Computer Law Commons^™

Feeding The Good Fire: Paths To Facilitate Native-Led Fire Management On Federal Lands, Kevin Burdet

Seattle University Law Review

In 2003, nearly twenty Native American reservations were devastated by wildfires that originated on adjacent federal lands. The San Pasqual Reservation’s entire 1,400 acres were burned along with over a third of its homes, and seventy-five percent of the Rincon Reservation was burned, taking twenty homes with it. These devastating fires, along with others in 2002, brought about the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (TFPA), which offered hope for Tribes to propose projects on bordering or adjacent federal lands and protect reservation lands in the process. Unfortunately, twenty years later, the TFPA has had a marginal effect in enabling …

Capitalism Stakeholderism, Christina Parajon Skinner

Seattle University Law Review

Today’s corporate governance debates are replete with discussion of how best to operationalize so-called stakeholder capitalism—that is, a version of capitalism that considers the interests of employees, communities, suppliers, and the environment alongside (if not before) a company’s shareholders. So much focus has been dedicated to the question of capitalism’s reform that few have questioned a key underlying premise of stakeholder capitalism: that is, that competitive capitalism does not serve these various constituencies and groups. This Essay presents a different view and argues that capitalism is, in fact, the ultimate form of stakeholderism. As such, the Essay urges that the …

Introduction To The Symposium On Digital Evidence, Melinda (M.J.) Durkee, Megiddo Tamar

Scholarship@WashULaw

The past few decades have seen radical advances in the availability and use of digital evidence in multiple areas of international law. Witnesses snap cellphone photos of unfolding atrocities and post them online, while others share updates in real time through messaging apps. Immigration officers search cell phones. Private citizens launch open-source online investigations. Investigators scrape social media posts. Digital experts verify authenticity with satellite geolocation. These new types of evidence and digitally facilitated methods and patterns of evidence gathering and analysis are revolutionizing the everyday practice of international law, drawing in an ever-wider circle of actors who can contribute …

Stakeholder Governance As Governance By Stakeholders, Brett Mcdonnell

Seattle University Law Review

Much debate within corporate governance today centers on the proper role of corporate stakeholders, such as employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, and local communities. Scholars and reformers advocate for greater attention to stakeholder interests under a variety of banners, including ESG, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and stakeholder governance. So far, that advocacy focuses almost entirely on arguing for an expanded understanding of corporate purpose. It argues that corporate governance should be for various stakeholders, not shareholders alone.

This Article examines and approves of that broadened understanding of corporate purpose. However, it argues that we should understand stakeholder governance as extending well …

Going Forward: The Role Of Affirmative Action, Race, And Diversity In University Admissions And The Broader Construction Of Society, Steven W. Bender

Seattle University Law Review

The third annual EPOCH symposium, a partnership between the Seattle University Law Review and the Black Law Student Association took place in late summer 2023 at the Seattle University School of Law. It was intended to uplift and amplify Black voices and ideas, and those of allies in the legal community. Prompted by the swell of public outcry surrounding ongoing police violence against the Black community, the EPOCH partnership marked a commitment to antiracism imperatives and effectuating change for the Black community. The published symposium in this volume encompasses some, but not all, the ideas and vision detailed in the …

Verses Turned To Verdicts: Ysl Rico Case Sets A High-Watermark For The Legal Pseudo-Censorship Of Rap Music, Nabil Yousfi

Seattle University Law Review

Whichever way you spin the record, rap music and courtrooms don’t mix. On one side, rap records are well known for their unapologetic lyrical composition, often expressing a blatant disregard for legal institutions and authorities. On the other, court records reflect a Van Gogh’s ear for rap music, frequently allowing rap lyrics—but not similar lyrics from other genres—to be used as criminal evidence against the defendants who authored them. Over the last thirty years, this immiscibility has engendered a legal landscape where prosecutors wield rap lyrics as potent instruments for criminal prosecution. In such cases, color-blind courts neglect that rap …

The Sffa V. Harvard Trojan Horse Admissions Lawsuit, Kimberly West-Faulcon

Seattle University Law Review

Affirmative-action-hostile admissions lawsuits are modern Trojan horses. The SFFA v. Harvard/UNC case—Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, et. al., decided jointly—is the most effective Trojan horse admissions lawsuit to date. Constructed to have the distractingly appealing exterior façade of a lawsuit seeking greater fairness in college admissions, the SFFA v. Harvard/UNC case is best understood as a deception-driven battle tactic used by forces waging a multi-decade war against the major legislative victories of America’s Civil Rights Movement, specifically Title VI and Title VII …

Delegated Corporate Voting And The Deliberative Franchise, Sarah C. Haan

Seattle University Law Review

Starting in the 1930s with the earliest version of the proxy rules, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gradually increased the proportion of “instructed” votes on the shareholder’s proxy card until, for the first time in 2022, it required a fully instructed proxy card. This evolution effectively shifted the exercise of the shareholder’s vote from the shareholders’ meeting to the vote delegation that occurs when the share-holder fills out the proxy card. The point in the electoral process when the binding voting choice is communicated is now the execution of the proxy card (assuming the shareholder completes the card …

Corporate Law In The Global South: Heterodox Stakeholderism, Mariana Pargendler

Seattle University Law Review

How do the corporate laws of Global South jurisdictions differ from their Global North counterparts? Prevailing stereotypes depict the corporate laws of developing countries as either antiquated or plagued by problems of enforcement and misfit despite formal convergence. This Article offers a different view by showing how Global South jurisdictions have pioneered heterodox stakeholder approaches in corporate law, such as the erosion of limited liability for purposes of stakeholder protection in Brazil and India, the adoption of mandatory corporate social responsibility in Indonesia and India, and the large-scale program of Black corporate ownership and empowerment in South Africa, among many …

Stakeholder Governance On The Ground (And In The Sky), Stephen Johnson, Frank Partnoy

Seattle University Law Review

Professor Frank Partnoy: This is a marvelous gathering, and it is all due to Chuck O’Kelley and the special gentleness, openness, and creativity that he brings to this symposium. For more than a decade, he has been open to new and creative ways to discuss important issues surrounding business law and Adolf Berle’s legacy. We also are grateful to Dorothy Lund for co-organizing this gathering.

In introducing Stephen Johnson, I am reminded of a previous Berle, where Chuck allowed me some time to present the initial thoughts that led to my book, WAIT: The Art and Science of Delay. Part …

Overseeing The Administrative State, Jill E. Fisch

Seattle University Law Review

In a series of recent cases, the Supreme Court has reduced the regulatory power of the Administrative State. Pending cases offer vehicles for the Court to go still further. Although the Court’s skepticism of administrative agencies may be rooted in Constitutional principles or political expediency, this Article explores another possible explanation—a shift in the nature of agencies and their regulatory role. As Pritchard and Thompson detail in their important book, A History of Securities Law in the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court was initially skeptical of agency power, jeopardizing Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)’s ambitious New Deal plan. The Court’s acceptance …

Securities Regulation And Administrative Deference In The Roberts Court, Eric C. Chaffee

Seattle University Law Review

In A History of Securities Law in the Supreme Court, A.C. Pritchard and Robert B. Thompson write, “Securities law offers an illuminating window into the Supreme Court’s administrative law jurisprudence over the last century. The securities cases provide one of the most accessible illustrations of key transitions of American law.” A main reason for this is that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a bellwether among administrative agencies, and as a result, A History of Securities Law in the Supreme Court is a history of administrative law in the Supreme Court of the United States as well.

We Shall Overcome: The Evolution Of Quotas In The Land Of The Free And The Home Of Samba, Stella Emery Santana

Seattle University Law Review

When were voices given to the voiceless? When will education be permitted to all? When will we need to protest no more? It’s the twenty-first century, and the fight for equity in higher education remains a challenge to peoples all over the world. While students in the United States must deal with the increase in loans, in Brazil, only around 20% of youth between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-four have a higher education degree.

The primary objective of this Article is to conduct an in-depth comparative analysis of the development, implementation, and legal adjudication of educational quota systems within …

Orthogonalizing Inputs, Talia B. Gillis

Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines an approach to algorithmic discrimination that seeks to blind predictions to protected characteristics by orthogonalizing inputs. The approach uses protected characteristics (such as race or sex) during the training phase of a model but masks these during deployment. The approach posits that including these characteristics in training prevents correlated features from acting as proxies, while assigning uniform values to them at deployment ensures decisions do not vary by group status.

Using a prediction exercise of loan defaults basedon mortgage HMDA data and German credit data, the paper highlights the limitations of this orthogonalization strategy. Applying a lasso …

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.

Code And Prejudice: Regulating Discriminatory Algorithms, Bernadette M. Coyle

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

In an era dominated by efficiency-driven technology, algorithms have seamlessly integrated into every facet of daily life, wielding significant influence over decisions that impact individuals and society at large. Algorithms are deliberately portrayed as impartial and automated in order to maintain their legitimacy. However, this illusion crumbles under scrutiny, revealing the inherent biases and discriminatory tendencies embedded in ostensibly unbiased algorithms. This Note delves into the pervasive issues of discriminatory algorithms, focusing on three key areas of life opportunities: housing, employment, and voting rights. This Note systematically addresses the multifaceted issues arising from discriminatory algorithms, showcasing real-world instances of algorithmic …

Artificial Intelligence And Transformative Use After Warhol, Gary Myers

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith clarifies the scope of transformative use and the role of these uses in the fair use analysis. This important case has implications for a fair use analysis of artificial intelligence. This article evaluates the interaction between copyright law’s fair use doctrine and typical sources and uses for artificial intelligence. In other words, the article will assess whether or not the use of copyrighted material to “train” AI programs—AI inputs—and the products of AI programs—AI outputs—are likely to found to be transformative in light of …

Byte A Carrot For Change: Uprooting Problems In Data Privacy Regulations, Sarah Terry

BYU Law Review

There is a growing gap between technology advancement and a lagging regulatory system. This is particularly problematic in consumer data privacy regulating. Companies hold collected consumer data and determine its use largely without accountability. As a result, ethical questions that carry society-shaping impact are answered in-house, under the influence of groupthink, and are withheld from anyone else weighing in.

This Note poses a solution that would address multiple data privacy regulation issues. Namely, an incentive approach would help even out the information-imbalanced system. Incentives are used as tools throughout intellectual property law to foster commercial progress, discourage trade secrets, and …

Fintech Lending In India: Taking Stock Of Implications For Privacy And Autonomy, Vidushi Marda, Amber Sinha

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

In the last five years, the Fintech sector has thrived in India, with Machine Learning (ML) driven credit scoring based on alternative data, emerging as a growing segment. The credit scoring industry in India needs to be viewed in light of a careful examination of rights, inclusion, appropriate safeguards and discrimination, currently missing from the discourse and practices. In this paper, we explain how ML-based credit scoring works, and the regulatory and commercial factors that have enabled and impeded its growth in India. Through legal and technological analysis, richened by insights from qualitative interviews with entrepreneurs and practitioners, we provide …

The Present And Future Of Ai Usage In The Banking And Financial Decision-Making Processes Within The Developing Indian Economy, Dr. Shouvik Kumar Guha, Bash Savage-Mansary, Dr. Navyajyoti Samanta

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

In course of this paper, the authors have soght to examine the extent to which technology based on artificial intelligence (AI) have made inroads into the banking and financial sectors of a developing economy like India. The paper begins with providing a contextual background to the adoption of such technology in the global financial arena. It then proceeds to identify and categorise the forms of AI currently being used in the Indian financial sector and also considers the different channels of operation where such technology is in vogue. The advantages of using such technology and the future goals for integrating …

The Immutable Blockchain Confronts The Unstoppable Gdpr, Bisma Shoaib

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

The notion that privacy is dispensable and should be sacrificed in exchange for internet access is misguided. In fact, privacy laws are flourishing, highlighting the significance of safeguarding personal information in the digital age. It is crucial to recognize that privacy is not merely a luxury, but a fundamental right that should be upheld, even in the context of online activities. In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the collision between privacy and innovation becomes increasingly apparent. This paper delves into the intriguing convergence of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and blockchain technology, unraveling pivotal issues that arise from this …

“Vr”: Virtual Reality, Or Very Risky? Injuries And Liability From Virtual Reality Headsets, Andrew Stein

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Potential Involutionary Effects Of New Copyright Laws: A Techno-Legal Analysis Based On The Impact Of Web 3.0 On Copyright Protection, Alvin Hung

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

As Internet technology evolves, legal professionals and academics must stay current and adapt to these inevitable technological changes. This article investigates the extensive influence of the latest version of the World Wide Web (the Web)—Web 3.0—on copyright laws based on a techno-legal analysis that considers the opportunities and challenges of this new technology. The principal version of copyright laws, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), was enacted in 1998 during the Web 1.0 era, signifying an impending need for appropriate updates in the new Web 3.0 era. This article traces the historical development of U.S. copyright laws by positing it …

A New Right Is The Wrong Tactic: Bring Legal Actions Against States For Internet Shutdowns Instead Of Working Towards A Human Right To The Internet (Part 2), Jay T. Conrad

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

This Article is the second of a two-part series about an increasingly prevalent threat to human rights: State-sanctioned Internet shutdowns. Part 1 detailed Internet shutdown tactics and potential human rights violations that could result from a shutdown. Now, Part 2 addresses the deficiencies of advocating for Internet access to be a recognized human right as a means of combatting shutdowns. Despite the popularity of this proposed solution, the harms of Internet shutdowns are better addressed through traditional legal avenues, such as bringing claims against the sanctioning state.

Part 1 can be found in The Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & …

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 …

Taxing The New With The Old: Capturing The Value Of Data With The Corporate Income Tax In Virginia, Coleman H. Cheeley

University of Richmond Law Review

The Commonwealth of Virginia markets itself as “The Largest Data Center Market in the World.”In 2019, the Northern Virginia market alone was the largest in the United States by inventory, with room to grow. In 2021, data centers in Northern Virginia required an estimated 1,686 megawatts of power; that number is expected to increase by 200 megawatts in the near future, reflecting data centers currently under development. For reference, in 2022, it was estimated that more than 100 homes could be powered by one megawatt of solar power in Virginia. Historically, data centers have been located in the Commonwealth due …

Trademarks In An Algorithmic World, Christine Haight Farley

Washington Law Review

According to the sole normative foundation for trademark protection—“search costs” theory—trademarks transmit useful information to consumers, enabling an efficient marketplace. The marketplace, however, is in the midst of a fundamental change. Increasingly, retail is virtual, marketing is data-driven, and purchasing decisions are automated by AI. Predictive analytics are changing how consumers shop. Search costs theory no longer accurately describes the function of trademarks in this marketplace. Consumers now have numerous digital alternatives to trademarks that more efficiently provide them with increasingly accurate product information. Just as store shelves are disappearing from consumers’ retail experience, so are trademarks disappearing from their …

After Ftx: Can The Original Bitcoin Use Case Be Saved?, Mark Burge

Faculty Scholarship

Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies spawned by the innovation of blockchain programming have exploded in prominence, both in gains of massive market value and in dramatic market losses, the latter most notably seen in connection with the failure of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022. After years of investment and speculation, however, something crucial has faded: the original use case for Bitcoin as a system of payment. Can cryptocurrency-as-a-payment-system be saved, or are day traders and speculators the actual cryptocurrency future? This article suggests that cryptocurrency has been hobbled by a lack of foundational commercial and consumer-protection law that …

The Gptjudge: Justice In A Generative Ai World, Maura R. Grossman, Paul W. Grimm, Daniel G. Brown, Molly (Yiming) Xu

Duke Law & Technology Review

Generative AI (“GenAI”) systems such as ChatGPT recently have developed to the point where they can produce computer-generated text and images that are difficult to differentiate from human-generated text and images. Similarly, evidentiary materials such as documents, videos, and audio recordings that are AI-generated are becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate from those that are not AI-generated. These technological advancements present significant challenges to parties, their counsel, and the courts in determining whether evidence is authentic or fake. Moreover, the explosive proliferation and use of GenAI applications raises concerns about whether litigation costs will dramatically increase as parties are forced to …

The Unreasonable Effectiveness Of Large Language Models In Zero-Shot Semantic Annotation Of Legal Texts, Jaromir Savelka, Kevin D. Ashley

Articles

The emergence of ChatGPT has sensitized the general public, including the legal profession, to large language models' (LLMs) potential uses (e.g., document drafting, question answering, and summarization). Although recent studies have shown how well the technology performs in diverse semantic annotation tasks focused on legal texts, an influx of newer, more capable (GPT-4) or cost-effective (GPT-3.5-turbo) models requires another analysis. This paper addresses recent developments in the ability of LLMs to semantically annotate legal texts in zero-shot learning settings. Given the transition to mature generative AI systems, we examine the performance of GPT-4 and GPT-3.5-turbo(-16k), comparing it to the previous …