Law Commons^™

A New Take On An Old Problem: Employee Misclassification In The Modern Gig-Economy, Jennifer Pinsof

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

For decades, U.S. labor and employment law has used a binary employment classification system, labeling workers as either employees or independent contractors. Employees are granted a variety of legal protections, while independent contractors are not. However, the explosion of the gig-economy—which connects consumers with underutilized resources—has produced a growing number of workers who do not seem to fit into either category. Though far from traditional employees, gig-workers bear little resemblance to independent contractors. Forced to choose, however, most gig-economy companies label their workers as independent contractors, depriving them of many basic worker-protections. Gig-workers have turned to the courts, hoping to …

Uncle Sam Is Watching You: A Recommendation For Minnesota Legislation Regarding Police Drone Use, Joe R. Paquette

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taxation By Condition: Spectrum Repurposing At The Fcc And The Prolonging Of Spectrum Exhaust, T. Randolph Beard, George S. Ford, Lawrence J. Spiwak, Michael Stern

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

In this article, we show how the Federal Communications Commission’s regulatory process may be used by special interests (and the Agency) to impede the efficient functioning of a secondary market for commercial spectrum. In particular, we show that imposing (and threatening to impose) significant conditions when firms seek to repurpose spectrum from a low-value to a highervalue use acts as a “tax” and thus reduces the incentives of firms to exchange spectrum in the secondary market. As a result, “taxation by condition” will discourage the larger scale transactions necessary to resolve the acknowledged spectrum shortages in the commercial mobile wireless …

You Can Dance If You Want To? Initial Interpretations Of The Bpcia’S Patent Dance With Sandoz And Amgen, Jenny M. Alsup

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

As patents covering brand-name biologics begin to expire, biosimilar manufacturers are preparing to enter the market. Since its enactment in 2010, many have speculated on how the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act will influence competition and innovation, and whether the provisions struck the right balance. Now for the first time, the judiciary is interpreting the so-called “patent dance,” the Act’s information exchange and litigation provisions, in decisions that will impact the biosimilar landscape in the years to come. Two cases involving the biologic manufacturers Sandoz and Amgen illustrate the Act’s susceptibility to different interpretations.

The Standard Of Review For Claim Construction In Inter Partes Review, Alana Canfield Mannigé

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) hears appeals from the United States Patent & Trademark Office (PTO). Recently, the American Invents Act expanded the PTO’s power in the patent world by creating new types of proceedings, including Inter Partes Review (IPR), by which one may challenge the validity of a patent. To determine the validity of patent claims in IPR proceedings, the PTO must first perform claim construction. As an administrative agency, the decisions of the PTO (such as claim construction) should be accorded significant deference by way of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). In the …

The Fcc And The “Pre-Internet”, John Blevins

Indiana Law Journal

Network neutrality has dominated broadband policy debates for the past decade. While important, network neutrality overshadows other policy levers that are equally important to the goals of better, cheaper, and more open broadband service. This lack of perspective has historical precedent—and understanding this history can help refocus today’s policy debate. In the 1960s and 1970s, telephone companies threatened the growth of the nascent data industry. The FCC responded with a series of rulemakings known as the “Computer Inquiries” proceedings. In the literature, Computer Inquiries enjoys hallowed status as a key foundation of the Internet’s rise.

This Article, however, argues that …

Surrogacy And Citizenship: A Conjunctive Solution To A Global Problem, Caitlin Pyrce

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

People around the world are turning to surrogacy when they are unable to conceive by traditional means. When surrogacy turns traditional notions of parentage upside down, however, countries struggle to find efficient regulations that protect their own citizens, while still recognizing the increasingly global nature of modern society. Children born through surrogacy arrangements between Thai surrogate mothers and Australian intended parents have been confronted with the consequences of inadequate regulation. This note argues that in addition to revising surrogacy legislation to reflect the increasingly transient nature of society, countries must make mirror citizenship reform so children born through surrogacy are …

Broadbad, The States, And Section 706: Regulatory Federalism In The Open Internet Era, Charles M. Davidson, Michael J. Santorelli

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

The relationship between federal and state regulators in the U.S. telecommunications space has long been fraught with tension regarding the boundaries of regulatory authority over communications services of all kinds. Unlike with basic services like traditional telephony, however, Congress expressed a clear preference for leaving advanced services like broadband “unfettered” by both state and federal regulation, a preference that for many years was taken literally by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), resulting in a

minimalist approach that prevailed for more than a decade. Though incredibly successful when measured by a range of metrics, federal regulators recently elected to dramatically alter …

University Ip: The University As Coordinator Of The Team Production Process, Samuel Estreicher, Kristina A. Yost

Indiana Law Journal

This Article focuses on intellectual property (IP) issues in the university setting. Often, universities require faculty who have been hired in whole or in part to invent to assign inventions created within the scope of their employment to the university. In addition, the most effective way to secure compliance with the Bayh-Dole Act, which deals with ownership of inventions involving federally funded research, is for the university to take title to such inventions. Failure to specify who has title can result in title passing to the government. Once the university asserts ownership, it then decides whether to process a patent …

No Need To Reinvent The Wheel: Why Existing Liability Law Does Not Need To Be Preemptively Altered To Cope With The Debut Of The Driverless Car, Jeremy Levy

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

First, in part I, this article seeks to explore the background of driverless vehicles, including their history, the technology involved, and general issues and potential problems that may arise from these vehicles entering the market. In part II, the article will discuss existing regulations already in place for autonomous driverless vehicles in both state and federal law. Part III will examine two proposals, those for additional laws, or for the adaptation of existing laws to create new liability schemes, and how most of these proposals are either inadequate or overbroad. Part IV will examine liability waiver for accidents, strict liability …

Is Copyright Evolving Or Mutating? What American Broadcasting Cos. V. Aereo, Inc. Says About U.S. Copyright Law In The Twenty-First Century, Allison Davenport

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

In this article, I will look in-depth at the case of American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc. (Aereo). Aereo centers on an alleged infringement of American Broadcasting Company's (ABC)'s public performance right that was achieved through a complicated technological process meant to circumvent the law. In its opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States tries to stretch the language of the Copyright Act to apply to new technology by analogizing it with more familiar processes, while the dissent calls for reform to come from Congress, not the courts. Before my discussion of the Aereo decision, I will discuss the …

Prosecuting Online Threats After Elonis, Michael Pierce

Northwestern University Law Review

In Elonis v. United States, decided last term, the Supreme Court vacated a conviction for online threats on the ground that the lower court erred in its instructions to the jury regarding mens rea. In doing so, however, the Court declined to articulate which mens rea standard would have sustained a conviction. It is thus currently uncertain which mens rea the government must prove when prosecuting online threats under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The Elonis Court discussed three potential mens rea standards; as universal standards for online threats, each leaves something to be desired. Fortunately, federal courts need not …

An Alternate Functionality Reality, Harold R. Weinberg

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

The Supreme Court last addressed trade dress law’s functionality doctrine in TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. decided in 2001. This article applies content analysis to data from post-TrafFix functionality cases to provide insights concerning the functionality doctrine. It emphasizes data from cases concerning motions for summary judgment and preliminary injunction. The analysis employs two conceptual constructs: a “useful/aesthetic continuum” and “mixed-character” design features. The article also considers data in light of a “two-bar mandate” and two principles: “useful-scarcity” and “aesthetic-abundance.” It concludes with observations concerning the post-TrafFix functionality doctrine and suggestions for improving its judicial …

Confusion Codified: Why Trademark Remedies Make No Sense, Mark A. Thurmon

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Weather Modification: A Modest Proposal, Lawrence A. Weirs

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

3d-Printed Food, Jasper L. Tran

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Inheritance Rights Of Posthumously Conceived Children: A Plan For Nevada, Cassandra M. Ramey

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Protecting Privacy In Open Data And Proactive Disclosure, Teresa Scassa, Amy Conroy

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this paper, the authors explore strategies for balancing privacy with transparency in the release of government data and information as part of the growing global open government movement. The issue is important because government data or information may take many forms, may contain many different types of personal information, and may be released in a range of contexts. The legal framework is complex: personal information is typically not released as open data or under access to information regimes; nevertheless, in some cases transparency requirements take precedence over the protection of personal information. The open courts principle, for example, places …

Electronic Devices At The Border: The Next Frontier Of Canadian Search And Seizure Law?, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Over the last several years the Supreme Court of Canada has developed its jurisprudence regarding the search and seizure of electronic devices, applying section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in such a way as to assert and protect a significant amount of privacy in the devices and their data. Recent cases regarding the search of devices at Canada’s borders, however, do not reflect this case law. This is a situation made all the more complex by the generally attenuated expectation of privacy in the border context, and is worthy of inquiry.

Using a pending border case …

Aereo Dynamics: "User Rights" And The Future Of Internet Retransmission In Canada, Pradeepan K. Sarma

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

2014’s U.S. Supreme Court decision Aereo made waves in the entertainment and technology industry when it ruled in favour of a coterie of cable companies against an upstart start-up, Aereo Inc., retransmitting broadcast television over the internet. Little attention, however, has been paid to its ramifications to the Canadian broadcasting regime, with its vastly different regulatory scheme and an underlying objective to promote the dissemination of Canadian content. Complicating matters further is the 2012 Canadian Supreme Court decision Cogeco, where the retransmission of broadcast signals had been re-articulated as a ’user right’. This paper uses the Aereo decision as a …

Review Essay: Sara M. Smyth, Cybercrime In Canadian Criminal Law, 2nd Edition (Toronton: Carswell, 2015), Christopher D. Ram

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Dr. Smyth’s book is ambitious in its scope, seeking to trace the criminology and evolution of information technologies and cybercrime as the basis of current Canadian legislation and jurisprudence. It is intended as a concise student reference text or resource for those who are new to the subject area, studying in criminology and other areas, as opposed to law. A list of concepts and issues for discussion appears at the conclusion of each chapter and there is a glossary of technical (but not legal) terms at the end of the book. It takes a neutral and professorial approach, seeking to …

The Right To Repair Doctrine And The Use Of 3d Printing Technology In Canadian Patent Law, Tesh W. Dagne, Gosia Piasecka

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

3D printing technology is part of a new economic movement, termed the sharing economy, where consumers rely less on large corporations for supplying them with products. The technology allows consumers to bypass the traditional manufacturing process. Instead, consumers increasingly share and sell products to each other on online sharing platforms. Consumers can download digital copies of products and print them in the convenience of their homes. In addition, they can repair and modify these products to suit their needs. Canadian patent law permits the repair of a patent-protected item but prohibits its reconstruction. However, the line between repair and reconstruction …

Generic Pharmaceuticals And The "Unfortunate Hand" Dealt To Harmed Consumers: The Emerging State Court Resistance, Arlen W. Langvardt

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Possession Is 99% Of The Law: 3d Printing, Public Domain Cultural Artifacts And Copyright, Charles Cronin

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

3d Printers, Physical Viruses, And The Regulation Of Cloud Supercomputing In The Era Of Limitless Design, Peter Jensen-Haxel

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Remarks On 3d Printing, Free Speech, And Lochner, Kyle Langvardt

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Guns, Limbs, And Toys: What Future For 3d Printing?, Adam D. Thierer, Adam Marcus

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property And Additive Manufacturing / 3d Printing: Strategies And Challenges Of Applying Traditional Ip Laws To A Transformative Technology, Bryan J. Vogel

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

It Stands To Reason: An Argument For Article Iii Standing Based On The Threat Of Future Harm In Data Breach Litigation, John Biglow

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Decline Of Dosage Regimen Patents In Light Of Emerging Next-Generation Dna Sequencing Technology And Possible Strategic Responses, Na An

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.