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Full-Text Articles in Computer Law

Trademark Infringement: The Likelihood Of Confusion Of Nfts In The Us And Eu, Sara Sachs Dec 2023

Trademark Infringement: The Likelihood Of Confusion Of Nfts In The Us And Eu, Sara Sachs

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The immutability of non-fungible tokens has made it an invaluable tool for asset ownership and authentication across a variety of industries. With the proliferation of NFTs comes the need to protect trademarks and prevent consumer confusion in the digital age. This Note explores the existing legal framework for trademark law in the United States and European Union. This Note argues for a new trademark standard that reflects the interconnected nature of a global digital society.


Rise Of The Machines: The Future Of Intellectual Property Rights In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Sofia Vescovo Dec 2023

Rise Of The Machines: The Future Of Intellectual Property Rights In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Sofia Vescovo

Brooklyn Law Review

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not new to generating outputs considered suitable for intellectual property (IP) protection. However, recent technological advancements have made it possible for AI to transform from a mere tool used to assist in developing IP to the mind behind novel artistic works and inventions. One particular AI, DABUS, has done just so. Yet, while technology has advanced, IP law has not. This note sets out to provide a solution to the legal concerns raised by AI in IP law, specifically in the context of AI authorship and inventorship. The DABUS test case offers a model framework for …


The Common Law Inside Social Media, Anita Bernstein May 2023

The Common Law Inside Social Media, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Standing In The Age Of Data Breaches: A Consumer-Friendly Framework To Pleading Future Injury And Providing Equitable Relief To Data Breach Victims, John E. Mcloughlin Apr 2023

Standing In The Age Of Data Breaches: A Consumer-Friendly Framework To Pleading Future Injury And Providing Equitable Relief To Data Breach Victims, John E. Mcloughlin

Brooklyn Law Review

Data breaches have rapidly increased in volume in the United States since the beginning of the twenty-first century. As entities across the United States have increasingly stored personally identifiable information (PII) in online databases, cybercriminals have developed tools to steal and sell stolen PII. This note explores the devastating consequences felt by data breach victims and the uphill battles victims often face in finding legal remedies. Although data breach victims may be at risk of identity theft, they are often barred from taking legal action against the entity that breached their data due to the “injury in fact” requirement under …


The "Worst Law In Technology": How The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act Allows Big Businesses To Collect And Sell Your Personal Information, Alicia Nakhjavan Apr 2022

The "Worst Law In Technology": How The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act Allows Big Businesses To Collect And Sell Your Personal Information, Alicia Nakhjavan

Brooklyn Law Review

For years, big businesses have been collecting and selling users’ personal information without permission. In attempts at preventing this practice, users have brought civil actions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), alleging a loss of personal privacy. As currently enacted, “personal privacy” is not included in the statutory definition of loss. Further, courts have been reluctant to interpret the CFAA broadly to cover loss of personal privacy claims. This note proposes that an amendment to the CFAA is necessary to close this gap in the statute’s coverage and better protect users’ right to privacy.


The Promised Land: Blockchain And The Fashion Industry, Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, Grace Monroy Feb 2022

The Promised Land: Blockchain And The Fashion Industry, Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid, Grace Monroy

Brooklyn Law Review

Despite being a highly creative industry, the fashion industry lacks effective intellectual property (IP) protection in the United States. This article posits that, in the midst of the digital era, blockchain technology, particularly smart contracts, can remedy the failure of IP laws to protect fashion designs and create efficiencies that may dramatically improve the industry. Therefore, if the fashion industry were to adopt a blockchain-based platform, enabled by smart contracts, it could address many of the current challenges stemming from a lack of sufficient IP protection. This article explores the features of blockchain technology, including NFTS, and the application to …


From The Golden Gate To London: Bridging The Gap Between Data Privacy And The Right Of Publicity, Kristin Kuraishi Dec 2021

From The Golden Gate To London: Bridging The Gap Between Data Privacy And The Right Of Publicity, Kristin Kuraishi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Currently, there is no global standard or recognition for the right of publicity. Even within the United States, the recognition, scope, and protections vary by state. As the world becomes increasingly reliant on social media for news, information, communication, and recommendations, micro-influencers and non-celebrities require a way to control their developed and curated name, image, and likeness from unauthorized commercial uses by others. Advertising is occurring more frequently online, and brands recognize the power that micro-influencers have on commerce. Some countries, like the United Kingdom, do not recognize the right of publicity, potentially leaving many individuals without recourse for the …


Ai In Adjudication And Administration, Cary Coglianese, Lavi M. Ben-Dor Dec 2021

Ai In Adjudication And Administration, Cary Coglianese, Lavi M. Ben-Dor

Brooklyn Law Review

The use of artificial intelligence has expanded rapidly in recent years across many aspects of the economy. For federal, state, and local governments in the United States, interest in artificial intelligence has manifested in the use of a series of digital tools, including the occasional deployment of machine learning, to aid in the performance of a variety of governmental functions. In this Article, we canvass the current uses of such digital tools and machine-learning technologies by the judiciary and administrative agencies in the United States. Although we have yet to see fully automated decision-making find its way into either adjudication …


Digital Privacy Rights And Cloud Act Agreements, Tim Cochrane Dec 2021

Digital Privacy Rights And Cloud Act Agreements, Tim Cochrane

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) will soon bring into force a new international law enforcement data sharing ‘CLOUD Act agreement’ (US-UK Agreement), the first of its kind under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act 2018 (CLOUD Act). These agreements enable law enforcement in one state to directly request data from service providers based in the other state. They respond to long-standing concerns with the main mechanism for obtaining overseas data, mutual legal assistance (MLA). The US and UK claim the US-UK Agreement will significantly speed up data access relative to MLA while “respecting privacy and …


Prosecuting The Phone Scammer When Extradition Fails And Concurrent Jurisdiction Exists, Michelle Lepkofker Dec 2021

Prosecuting The Phone Scammer When Extradition Fails And Concurrent Jurisdiction Exists, Michelle Lepkofker

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Advancements in technology allow people to place phone calls half a world away via the internet. This technology has made it easier and cheaper for consumers to communicate, but it has also made it easier for scammers to reach more unsuspecting victims. In 2020, TrueCaller, an app designed to block scam phone calls, successfully blocked, and identified 31.3 billion spam calls in 20 countries. In the same year, Americans alone lost a total of USD $ 29.8 billion to scam calls. This Note argues that phone scams continue to be lucrative, in part, because criminal prosecutions of transnational crimes are …


Data Governance And The Elasticity Of Sovereignty, Roxana Vatanparast Dec 2020

Data Governance And The Elasticity Of Sovereignty, Roxana Vatanparast

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Traditionally, the world map and territorially bounded spaces have dominated the ways in which we imagine how states govern, make laws, and exercise their authority. Under this conception, reflected in traditional international law principles of territorial sovereignty, each state would have exclusive authority to govern and make laws over everything concerning the land within its borders. Yet developments like the proliferation of data flows, which are based on divisible, mobile, and interconnected components of data, are not territorially bounded. This presents a challenge to the traditional bases for territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction under international law, which some scholars claim is …


Easing The Burdens Of A Patchwork Approach To Data Privacy Regulation In Favor Of A Singular Comprehensive International Solution—The International Data Privacy Agreement, Scott Resnick Dec 2020

Easing The Burdens Of A Patchwork Approach To Data Privacy Regulation In Favor Of A Singular Comprehensive International Solution—The International Data Privacy Agreement, Scott Resnick

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Data privacy has become one of the premier hot-button issues in today’s increasingly digital human experience. Legislatures around the globe have attempted to act swiftly in an effort to safeguard the highly coveted personal information of their citizens and combat misuse at the hands of international businesses operating with an online presence. Since the European Union’s enactment of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, countries around the globe have been grappling with how best to replicate the EU’s leading data privacy regulation while providing the same or greater level of transparency into data collection practices. While a mere …


Debugging Irs Notice 2014-21: Creating A Viable Cryptocurrency Taxation Plan, Alex Ankier Jun 2020

Debugging Irs Notice 2014-21: Creating A Viable Cryptocurrency Taxation Plan, Alex Ankier

Brooklyn Law Review

In 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2014-21 in an attempt to address issues with cryptocurrency taxation, essentially reaching the conclusion that cryptocurrency must be treated like property for purposes of taxation. In the time since the IRS pronouncement, several academics have called for an alternative treatment known as “currency treatment.” Each treatment inadequately addresses the comprehensive issues surrounding cryptocurrency because they offer wholesale treatment to nuanced issues with valid concerns from each side. To truly allow this emerging industry to flourish and gain societal acceptance, artful policymaking is required. This note provides an example of such policymaking. …


The Abraham L. Pomerantz Lecture: Investor Protection In The Digital Age, Kara M. Stein Jun 2020

The Abraham L. Pomerantz Lecture: Investor Protection In The Digital Age, Kara M. Stein

Brooklyn Law Review

On September 24, 2019, Kara M. Stein delivered the following keynote address at the 17th annual Abraham L. Pomerantz Lecture at Brooklyn Law School. The Pomerantz Lecture is sponsored by the Brooklyn Law Review and the Center for the Study of Business Law and Regulation at Brooklyn Law School. Kara M. Stein served as Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from August 9, 2013 until January 2, 2019. Commissioner Stein was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate.


The Criminal, Regulatory, And Civil Issues Surrounding Intellectual Property And Cybersecurity, Ernest Edward Badway, Christie Mcguinness Jun 2020

The Criminal, Regulatory, And Civil Issues Surrounding Intellectual Property And Cybersecurity, Ernest Edward Badway, Christie Mcguinness

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Cyber-attacks have affected all organizations and individual consumers. Dissemination of relevant information and attention to strong information security practices is an important tool in fighting this cyber “pandemic.” Additionally, the legal and regulatory liability companies face from cyber-attacks as well as general strategies and practical solutions companies may implement to protect against cyber-intrusions and respond effectively in the event of an attack are considered. There are many iterations of cyber-crime, and we address the various methods cybercriminals use and the many ways cyber-attacks can take place, as well as the entities and victims affected. Moreover, the legal liability and regulatory …


Saving Small Business From The Big Impact Of Data Breach: A Tiered Federal Approach To Data Protection Law, Nadia Udeshi Jun 2020

Saving Small Business From The Big Impact Of Data Breach: A Tiered Federal Approach To Data Protection Law, Nadia Udeshi

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Small businesses provide a significant positive impact on the American economy. However, the current fragmented federal and state data protection and breach notification legal scheme puts the viability of small businesses at risk. While the probability of data breaches occurring continues to increase, small businesses lack the financial and technological resources to contend with the various state and federal laws that impose different monetary penalties and remedial requirements in the event of such breaches. To preserve the viability of small businesses, Congress should enact a centralized, multi-tiered federal data protection and breach notification framework that preempts state laws, imposes minimum …


The Common Law Of Cyber Trespass, Michael J. O'Connor Apr 2020

The Common Law Of Cyber Trespass, Michael J. O'Connor

Brooklyn Law Review

Right now, if executives in California and Virginia each bribe a competitor’s disloyal employee to steal a trade secret from the competitor’s servers, under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Government can charge one executive but not the other. Courts decide these cases differently due to the widening circuit split over the CFAA term “without authorization.” Neither the Supreme Court nor Congress has shown interest in resolving the split over authorization. Even more concerning is the suggestion that they can’t resolve it; the statute addresses too many potential scenarios for a single definition to end all debate. …


Increasing Lapses In Data Security: The Need For A Common Answer To What Constitutes Standing In A Data Breach Context, Aaron Benjamin Edelman Dec 2019

Increasing Lapses In Data Security: The Need For A Common Answer To What Constitutes Standing In A Data Breach Context, Aaron Benjamin Edelman

Journal of Law and Policy

As the number of data breaches continues to rise in the United States, so does the amount of data breach litigation. Many potential plaintiffs who suffered as victims of data breaches, however, find themselves in limbo regarding the issue of standing before a court because of a significant split on standing determinations amongst the federal circuit courts. Thus, while victims of data breaches oftentimes have their personal information fall into the hands of nefarious characters who intend to use the information to a victim’s detriment, that may not be enough to provide victims a right to sue in federal court …


The Need For A Shared Responsibility Regime Between State And Non-State Actors To Prevent Human Rights Violations Caused By Cyber-Surveillance Spyware, Anna W. Chan Jul 2019

The Need For A Shared Responsibility Regime Between State And Non-State Actors To Prevent Human Rights Violations Caused By Cyber-Surveillance Spyware, Anna W. Chan

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Technology has undoubtedly contributed to the field of human rights. Internet connection and a smartphone has enabled activists to call out political leaders, shine light on human atrocities and organize mass protests through social media platforms. This has resulted in many authoritarian governments spending large amounts of their resources to purchase cyber-surveillance spyware systems from multi-national corporations to closely monitor and track their citizens for any signs of dissidence. Such technology has enabled authoritarian regimes to commit human right violations ranging from invasion of privacy, arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention, torture and even murder. Despite the uncovering of such questionable transactions …


Comparative Analysis Of The Eu’S Gdpr And Brazil’S Lgpd: Enforcement Challenges With The Lgpd, Abigayle Erickson Jul 2019

Comparative Analysis Of The Eu’S Gdpr And Brazil’S Lgpd: Enforcement Challenges With The Lgpd, Abigayle Erickson

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In the wake of the adoption of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, other countries and jurisdictions have contemplated personal data privacy legislation. In August 2018, the former president of Brazil, Michel Temer, signed the country’s comprehensive data privacy regulation, Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais (LGPD), into law. Temer, however, vetoed many of the enforcement provisions. Shortly before leaving office, Temer signed an executive order creating a regulatory agency as the bill initially called for, but situated the agency under executive control instead of creating a wholly independent agency. This Note provides a …


Playing Fair: Youtube, Nintendo, And The Lost Balance Of Online Fair Use, Natalie Marfo May 2019

Playing Fair: Youtube, Nintendo, And The Lost Balance Of Online Fair Use, Natalie Marfo

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Over the past decade, YouTube saw an upsurge in the popularity of “Let’s Play” videos. While positive for YouTube, this uptick was not without controversy. Let’s Play videos use unlicensed copyrighted materials, frustrating copyright holders. YouTube attempted to curb such usages by demonetizing and removing thousands of Let’s Play videos. Let’s Play creators struck back, arguing that the fair use doctrine protects their works. An increasing number of powerful companies, like Nintendo, began exploiting the ambiguity of the fair use doctrine against the genre; forcing potentially legal works to request permission and payment for Let’s Play videos, without a determination …


On The Clock, Best Bet To Draft Cyberdefensive Linemen: Federal Regulation Of Sports Betting From A Cybersecurity Perspective, William H. Williams May 2019

On The Clock, Best Bet To Draft Cyberdefensive Linemen: Federal Regulation Of Sports Betting From A Cybersecurity Perspective, William H. Williams

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

On May 14, 2018, Justice Alito delivered the majority opinion for the United States Supreme Court in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Professional and Amateur Protection Act (PASPA), a twenty-six-year-old federal statute, was deemed unconstitutional; thus, this decision allows state legislatures to legalize sports betting within their borders. With many states independently legalizing sports gambling, the regulatory landscape throughout the country is becoming a patchwork of state statutes. Additionally, top tier sporting organizations heavily depend on data analytics to formulate game plan strategy, train efficiently, rehab player injuries, gauge team and player performance, etc. The popularity of …


Better Left Forgotten: An Argument Against Treating Some Social Media And Digital Assets As Inheritance In An Era Of Platform Power, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy, Ronit Donyets-Kedar May 2019

Better Left Forgotten: An Argument Against Treating Some Social Media And Digital Assets As Inheritance In An Era Of Platform Power, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy, Ronit Donyets-Kedar

Brooklyn Law Review

Restraining technological platforms’ power has become one of the main concerns of our era. The control over cyberspace and data ownership are among the key issues addressed in the literature. Yet, the ongoing vigorous debate surrounding the inheritance of digital assets remains surprisingly oblivious of the platform’s involvement in shaping memory and continuity. Current legal scholarship and legislation ask whether social network profiles are inheritable property; they balance the user’s privacy and wishes against family members’ interests, without addressing or even considering the corporate power at play. This article argues that we are constantly asking the wrong questions. Instead of …


Remnants Of Net Neutrality: Policing Unlawful Content Through Broadband Providers, Aaron Lerman Jun 2018

Remnants Of Net Neutrality: Policing Unlawful Content Through Broadband Providers, Aaron Lerman

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The 2015 Open Internet Order, released by The Federal Communication Commission (FCC), introduced sweeping, new rules that promised to preserve an equal and open Internet to consumers. These rules, otherwise known as “Net Neutrality,” prohibited broadband and internet service providers from impairing, blocking, or throttling access to “lawful content” online. But with a new administration and agenda, the FCC’s 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order repealed Net Neutrality. Since then, various states have pushed back against the repeal, with some adopting their own versions of the 2015 Open Internet Order’s Net Neutrality, keeping most of the rule language intact, including the …


The Race Is On! Regulating Self-Driving Vehicles Before They Hit The Streets, Jack Liechtung Jun 2018

The Race Is On! Regulating Self-Driving Vehicles Before They Hit The Streets, Jack Liechtung

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

As the world braces itself for the unveiling of autonomous vehicles, the idea of regulation and oversight has gone largely undetected. Though some states have already begun enacting legislation ahead of the technology’s wide release, the regulatory landscape across the country is in disarray. It is imperative that both manufacturers and consumers be given some sort of uniform understanding as to how the automation is overseen throughout the manufacturing process and how liability will be levied in the case of inevitable mistakes on our nation’s roadways. This Note proposes that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration be responsible for providing …


Clicks And Tricks: How Computer Hackers Avoid 10b-5 Liability, Ryan H. Gilinson Jan 2017

Clicks And Tricks: How Computer Hackers Avoid 10b-5 Liability, Ryan H. Gilinson

Brooklyn Law Review

This note argues that computer hackers who sell inside information instead of trading on it themselves, referred to in the note as hacker-sellers, avoid liability under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5. Rule 10b-5 criminalizes the use of a manipulative or deceptive device “in connection with the purchase or sale of any security.” Hacker-sellers fall outside the scope of this rule for two reasons. First, the type of hacking employed by hacker-sellers is not always “deceptive,” and only the forms of hacking which deceive the computer into thinking an authorized user is seeking access are …


Cannibal Cop Out: The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act, Lenity, Quasi-Strict Liability, Draconian Punishment And A Surgical Solution, Charles S. Wood Jan 2017

Cannibal Cop Out: The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act, Lenity, Quasi-Strict Liability, Draconian Punishment And A Surgical Solution, Charles S. Wood

Brooklyn Law Review

The Second Circuit has recently joined in a longstanding circuit split regarding the interpretation of the phrase “exceeds authorized access” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The split centers around whether an otherwise authorized computer user who violates usage restrictions has exceeded authorized access. In United States v. Valle, the Second Circuit answered the question in the negative. Upon finding the phrase to be ambiguous, the Second Circuit invoked lenity, and therefore narrowly construed their interpretation in the defendant’s favor. This note argues that the Second Circuit was correct to apply lenity as the plain meaning of the …


Preserving Human Agency In Automated Compliance, Onnig H. Dombalagian Dec 2016

Preserving Human Agency In Automated Compliance, Onnig H. Dombalagian

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

As technology transforms financial services, so too must it transform the regulation of financial markets and intermediaries. The imperative of real-time, prophylactic regulation increasingly compels reallocation of regulatory and compliance budgets to surveillance and enforcement technology. At the same time, in light of the well-known weaknesses of automated systems, securities firms (and their regulators) must temper investment in automation with efforts to augment the agency of compliance professionals. This symposium contribution considers how investment in the professional development of compliance personnel can better integrate automated tools within established compliance and supervisory structures and thereby advance regulatory and operational objectives.


The Question Concerning Technology In Compliance, Sean J. Griffith Dec 2016

The Question Concerning Technology In Compliance, Sean J. Griffith

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In this symposium Essay, I apply insights from philosophy and psychology to argue that modes of achieving compliance that focus on technology undermine, and are undermined by, modes of achieving compliance that focus on culture. Insisting on both may mean succeeding at neither. How an organization resolves this apparent contradiction in program design, like the broader question of optimal corporate governance arrangements, is highly idiosyncratic. Firms should therefore be accorded maximum freedom in designing their compliance programs, rather than being forced by enforcement authorities into a set of de facto mandatory compliance structures.


The Cybersecurity Threat: Compliance And The Role Of Whistleblowers, Jennifer M. Pacella Dec 2016

The Cybersecurity Threat: Compliance And The Role Of Whistleblowers, Jennifer M. Pacella

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In today’s technologically dependent world, concerns about cybersecurity, data breaches, and compromised personal information infiltrate the news almost daily. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently emerged as a regulator that is keenly focused on cybersecurity, specifically with respect to encouraging disclosures in this arena by regulated entities. Although the SEC has issued non-binding “guidance” to help companies navigate their reporting obligations in this sector, the agency lacks binding cybersecurity disclosure regulations as they pertain generally to public companies. Given that the SEC has already relied on such guidance in threatening enforcement actions, reporting companies are increasingly pressured for …