Law Commons^™

Checking The Staats: How Long Is Too Long To Give Adequate Public Notice In Broadening Reissue Patent Applications?, David M. Longo Ph.D., Ryan P. O’Quinn Ph.D.

Duke Law & Technology Review

A classic property rights question looms large in the field of patent law: where do the rights of inventors end and the rights of the public begin? The right of inventors to modify the scope of their claimed inventions, even after the patent issues, is in direct tension with the concepts of public notice and the public domain. The Patent Act currently permits broadening of claims so long as a reissue application demonstrating intent to broaden is filed within two years of the original patent issue. Over the years, however, this relatively straightforward statutory provision has sparked numerous disputes over …

Untangling The Web: Exploring Internet Regulation Schemes In Western Democracies, Renee Keen

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment investigates past censorship schemes proposed and implemented by selected democratic administrations, in order to develop an improved framework and accompanying infrastructure that may accomplish the goals that these policies envisioned, but failed to achieve. The difficulty of this undertaking is in developing the intermediate and legally defensible parameters under which a regulation scheme can endure and gain support in a democratic society. The greater difficulty lies in developing a system that can accomplish these objectives in the burgeoning and ever-changing cyber realm. The challenges posed by Internet activity are novel ones, and the legitimacy of the actions taken …

Commercial High Technology Innovations Face Uncertain Future Amid Emerging "Brics" Compulsory Licensing And It Interoperability Frameworks, Lawrence A. Kogan

San Diego International Law Journal

The pathways that lead to the success of cutting-edge technologies are often fraught with risk, difficulty, and uncertainty. These issues are particularly prevalent under a regime involving lengthy time horizons for competent research, development, and commercialization, which may require regulatory approvals. These challenges are known to be endemic to capital-intensive technology development which requires significant follow-on funding, particularly in highly regulated industries such as life sciences (e.g., pharmaceuticals/biotechnology and electronic medical devices ) and clean technology (which may be subdivided into clean or renewable energy generation and clean or renewable energy efficiency technologies and services, the former having more direct …

A Global Panopticon - The Changing Role Of International Organizations In The Information Age, Jennifer Shkabatur

Michigan Journal of International Law

The outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003 and Swine Flu (H1N1) in 2009 captured a great deal of global attention. The swift spread of these diseases wreaked havoc, generated public hysteria, disrupted global trade and travel, and inflicted severe economic losses to countries, corporations, and individuals. Although affected states were required to report to the World Health Organization (WHO) events that may have constituted a public health emergency, many failed to do so. The WHO and the rest of the international community were therefore desperate for accurate, up-to-date information as to the nature of the pandemics, their …

Protecting Anonymous Expression: The Internet's Role In Washington State's Disclosure Laws And The Direct Democracy Process, Karen Cullinane

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note proposes that the Washington State Legislature amend its Public Records Act to exempt from public disclosure personal information legally required to be disclosed by signers of referendum petitions. This Note also proposes that the Washington State Legislature designate an electronic system, to be detailed in its election law, by which referendum petitions can be checked for fraud without violating the right to anonymous expression protected by the First Amendment. Part I describes Washington State's referendum process and the path of Doe v. Reed, the case animating the reform presented in this Note. Part II illustrates how the rise …

"Going Green" The Wrong Way: How Governments Are Unconstitutionally Delegating Their Legislative Powers In Pursuit Of Environmental Sustainability, Brandon L. Boxler

Legislation and Policy Brief

Through either executive or legislative power, state and local governments are rapidly effecting policies that encourage environmental sustainability. Many of these policies have logically targeted buildings and infrastructure, both of which have a significant adverse impact on the environment. In the United States, 38 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions and 67 percent of its electricity usage come from buildings. New laws and policies are attempting to decrease these figures by requiring construction projects to “go green” and implement sustainable building practices. These legal initiatives have the potential to create substantial environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas …

Overcoming The Digital Tsunami In E-Discovery: Is Visual Analysis The Answer?, Victoria L. Lemieux, Jason R. Baron

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

New technologies are generating potentially discoverable evidence in electronic form in ever increasing volumes. As a result, traditional techniques of document search and retrieval in pursuit of electronic discovery in litigation are becoming less viable. One potential new technological solution to the e-discovery search and retrieval challenge is Visual Analysis (VA). VA is a technology that combines the computational power of the computer with graphical representations of large datasets to enable interactive analytic capabilities. This article provides an overview of VA technology and how it is being applied in the analysis of e-mail and other electronic documents in the field …

The Internet And Protection Of Children Online: Time For Change, Jill Scott

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article explores the risks for children online and their privacy, with particular focus on the implications of widespread collection, use and retention of data about them. It touches on international standards and national laws that impact Internet activities and the special risk to children’s privacy in today’s ubiquitous computing environment. This is a complex topic that transcends national boundaries and involves both legal and policy issues confronting governments across the world.

Section I provides a brief outline of the online risks for children arising from the scope of data collection and the regulatory challenges of the Internet as it …

Location-Based Services And Privacy, Teresa Scassa, Anca Sattler

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this paper we begin by describing location-based services, their evolution and their future directions. We then outline privacy issues raised by such services. In Part III we consider how current Canadian data protection laws apply to location-based services, and indicate where such laws fall short of addressing the full range of issues raised by location-based services. Part IV of the paper explores some technological methods to address the privacy challenges raised by location-based services. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations.

Electronic Discovery- Sedona Canada Is Inadequate On Records Management - Here's Sedona Canada In Amended Form, Ken Chasse

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

A paper record can exist without its records system; an electronic record cannot. To use, corrupt, or destroy a paper record, one needs physical access to the records system wherein it is stored. But to use, corrupt, or destroy an electronic record one merely needs electronic access to its records system, from anywhere. Therefore any set of rules or principles for controlling the use of electronic records for any purpose, including electronic discovery, should incorporate the established policies and practices of electronic records management.

As to cost, rules of electronic discovery are needed with which to punish par- ties with …

Tax Implications For Non-Residents Conducting E-Commerce In Canada, Mike Nienhuis

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper focuses on taxation issues faced by non-resident e-commerce companies with no sustained presence in Canada apart from a web site. The tax liability of foreign corporations with a Canadian subsidiary, a physical Canadian office, or Canadian-based employees or agents will not be considered, even though there is substantial overlap in some of the relevant issues. By e-commerce companies we refer broadly to any firms conducting their primary business — whether business- to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) — by means of the internet.

In the first section we outline the framework for Canada’s taxation of non-residents conducting business in …

Institutional Liability In The E-Health Era, James Williams, Craig Kuziemsky

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper examines the jurisprudence on institutional liability for medical er- ror. We argue that the existing jurisprudence relies on assumptions that have been made obsolete by technological advances. In particular, we concentrate on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the health care domain. As we demonstrate, the use of these tools does not merely increase efficiency and support new health care functions; among other effects, ICT can have a profound influence on how health care practitioners make observations, exercise judgment and perform tasks. These tools influence human capabilities (at both the individual and systems level) in …

Prohibiting Medical Method Patents: A Criticism Of The Status Quo, Mark S. Wilke

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Methods of medical treatment are not patentable in Canada. This means that inventions involving the performance of surgery, administration of medicine, or extraction of fluids or tissue for diagnostic tests cannot directly be protected under the current patent regime. However, this prohibition is not an absolute ban. Many medical innovations are patentable, including surgical tools and devices, drugs and other chemical compounds, medical “uses”, diagnostic assays and methods of treat- ing “natural” conditions. The practical reality is that the distinction between what is and what is not patentable is poorly defined. This uncertainty presents a steep challenge for inventors and …

L'Impact D'Internet Sur Les Paradigmes De La Régulation De L'Audiovisuel, Gilles De Saint Exupéry

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Nous nous intéresserons particulièrement à la mutation du paradigme de la régulation de l’audiovisuel classique13 dû à plusieurs facteurs: pour être diffuseur sur les ondes hertzienne il fallait être titulaire d’une licence accordé par l’Etat, sur Internet tout le monde peut l’être à sa guise. Les moyens techniques et financiers ne sont plus une barrière à l’ entrée, le nombre de joueurs qui e ́ tait jusque-là restreint devient, en théorie, incalculable. Le mécanisme de responsabilité mis en place est remis en cause, par la dilution des frontières, l’anonymat, ou l’insolvabilité des diffuseurs. Les modèles d’affaires doivent être revus, le …

Direct-To-Consumer Advertising Of Pharmaceuticals On Television: A Charter Challenge, Elvina C. Chow

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The Supreme Court of Canada has consistently wrestled with the conflict between legislation designed to protect consumers’ health and the constitutional guarantee of the fundamental freedom of expression. This paper investigates the justification for the current regulatory framework for pharmaceutical advertising on television. Aware that the provisions in the FDA are able to withstand Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) scrutiny, several possible policy initiations are nevertheless proposed.

The paper is divided into five separate sections. Having first introduced DTCA of pharmaceuticals on television in Section I, I will now turn to a more comprehensive examination of DTCA in Canada …

Lessons From Bilski, Haewon Chung

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this paper, I will examine how the U.S. and Canadian courts have approached the patentability of intangible inventions and discuss whether any lessons can be learned from the U.S.’s patent dilemma. In section 2, I will review the American jurisprudence on patentability of intangible inventions. In section 3, I will discuss the potential impact Bilski may have on the American jurisprudence. Section 4 will assess the Canadian jurisprudence on patentability of intangible inventions. In section 5, I will discuss the Federal Court of Canada’s decision in Amazon/FCC. I argue that based on recent events in the American jurisprudence, Canadian …

The Classic 25% Rule And The Art Of Intellectual Property Licensing, Robert Goldscheider

Duke Law & Technology Review

Fifty years ago, Robert Goldscheider helped pioneer the use of a methodology known as “the 25% Rule,” a tool for determining reasonable royalties in intellectual property licensing negotiations. The Rule holds that licensees of intellectual property normally deserve the lion’s share of the profit because they usually bear the bulk of the business risk associated with bringing the intellectual property to market. Experts familiar with the art of intellectual property licensing frequently rely on the 25% Rule to rationally determine reasonable royalties in litigation and transactional settings.

The Rule’s prominence has been accompanied by unfortunate misunderstandings about its form and …

Non­–Per Se Treatment Of Buyer Price-Fixing In Intellectual Property Settings, Hillary Greene

Duke Law & Technology Review

The ability of intellectual property owners to earn monopoly rents and the inability of horizontal competitors to price fix legally are two propositions that are often taken as givens. This iBrief challenges the wholesale adoption of either proposition within the context of buyer price-fixing in intellectual property markets. More specifically, it examines antitrust law’s role in protecting patent holders’ rents through its condemnation of otherwise ostensibly efficient buyer price fixing. Using basic economic analysis, this iBrief refines the legal standards applicable at this point of intersection between antitrust and patent law. In particular, the author recommends the limited abandonment of …

Ifit's Reusable Why Not Reuse It? The Reuse Of Single Use Medical Devices, Brian Wilson

Dalhousie Law Journal

The reprocessing and subsequent reuse of medical devices labelled by the manufacturer as 'single-use only' is a cost cutting strategy employed by many healthcare centres. However, attempting to extend the life of a device labelled as 'single-use only' raises a number of unique concerns surrounding the issue of legal liability specifically who should bear responsibility if someone suffers harm as a result of a reprocessed single-use device. Following an overview of the current regulatory environment, the potential tortious liability attaching to those who may be implicated in the reprocessing chain is discussed. Specifically, this paper examines the duty and standard …

What To Do With Daubert: How To Bring Standards Of Reliable Scientific Evidence To The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, Brandon L. Boxler

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Locked-In To Their Decisions: Investigating How The States Govern Revocation Of Advance Directives And How Three States Make Revocation Impossible For People With Locked-In Syndrome, Peter C. Harman

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

Since the late 1970s, most states have enacted laws that allow people to set out their health care preferences in advance directives. Advance directive statutes give people the opportunity to make important health care choices in advance, while they still have the mental acuity to make well-informed decisions. These statutes also allow the declarant to change his or her mind in the future, either by revoking the advance directive or by modifying his or her previously expressed preferences.

However, there is one class of people who still have full mental faculties, but have lost the opportunity to change their minds …

Blackberry's Jam: Research In Motion's Struggle To Protect Smartphone Users' Internet Privacy Highlights Need For Shared Industry Standards, Darren R. Sweetwood

Global Business & Development Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Creating A Plug-In Electric Vehicle Industry Cluster In Michigan: Prospects And Policy Options, Thomas P. Lyon, Russell A. Baruffi Jr.

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

This Article seeks to examine how policy can be used strategically to foster the development of a plug-in electric vehicle ("PEV") industry cluster in Michigan. The tendency for certain industries to localize in particular regions has captured the interest of much economic research and policy discussion in recent years. The trend toward the clustering of new industries has stayed strong despite the acceleration of globalization. Attention to clusters has proven to be an enduring theme in economic development circles for nearly thirty years. Clusters generate synergies that make industrial activity greater than the sum of contributions by individual players. In …

The Case For Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing: Ten Steps Business And Industry Must Take To Optimize Opportunities In The Emerging Clean Energy Economy, Stanley Pruss

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Clean energy policy choices will be critical both for economic vitality within the United States and for international competitiveness in the race to improve clean energy technology and capture emerging markets. With legislative solutions losing momentum, business and industry leaders will be the key drivers in reorienting American policy, discourse, and economics in the clean energy economy. The problem, however, is that many political and business leaders are unaware of the job-creating potential and economic benefits in the clean energy sectors. These benefits could be realized if we made a serious, strategic effort to align our latent strengths in manufacturing …

Information Anxieties, G. S. Hans

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The constant access and instant publication that the Internet allows have given every pundit an online soapbox. This content explosion has created two related problems for consumers and industry: how to find valuable content online (whatever "valuable" means) and how to moderate the flow of the content itself. Tim Wu argues in The Master Switch that the second issue of content control and mediation has been fiercely debated in the United States as far back as the invention of the telephone in the late nineteenth century. Consumers, creators, companies, and government officials have disputed the appropriate regulations for the devices …

Comments On Paul R. Michel's Contributions To Justice, 10 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 279 (2011), James F. Holderman

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Chief Judge Michel's Current And Future Contributions To Improving U.S. Intellectual Property Rights, 10 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 299 (2011), Herbert C. Wamsley

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

You Don’T Own Me: Why Work For Hire Should Not Be Applied To Sound Recordings, 10 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 695 (2011), William Henslee, Elizabeth Henslee

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Many recording artists and songwriters never reap the rewards of their work. America’s first professional songwriter died in poverty at the age of thirty-seven. At the Congressional level the situation has described recording artists as “one group of creators who get ripped off more than anybody else in any other industry”. As we approach 2013, there will be a new line of cases that deal with authors of sound recordings attempting to terminate their copyright assignment to the record companies. While the most efficient and frugal solution would be legislative action, the most probable outcome is expensive, fact-intensive litigation. Congress …

Honey Get My Gun, The Transgenic Seeds Are In The Field Again, 11 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 439 (2011), Christian B. Miller

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The proliferation of genetically modified (“GM”) crops in the United States has dramatically increased in the past two decades. This increase has led to fears of dwindling biodiversity in this country’s staple crops. Consumer health and environmental advocates have attempted to slow the deregulation of such crops through administrative challenges. Such tactics were largely undermined in the 2010 Supreme Court case of Monsanto Co. v. Geertson. Anti-GM groups have subsequently attempted to invalidate patents for GM crops on moral grounds. This comment explores the futility of administrative and moral challenges to GM crop proliferation, and looks ahead to the proper …

Patent Law In The Antitrust Scope: Between Social Advancement And Competition Impingement, 11 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 367 (2011), Yaniv Gal

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

In the past couple of decades, many scholars have debated the worthiness of the limited monopoly that patent law provides. The widespread attitude has always been, since the progress of the technological era, that in order to stimulate inventors and possessors of knowledge to embody their knowledge by innovative products, and produce ameliorations into society, they should be given strong proprietary rights over their innovative information and ideas. With the rise of the economic analysis of law, dissident opinions have been starting to emerge, evoking the social damage absorbed due to the current patent system monopoly character in form of …