Digital Commons Network^™

Can The Uk, Australia, And India Master The Defence Against Dark Patterns? A Comparative Study Of Jurisdictional Approaches, Swetha Meenal Ananthapadmanaban, Jeannie Marie Paterson

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper examines how the United Kingdom (the ‘UK’), Australia, and India approach the regulation of one of the most pressing issues in contemporary digital markets – Dark Patterns. Taking the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (‘DMCC’) in the UK as a potential benchmark, it evaluates the structural strengths and shortcomings of Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, in India and the proposed grey list of unfair trading practices in Australia. Through case studies of Amazon Audible’s subscription cancellation flow and Epic Games’ in-app purchase design, the paper illustrates how identical practices receive uneven legal …

Outbound Investment Restrictions And International Law’S Challenge, Harlan Grant Cohen

Seattle University Law Review

The Outbound Investment Rule, restricting U.S. investment in certain Chinese advanced technology sectors, has largely been portrayed as an incremental measure, a modest extension to fill loopholes in the existing investment screening regime. But while perhaps the logical next step in the securitization of the economy, the Outbound Investment Rule actually reflects a momentous shift in the relationship between governments and business, one playing out in the United States and around the world and worth attention. Unlike traditional investment screening, the Outbound Investment Rule operates like a sanctions regime, designed not to protect the U.S. economy, but to hamper the …

Resilient Dispute Resolution Systems For International Energy Conflicts, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Seattle University Law Review

Energy-related conflicts are on the rise, spanning diverse issues such as the impacts of rare mineral mining on local communities, the impacts of sanctions on energy investments due to the Russia-Ukraine war, and the impacts of expanded subsidies on the electric vehicle and solar panel industries. Increasingly, companies, communities, and governments are clashing over the challenges of pursuing disparate and sometimes competing energy policies. This Article argues that dispute resolution mechanisms in the energy investment sector must be fundamentally rethought. Traditional semi-adjudicatory models, which focus on winners and losers, fail to accommodate the complex and multifaceted nature of contemporary energy …

Restricting Data Flows Is A Sign Of Weakness, Nikolas Guggenberger

Seattle University Law Review

There has been a seismic shift in American attitudes toward the free flow of data across borders.  In less than a decade, the United States has transitioned from condemning barriers to digital trade to constructing a digital fortress of its own. It passed legislation requiring TikTok’s parent company to divest its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban affecting 170 million U.S. users, citing national security concerns about its ties to China and the potential for data surveillance and content manipulation. Upon legal challenge by TikTok on First Amendment grounds, the Supreme Court affirmed the ban’s constitutionality. Recent federal legislation …

Product Nationality And Corporate Identity, Trang (Mae) Nguyen

Seattle University Law Review

Global supply chains have long depended on a deceptively technical device: the attribution of a “nationality” to goods. A trade law principle, rules of origin assign products an “economic passport” that governs how they are treated at the border, including what markets they may enter and which tariff rates apply. In recent years, however, product nationality has taken on a new and far more ambitious role. As U.S. trade policy increasingly intersects with national security and human rights policy, policymakers rely on nationality-based measures to police supply chain linkages, curb geopolitical issues, and discipline firms for their links to forced …

Global Supply Chain Resilience In Emerging Technologies: A Case Study Of Bitcoin Mining, Kishanthi Parella, Carla L. Reyes

Seattle University Law Review

The United States has put into motion bold plans in critical and emerging technologies to bolster its national and economic security.  For example, the federal government created a national bitcoin strategic reserve and a stockpile of other cryptocurrency; while several states have committed to or are considering similar goals.  However, the security of these reserves is dependent on two types of supply chains within the Bitcoin mining industry: analogue supply chains, relating to the physical components needed for Bitcoin mining, and data supply chains, relating to the complex and layered logistical network of actors that create input into the software …

Third-Party Funding: Balancing Transparency, National Security, And Access To Justice, Victoria Shannon Sahani

Seattle University Law Review

Many lawmakers who have recently become aware of the multi-billion-dollar global third-party funding industry are raising new national security concerns that further complicate preexisting, longstanding debates about transparency, disclosure, access to justice, and the best way to regulate third-party funding. In response, this Article briefly asserts three main points relating to the question of how best to regulate third-party funding. First, this Article explains the third-party funding industry, including its global regulatory landscape and how it serves three distinct populations: consumers, businesses, and law firms. Second, this Article explains that third-party funding is one tool that can help expand access …

The Field Of International Business Transactions Law, Kathleen Claussen

Seattle University Law Review

This Article studies the evolution of the scholarly subfield referred to as the law of “international business transactions” (IBT). It reviews data on academic articles, courses, textbooks and other signifiers of the growth of this research area. Beginning around 1960, scholars began to use the term “international business transactions” and by the 1980s, several law schools were offering a course by that title. A handful of dedicated textbooks soon followed. These data reflect a gradual increase in research on the topic of IBT, particularly in the United States, but also considerable diversity of subject matters covered by those works. The …

Kim Gyeong-Seok And The Origins Of Northeast Asia’S Corporate Accountability Movement For War And Colonialism, Timothy Webster

Seattle University Law Review

For the past three decades, a transnational reparations movement has unfolded across Northeast Asia. Hundreds of victims—assisted by attorneys, academics, and activists—seek remedies from Japan for various atrocities committed during World War II, colonialism, and other historical injustices.  They press their claims in street protests, legislative hearings, dramatic performances, and other fora.  The “comfort women” are the best known of these claimants; their global redress campaign ex-tends from noisy protests outside of Japan’s embassy in Seoul, to mute statues in raucous boroughs of Berlin.  More obscure, though larger in number, were the roughly one million Koreans who performed forced labor …

Navigating Compliance In A Geopolitical Era: The Case Of Chinese Multinationals In The United States, Ji Li

Seattle University Law Review

This Article examines how Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) approach compliance in the United States amid deepening geo-political rivalry and intensified regulatory scrutiny. Drawing on original survey data, this Article maps variations in compliance structures, staffing, and governance mechanisms across Chinese firms and identifies key determinants such as industry-specific regulatory intensity, listing status, and organizational imprinting from headquarters. The analysis employs a dual institutional framework to explain how compliance systems emerge from the interplay between host-state regulatory demands and home-state institutional legacies, producing hybrid structures that blend local adaptation with headquarters-driven replication. Findings reveal that while certain compliance features—such as committee …

Volume 49 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 49 Masthead

A Comparative Study Of Chinese And American Approaches To Shaping International Outer Space Law And Norms, Ariel G. Silverman

Seattle University Law Review

This article explores convergences and divergencies in the United States and PRC’s responses to the stalemate in the United Nations over the future of outer space resource governance. I do so by systematically analyzing these leading space-faring nations’ policy-positions and tactics deployed to shape norms around three substantive areas of outer space resource governance: rights of ownership and scope of utilization of space resources, mechanization of the “benefits sharing” principle, and the rights and responsibilities of the private sector. I theorize that these leading space-faring nations have adopted divergent approaches due to their differing historical relationships with international law and …

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Copyright Dilution Under Constitutional Scrutiny, Edward Lee

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Unfair Learning: Genai Exceptionalism And Copyright Law, David Atkinson

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

A Civilization’S Soul : Positioning Architectural Works In The Argument For Greater Restrictions On Ai Training, Alexandria B. Noble

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Algorithmic Chopin—Musical Authorship In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Eyal Brook

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Dissection Of Discretionary Denials Following Bifurcation Policy, Sarah Geers, Adam J. Cook, Daniel C. Sloan, Matt Johnson

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

The Unsettling History Of Settled Expectations, Sara Tonnies Horton, Henry Thomas

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Pills, Powders, And Proprietary Blends: The Ip And Regulatory Battle Over Dietary Supplement Transparency, Anna Marie Saunders

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Available in the form of pills, powders, gummies, bars, and countless other options, dietary supplements have become a cornerstone of the health and wellness industry and a popular product amongst health-conscious consumers. Fueled by the rise of social media influencers and a surge in health-awareness following the COVID-19 pandemic, the supplement industry has experienced rapid growth, evolving into a multi-billion-dollar market.  While widely embraced, these products often face criticism due to labeling and marketing practices that leave  consumers with an incomplete understanding of exactly they are consuming.  This tension arises from the unique legal intersection governing dietary supplements.  These products …

A Shareholder’S Guide To Blowing Up 100 Years Of Delaware Corporate Law: Intellectual Property And Corporate Governance After Delaware Senate Bill No. 313, Avery C. Hill

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

This note examines the intersection between shareholders agreements and intellectual property ownership in Delaware corporations after Delaware Senate Bill No. 313. Delaware corporate governance law has created extensive statutory and case law balancing the competing interests of corporate actors. The board of directors maintains an exclusive right to manage the affairs of a corporation, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation. Delaware law defers to director’s management authority through the business judgement rule, but fiduciary duties govern a director’s responsibly to shareholders. Shareholders maintain rights such as voting for the board of directors, receiving distributions, and selling shares, but …

Victims’ Rights Or The Public’S Right To Know: Rethinking The Boundaries Of The Right Of Publicity In True Crime, Millicent F. Dye

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Advancements in technology and the development of new online platforms have paved the way for true crime to become one of the most popular genres today. While some believe true crime content is akin to news reporting, others have raised ethical concerns and believe that victims’ identities should be protected by a right of publicity.  The key is to find a balance between protecting victims and protecting free speech. This Note explores the right of publicity laws in a select few countries and addresses the shortcomings of the current approaches. This Note asserts that certain true crime content must be …

Unplugging The Federal Right Of Publicity: Why Existing Laws Can Protect Artists Without A Federal Right Of Publicity, Ashley L. Burgess

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence(AI)in music creation has sparked concern over how the rights of artists can remain adequately protected from unauthorized uses of their voices, likeliness, and stylistic elements. A popular proposed solution to this complex problem is the creation of a federal right of publicity. Proponents of this solution stress that it would provide artists with a unified legal framework to better protect the commercialized use of their identity.

This paper argues that a federal right of publicity is neither necessary nor the most efficient solution to address the challenges posed by AI music. A federal right …

No Patent Attorney In Their Right Mind: How Jepson Claims Clarify Subject Matter Eligibility Post-Mayo, Jared M. Brown

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Patent practitioners have gradually shelved Jepson claims for four decades. In those four decades, Supreme Court patent subject matter eligibility jurisprudence has taken a roller-coaster ride from an ancient point-of-novelty approach through the days of Diamond v. Diehr and back to a modernized arguably point-of-novelty-focused approach again in Mayo and Alice. In the absence of congressional action, the Federal Circuit has been left to deal with the aftermath. The inventive landscape—particularly with regard to biotech and software—is shifting fast, and our patent scheme is struggling to keep up.

In the case of software inventions, the Federal Circuit has largely …

Patents In Paradise: The Evolution Of Patent Law In The Cayman Islands, Andrew W. Torrance, Andrew P. Morriss, Lisa C. Friedman

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

This study examines the Cayman Islands’ unique position in the global intellectual property (IP) landscape, contrasting its success as an exporter of financial and legal services with the inherently domestic nature of patent protection. We hypothesize that due to this limitation, the Cayman Islands functions as a strategic, cost-effective jurisdiction for augmenting patent protection initially obtained elsewhere. Our research provides the first comprehensive analysis of Caymanian patents, and through a quantitative examination of patent family data—including filing trends, economic valuation, geographic distribution, and assignee profiles—we find strong empirical evidence to support this thesis.
Our findings reveal a disproportionate presence of …

Toward A Transformative Fair Use Standard After Warhol, Sangwook Park

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith narrowed the transformative fair use inquiry but left unresolved where derivative adaptation ends and genuine transformation begins. This article proposes that the Purpose-Expression Shift (PES) Framework can supply that missing line, a dual-pronged standard rooted in § 107(1) that asks (1) whether the secondary work serves a purpose meaningfully different from the original and (2) whether its expressive alterations are tailored to realize that new purpose. Mapping two decades of case law onto a four-quadrant matrix, this article shows how the PES Framework can predict outcomes under first factor …

The Transatlantic Clinical Trial Transparency Gap, Gabriela Lenarczyk

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Clinical trial data occupy a contested space between private commercial assets and public goods. While the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has historically shielded these data through expansive trade-secret interpretations, the European Union (EU) has adopted a more open disclosure regime. This Article compares the two regimes and traces how the EU’s two-decade journey toward transparency has become a key reference for researchers and advocates of open data-sharing.

Focusing on EU practices—targeted redactions, time-bound access, granular disclosure guidelines—the paper shows that U.S. objections to broader transparency often rest on overstated concerns about competitive harm. A Filspari (sparsentan) case …

The Free Content Illusion, Jonathan M. Barnett

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Conventional scholarly wisdom tends to discount the importance of copyright as a tool for delivering remuneration to the artists that sustain the digital creative ecosystem or as an enabling mechanism that facilitates the licensing, distribution, and financing transactions that constitute the economic infrastructure of the media and entertainment industries. This position runs counter to the evolution of digital content markets, which have experienced renewed investment and growth concurrently with the development of technological tools that have enabled content owners to correct for the “copyright deficit,” regulate access, and extract payment from platforms and users. This result conforms to standard economic …

The Eunomics Of Intellectual Property, Shyamkrishna Balganesh

Faculty Scholarship

Originally developed by the legal theorist Lon L. Fuller, eunomics is the “study of good order and workable arrangements,” directed at understanding the structure, form, or ordering adopted by an area of law. Yet, unlike the ordinary analysis of institutional design, eunomics views the form adopted by an area of law as neither preordained nor wholly contingent. Instead, eunomics sees form as playing an important role in clarifying and developing the goals of an area through a means-ends interaction. This Article develops the central insights of Fuller’s eunomics project for intellectual property. Until now, most theoretical accounts of intellectual property …

Publicity Rights After Warhol, Mark Bartholomew

Journal Articles

Andy Warhol has been proclaimed the most important artist of the twentieth century, but his influence extends farther than the art world. Given his renown, judges have cited his work, including his reworkings of celebrity photographs, as quintessentially protected expression. But this may be changing with the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, which curtails the ability of creators to claim “transformative” fair use when they borrow aspects of a copyrighted work for commercial purposes. Moving beyond the decision’s copyright implications, this Article explores its potential ripple effect on publicity rights law. Although publicity rights …