2017) was an American intellectual property law professor at Arizona State University. His major interests in teaching and research were primarily in the area of intellectual property, specifically in copyright and its applications in digital technologies. His work in the field of intellectual property was internationally recognized and complemented by his ease in speaking and writing in Japanese.

Karjala, who began working at Arizona State University in 1978, taught international copyright and intellectual property in cyberspace. However, for a long time he worked and wrote articles in the areas of security, corporate rights, federal (personal and corporate) taxation and business planning.

Karjala owns a website called "Opposing Copyright Extension" where he talks about the CTEA, expresses his opinion on the subject and disseminates materials on the law and copyright terms policies. On the website itself, he mentions that it was created in the hope that when this topic comes up again, those who seek to defend the public interest have more ammunition for it. Karjala also thanks Harvard University professor Lawrence Lessig for his dedicated efforts. According to Karjala, Lessig provided an immeasurable amount of his time, money and talent in favor of the cause and that, no matter how they did not succeed, the struggle was important to present the problem to the public. Referring to the CTEA, Karjala said that "there was not a single argument that could be maintained after any kind of reasonable analysis." In another citation of the article, he mentions that the people who support the law are precisely those who would benefit directly if it were approved, i.e., copyrights of old works that were about to expire.

Personal life He was married to Katarina Karjala and had three children. Karjala was fluent in Japanese, and also familiar with German, French and Slovak.

Books "Human Genome Initiative" (Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology, Arizona State University 1992). Seminar on American Securities Law (Sho¯ji Ho'mu Kenkyu¯kai 1991). Dennis S. Karjala & K. Sugiyama, "Japan U.S. Computer Copyright Law" (Nihon Hyo, Inc., 1989). "Cases and Materials for Computers and the Law" (Arizona State University College of Law 1984).

Contribution to books Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation: A Handbook of Best Practices (, MIHR-USA, 2007). "Functionality as the Distinction Between Patent and Copyright Subject Matter" (227 Lorrie Cranor & Steven Wildman eds., MIT Press 2003). "Federal Tax Aspects of Separation and Divorce" (3d ed Michie 1998). The Term of Copyright in Growing Pains: Adapting Copyright to Libraries, Education and Society Laura N. Gasaway ed., Fred B. Rothman & Company 1997. "The Future of Copyright in the Digital Age" (H. Herrmann ed., Walter de Gruyter 1996). Recent Developments in the Copyright Protection of Computer Software in the United States and Japan, 909, (H.G. Leser & T. Isomura, eds., Duncker & Humblot 1992). Intellectual Property Rights in Japan and the Protection of Computer Software (F. W. Rushing & C. G. Brown eds., Westview Press 1990). Federal Tax Aspects of Separation and Divorce (Michie 1986). The board of directors in English and American Companies through 1920 (N. Horn & J. Kocka eds., Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht 1979).

Recent articles "Sustainability and Intellectual Property Rights in Traditional Knowledge," 53 Jurimetrics J. 57 (2012). "Intellectual Property Rights Within the University: The Lithuanian and U.S. Examples", Dennis Karjala & Mindaugas Kiskis, 1 Intellectual Economics 65 (2011). "Protecting Innovation in Computer Software, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology", 16 Va. J. L. Tech. 42 (2011). "Access to Computer Programs Under the DMCA", 25 J. Marshall J. of Comp. & Info. Law 641 (2009). "Copyright and Creativity" , 15 U.C.L.A. Ent. L. Rev 169 (2008). "Judicial Oversight of Copyright Legislation", 35 N. Ky. L. Rev. 253 (2008). "Does Information Beget Information?", 2007 Duke Law & Tech. Rev. 1 (2007). "Biotech Patents and Indigenous Peoples", 7 Minn. J. L. Sci. & Tech. 483 (2006). "Congestion Externalities as a Basis for Extended Intellectual Property Protection", 94 Geo. L. J. 1065 (2006). Harry Potter, Tanya Grotter, and the Copyright Derivative Work, 38 Ariz. St. L. J. 17 (2006). "Distinguishing Patent and Copyright Subject Matter", 35 Conn. L. Rev. 439 (2003). "Looking Beyond Intellectual Property in Resolving Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indigenous Peoples," Robert K. Paterson & Dennis S. Karjala, 11 Cardozo J. Int'l & Comp. L. 633 (2003). "Judicial Review of Copyright Term Extension Legislation", 36 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 199 (2002). "Digital Copyright", 42 Jurimetrics J. 97 (2001).