Law Commons^™

Blockchain Real Estate And Nfts, Juliet M. Moringiello, Christopher K. Odinet

William & Mary Law Review

Non-fungible tokens (popularly known as NFTs) and blockchains are frequently promoted as the solution to a multitude of property ownership problems. The promise of an immutable blockchain is often touted as a mechanism to resolve disputes over intangible rights, notably intellectual property rights, and even to facilitate quicker and easier real estate transactions.

In this Symposium Article, we question the use of distributed ledger technologies as a method of facilitating and verifying the transfer of physical assets. As our example of an existing transfer method, we use real property law, which is characterized by centuries-old common law rules regarding fractionalized …

The Fourth Amendment And New Technologies: Constitutional Myths And The Case For Caution, Orin S. Kerr

Orin Kerr

To one who values federalism, federal preemption of state law may significantly threaten the autonomy and core regulatory authority of The Supreme Court recently considered whether a1mmg an infrared thermal imaging device at a suspect's home can violate the Fourth Amendment. Kyllo v. United States announced a new and comprehensive rule: the government's warrantless use of senseenhancing technology that is "not in general use" violates the Fourth Amendment when it yields "details of the home that would previously have been unknowable without physical intrusion." Justice Scalia's majority opinion acknowledged that the Court's rule was not needed to resolve the case …

Property Rights In Augmented Reality, Declan T. Conroy

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Increasingly, cities, towns, and even rural communities are being slowly reshaped by a dynamic yet initially imperceptible phenomenon: the elaboration of augmented reality. Through applications that place virtual features over specific, real-world locations, layers of augmented reality are proliferating, adding new elements to an increasingly wide range of places. However, while many welcome the sudden appearance of arenas for battling digital creatures in their neighborhood or the chance to write virtual messages on their neighbor’s wall, the areas being augmented oftentimes are privately owned, thereby implicating property rights. Many intrusions, of course, are de minimis: an isolated, invisible Pikachu unexpectedly …

Appetite For Destruction: Symbolic And Structural Facets Of The Right To Destroy Digital Property, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

No abstract provided.

You Buy It, You Break It: A Comment On Dispersing The Cloud, Aaron Perzanowski

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dispersing The Cloud: Reaffirming The Right To Destroy In A New Era Of Digital Property, Daniel Martin

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Appetite For Destruction: Symbolic And Structural Facets Of The Right To Destroy Digital Property, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Optimal Property Rights For Emerging Natural Resources: A Case Study On Owning Atmospheric Moisture, Jianlin Chen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article critically examines the design of property rights for emerging natural resources—naturally occurring substances that humans have only recently come to be able to exploit viably—through a case study of how the fifty states allocate ownership in, and regulate the use of, atmospheric moisture, an issue that has emerged in the context of weather modification (particularly cloud seeding). Building on the surprising finding that legislative declarations of state ownership have not resulted in greater regulatory control or other substantial restrictions on private use, this Article highlights a dimension of property rights design that has yet to receive concerted scholarly …

International Satellite Piracy: The Unauthorized Interception And Retransmission Of United States Program-Carrying Satellite Signals In The Caribbean, And Legal Protection For United States Program Owners, Judith S. Weinstein

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

For Sale--One Level 5 Barbarian For 94,800 Won: The International Effects Of Virtual Property And The Legality Of Its Ownership, Alisa B. Steinberg

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The End Of The (Virtual) World, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Virtual worlds have been the next big thing for some time now. In 2008, more than 100 public virtual worlds received venture capital funding - a significant increase over previous years. Yet virtual worlds have been going bankrupt faster than ever, including several high-profile firms and worlds. Every technology goes through a shakedown phase, and for virtual worlds the current recession has served as a catalyst for a downturn that, although not unexpected, is nevertheless startling in both numbers and rapidity. This article examines the intimate relationship between how a virtual world begins life and how it ends. The amount …

Beyond Coase: Emerging Technologies And Property Theory, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

In addition to prompting the development of the Coase Theorem, Ronald Coase’s landmark 1959 article on the Federal Communications Commission touched off a revolution in spectrum policy. Although one of Coase’s proposed reforms (that spectrum should be allocated through markets) has now become the conventional wisdom, his other principal recommendation (that governments stop dedicating portions of the spectrum to particular uses) has yet to be fully embraced. Drawing on spectrum as well as Internet traffic and electric power as examples, this Article argues that emerging technologies often reflect qualities that make defining property rights particularly difficult. These include the cumulative …

Slides: Market-Based Stream Flow Restoration And Mitigation, Amanda Cronin

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Amanda Cronin, Washington Water Trust, Seattle, WA

23 slides

The End Of The (Virtual) World, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Scholarly Articles

Virtual worlds have been the next big thing for some time now. In 2008, more than 100 public virtual worlds received venture capital funding - a significant increase over previous years. Yet virtual worlds have been going bankrupt faster than ever, including several high-profile firms and worlds. Every technology goes through a shakedown phase, and for virtual worlds the current recession has served as a catalyst for a downturn that, although not unexpected, is nevertheless startling in both numbers and rapidity.

This article examines the intimate relationship between how a virtual world begins life and how it ends. The amount …

Property Rights In Spectrum: A Reply To Hazlett, Philip J. Weiser, Dale N. Hatfield

Publications

No abstract provided.

Spectrum Policy Reform And The Next Frontier Of Property Rights, Philip J. Weiser, Dale N. Hatfield

Publications

The scarcity of wireless spectrum reflects a costly failure of regulation. In practice, large swaths of spectrum are vastly underused or used for low value activities, but the regulatory system prevents innovative users from gaining access to such spectrum through marketplace transactions. In calling for the propertyzing of swaths of spectrum as a replacement for the current command-and-control system, many scholars have wrongfully assumed the simplicity of how such a regime would work in practice. In short, many scholars suggest that spectrum property rights can easily borrow key principles from trespass law, reasoning that since property rights work well for …

A Decade Of Colorado Supreme Court Water Decisions, 1996-2006: Special Report, Colorado Foundation For Water Education

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Justice Greg Hobbs, Colorado Supreme Court

31 pages.

Includes color illustrations and map

"Acknowledgments: This special report highlights important features of Colorado Supreme Court water decisions handed down between 1996 and 2006. It contains excerpts from opinions authored by Justices Lohr, Vollack, Mullarkey, Kourlis, Hobbs, Martinez, Bender, Rice, Coats and Eid. It is adapted from an article that first appeared in The Water Report (www.thewaterreport.com), February 15, 2007, used with permission."

Historical Evolution And Future Of Natural Resources Law And Policy: The Beginning Of An Argument And Some Modest Predictions, Sally K. Fairfax, Helen Ingram, Leigh Raymond

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

8 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

"Sally Fairfax, UC-Berkeley, Helen Ingram, UC-Irvine, and Leigh Raymond, Purdue University" -- Agenda

The Growing Influence Of Tort And Property Law On Natural Resources Law: Case Studies Of Coal Bed Methane Development And Geologic Carbon Sequestration, Alexandra B. Klass

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

19 pages.

"Alexandra B. Klass, Associate Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School"

The Fourth Amendment And New Technologies: Constitutional Myths And The Case For Caution, Orin S. Kerr

Michigan Law Review

To one who values federalism, federal preemption of state law may significantly threaten the autonomy and core regulatory authority of The Supreme Court recently considered whether a1mmg an infrared thermal imaging device at a suspect's home can violate the Fourth Amendment. Kyllo v. United States announced a new and comprehensive rule: the government's warrantless use of senseenhancing technology that is "not in general use" violates the Fourth Amendment when it yields "details of the home that would previously have been unknowable without physical intrusion." Justice Scalia's majority opinion acknowledged that the Court's rule was not needed to resolve the case …

The New Technology Transfer Block Exemption: Will The New Block Exemption Balance The Goals Of Innovation And Competition?, Maurits Dolmans, Anu Bradford

Faculty Scholarship

Licensors and licensees have long enjoyed the benefit of block exemption regulations for technology licensing. Block exemption regulations were adopted in the mid-80s for patent licensing and know-how licenses. These were combined and replaced in 1996 by a unified Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBE). This block exemption is currently under review.

DG Competition is writing a draft for a new T'BE. It is expected to be ready for review by the member states in September, and to be published for comments in October. The Commission hopes to have the new block exemption adopted and published in the first quarter …

Price Discrimination, Personal Use And Piracy: Copyright Protection Of Digital Works, Michael J. Meurer

Faculty Scholarship

The growth of digital information transmission worries copyright holders who fear the new technology threatens their profits because of greater piracy and widespread sharing of digital works. They have responded with proposals for expanded protection of digital works. Specifically, they seek restrictions on personal use rights regarding digital works provided by the fair use and first sale doctrines. The proposed changes in the allocation of property rights to digital information significantly affect the ability of copyright holders to practice price discrimination. Broader user rights make discrimination more difficult; broader producer rights make discrimination easier. I argue that more price discrimination …

The Legal Framework For Aquifer Issues, Douglas L. Grant

Uncovering the Hidden Resource: Groundwater Law, Hydrology, and Policy in the 1990s (Summer Conference, June 15-17)

20 pages.

Contains references.