Digital Commons Network^™

Disclose By Law, Obfuscate By Strategy: A Corpus-Based Analysis Of Patent Filings, Katherine Ireland, W. Michael Schuster, Tim R. Samples

BYU Law Review

The patent system encourages dissemination of technical information by granting inventors exclusive rights to their inventions in exchange for public disclosure of their technology. The American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA), enacted in 1999, advanced this goal by increasing the scope and speed of disclosure. Previously, filings were published only if and when a patent was granted, but under the AIPA most applications are published eighteen months after filing. The sum of those changes amplified a fundamental tradeoff between protection and exposure. Although patents offer protection, competitors can exploit disclosures by integrating the innovations into their own research and development efforts. …

Humanizing The Mexican Migrant, April Guevara Espinoza

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Given the past election season and craze about the “immigration crisis,” it is of paramount importance to reflect on how and why migrants, particularly Mexican migrants, are positioned as “less than” in our society. Immigration is more than a political platform issue; it concerns real people whose real lives are affected. Mexican migrants are used as political scapegoats for any and all issues in the United States whether it be increased crime rates, a lack of available jobs, or overall poor economic conditions. They are dangerously mischaracterized and stereotyped as “criminals” and “national security threats.” These labels are inextricably tied …

The Promise Of Lived Experience: Assessing Race And Merit After Sffa, Taonga Leslie, Claire Comey

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

70 years after Brown, students of color remain underrepresented in U.S. colleges and universities and in professions like law, medicine, business, and academia, which, in turn, drives inequitable social and economic outcomes. Recent Supreme Court decisions threaten to further exacerbate this inequity by preventing schools from considering race when making admissions decisions and shaping their classes. This article contends that by placing greater emphasis on applicants’ experiences of race, admissions officers can more accurately assess merit, improve services to disadvantaged communities, and achieve the pedagogical benefits of diversity. The article situates the lived experience approach within a well-established tradition permitting …

A Constitution Of The Earth, To Save Humanity, Luigi Ferrajoli

Buffalo Law Review

Humanity is facing one of the most dramatic moments in its history. There are several global challenges and problems that are not part of the political agenda of national governments, even though their solution is crucial for the survival of humanity.

The Fashion Regulation Fight, Eliot L. Force

Capstones

Fast fashion is a rising global phenomenon with terrible consequences for the environment and laborers across the world. In the US, fashion-specific environmental and labor regulation is practically non-existent at the federal level, but some individual states have begun proposing fashion regulation bills with the aim of curbing the industry’s harms. But in every state where these regulations have been proposed, powerful industry trade groups and companies have been fighting back against those proposed regulations, with much success, through lobbying. As climate change gets worse and the fashion industry’s practices remain unchanged, the need for regulation only becomes greater, but …

The Blm's Public Lands Rule And "Periodic Adjustments In Use To Conform To Changing Needs And Conditions" Under The Federal Land Policy And Management Act, Jamie Pleune

Pace Environmental Law Review

On May 9, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized new regulations, cumulatively referred to as the “Public Lands Rule.” According to the preamble for the rule, the purpose of the regulations is “to advance the BLM’s multiple use and sustained yield mission by prioritizing the health and resilience of ecosystems across public lands.” When making land management decisions, the definition of multiple use requires the BLM to take into account “the long-term needs of future generations.” Those resource needs include “recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural scenic, scientific and historical values.” Despite this directive, …

Beyond The Equity Power Of Bankruptcy Courts: Toxic Tort Liabilities In Chapter 11 Cases, Kaighn Smith

Maine Law Review

In 1982, three asbestos product manufacturers filed voluntary petitions for business reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The common reason for each of these filings was that tort liabilities threatened the financial survival of the corporation. Never, in the history of United States bankruptcy law, had any business sought bankruptcy relief for such a reason. By 1985, two more firms, another asbestos product manufacturer and a pharmaceutical company, filed Chapter 11 petitions for the same reason. The torts of these "debtors" in bankruptcy are similar; they extend from the manufacture and wide-spread marketing of products that …

Handicapped Workers: Who Should Bear The Burden Of Proving Job Qualifications?, June Zellers Schau

Maine Law Review

Joining a growing number of jurisdictions in 1973, the Maine Legislature amended the fair employment sections of the Maine Human Rights Act (the MHRA) to extend equal employment opportunity protection to all physically disabled workers. Nearly a decade later the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, defined unlawful employer treatment of handicapped workers in Maine Human Rights Commission v. Canadian Pacific, Ltd. The Law Court held that an employment decision based on a worker's handicap constitutes an admission of discrimination that shifts the burden of persuasion to the employer to prove either that all workers with similar …

Wilderness, Trust, And Finality: The Baxter State Park Snowmobile Dispute, Ellen Kandoian, Brooke E. Barnes

Maine Law Review

The recent controversies surrounding the use of snowmobiles in Baxter State Park exemplify the human essence of the trust relationship and the law's awkwardness in addressing the inherently nonlegalistic principles of trust. Baxter State Park is an area of 201,018 acres in northern Maine, purchased by former Governor Percival Proctor Baxter and then donated to the State of Maine in trust. The park includes Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine and the head of the Appalachian Trail. As Chief Justice McKusick wrote in a recent decision construing the trust, "in its combination of size, uniqueness, permanence, and vision, his …

Understanding The Transitional Needs Of Servicemembers To Veterans: A Focus On Mental, Social, And Behavioral Health, Marieann C. Raguso

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to fill the gaps on the transitional American veterans’ lived experience using their own voice. The reconstruction of an American Veteran’s identity after transitioning back into civilian life is a process with many challenges. Transitional practices often fail to help veterans to acculturate back into the civilian world. This includes the formulation of identities and associations. There is a lack of consistency in military transitional practices leading to identity loss and the formulation of mental and behavioral disorders. The aim of this study is to examine the lived experiences of veterans who have transitioned back …

“Arrogance For Cruelty”: What Builds Exclusion Into The Canada Disability Benefit, Thaddeus Hwong

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The vision animating the Canada Disability Benefit exemplifies “arrogance for cruelty” in public policymaking. What could be the start of doing so much is just the end of doing so little—something is done, so nothing more will need to be done. Dangling hopes and then crushing them is cruel. What perpetuates such policymaking cruelty is a manifest complacency, asserting that what is usually done is what should be done, and so it is the best that can be done. Deifying such inertia, which fortifies inadequacies despite what the disability community has to say, is arrogant. Using the limited amount of …

Hyperlocal Gift Economies Under The Duberstein Gift Standard, Nicolás R. Munsen

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

Hyperlocal gift economies, such as those moderated by the “Buy Nothing Project,” have become increasingly popular in the United States and abroad within the last decade. Explicitly banning the buying, selling, trading, or bartering of goods and services, hyperlocal gift economies instead encourage local community members to give to each other out of their own abundance and without any expectation of return or obligation—in short, to give and receive gifts. But while members of these groups regard these transactions as gifts, it is unclear if the Internal Revenue Service would agree. The Internal Revenue Code’s definition of “gift” in I.R.C. …

Bad To The [Jaw]Bone: How Courts Should Approach First Amendment Jawboning Challenges, Christopher Frey

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Right To Record: First Amendment Victory Or The End Of Privacy?, Elizabeth Lesso

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Trouble With Classifications, Aziz Z. Huq

Notre Dame Law Review

The Supreme Court relies increasingly on anticlassification rules to implement the Constitution’s various commands of evenhanded state treatment. These rules direct attention to whether an instance of a forbidden classification is present on the face of a challenged law. They contain two necessary steps. First, a court defines a general category of impermissible terms. Second, a court ascertains whether an instance of the category is found in enacted text—so triggering the familiar strict scrutiny analysis. So defined, anticlassification rules now dominate equal protection, free speech, “dormant” Commerce Clause, and even free exercise jurisprudence. The Roberts Court celebrates these doctrinal tests …

Tribal Law: It’S Not That Scary, Adam Crepelle

Buffalo Law Review

Tribal law is often presented in a negative light. Indeed, the Supreme Court’s skepticism about tribal law has resulted in severe limitations on tribal jurisdiction. This Article challenges perceptions of tribal law by surveying tribal law. While tribal law does rely on tribal customs, tribal law is largely consistent with mainstream American law. Tribal laws are often modeled on state codes or the Restatement.

This Article contends tribal law mirrors western law for two primary reasons—efficiency and legitimacy. Regarding efficiency, borrowing a western law is easier than creating a law from scratch; plus, many laws are common across cultures. A …

Policing Emotions: What Social Psychology Can Teach Fourth Amendment Doctrine, Wayne A. Logan

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Moral Panic And The First Amendment, Michael L. Smith

Buffalo Law Review

Debates over free speech in the United States frequently see advocates of strong, broad protections at odds with those who argue that unfettered free speech tends to harm society’s most vulnerable. Free speech advocates invoke the marketplace of ideas and argue that the antidote to false or harmful speech is more speech. In response, critics contend that speech itself causes harm and chills counter-speech— effectively excluding marginalized groups, including women and LGBTQ people, from discourse altogether. These critics support limitations on robust free speech doctrine targeting speech that harms marginalized communities.

This Article identifies a significant wrinkle in this narrative: …

Inside Outsider Art: Challenges And Opportunities For A Marginalized Genre, Lucas Lynn

Duke Law Journal

Outsider art encompasses the work of artists, typically self-taught, who experience some form of marginalization and do not proactively participate in the mainstream art world. Adored in part for the biographies of the artists and in part for the quality of the art, the genre has become increasingly popular in secondary markets and museums over the last half century. However, buyers of outsider art still find it difficult to authenticate and attribute works. This Note examines the challenges inherent in outsider art and proposes three opportunities that can help address the challenges with authentication and provenance in outsider art while …

Service Animal Rights In Hospitals & Other Businesses That Offer Public Accommodations: Americans With Disabilities Act - Title Iii, Yara Duran

Law Student Works

This pathfinder guide provides an overview into the laws that govern an animal’s rights and restrictions in hospitals, healthcare facilities, and other businesses that offer public accommodations. This guide is intended for attorneys, hospital administrators, and business owners who wish to understand what the law requires in their interactions with service animals. The information gleaned through this research can be used to develop legally compliant policies that protect all interested parties. Secondarily, this guide is intended for law students who would like to learn more about the legal rights and restrictions of service animals.

The guide will begin by discussing …

Teaching Dobbs: On The Role Of Ideology In Constitutional Interpretation, Steven J. Heyman

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching Constitutional Law In A Crisis Of Judicial Legitimacy, William Baude

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Constitutional Law To Constitutional Change, Steven D. Schwinn

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You? Assessing The Damage Associated With The Rise Of Reality Tv Policing And Proposing Avenues For Accountability And Reform, Danielle Taylor

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Impossibility Of Artificial Inventors, Matt Blaszczyk

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

Recently, the United Kingdom Supreme Court decided that only natural persons can be considered inventors. A year before, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a similar decision. In fact, so have many of the courts all over the world. This Article analyzes these decisions, argues that the courts got it right, and finds that artificial inventorship is at odds with patent law doctrine, theory, and philosophy. This Article challenges the intellectual property (IP) post-humanists, exposing the analytical and normative perils of their argumentation, and recommends against getting rid of the nominally central place of humans …

Teaching Law Amidst Convulsive Doctrinal Change, Harold J. Krent

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Forced To Weather The Storm: Reforming The Livestock Indemnity Program To Improve Farm Animal Welfare, Cameron Krier Massey

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Each year, extreme weather events put the lives and wellbeing of millions of farm animals at risk. These events can lead to injury, suffering, acute and chronic stress, decreased productivity, and loss of life. As storms increase in frequency and intensity, efforts should be made to ensure livestock are protected. This paper proposes modifications to the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), a federally run disaster assistance program that compensates livestock owners and growers for animal deaths and reduced value caused by eligible conditions, including extreme weather. Surprisingly, the program does not require producers to show proof and use of a disaster …

Udder Confusion: An Almond Milk Case Study To Examine The Complex Interplay Of Consumer Choices, Social Media, And Regulation, Madeline Mcculloch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The preference for plant-based diet options has steadily increased for the American public. This is all particularly true for alternative milks. By the end of 2020, plant-based milk alternatives (“PBMA”) accounted for approximately fifteen percent of the total milk market and thirty-five percent of the overall plant-based market, making alternative milks, particularly almond, one of the most popular ways for people to dabble in a plant-based diet. Almond milk holds the gold in the U.S. plant-based milk market. It is, first, essential to examine the comprehensive context surrounding almond milks’ status on grocery shelves. This writing will attempt to do …

Green Gatekeepers, Luca Enriques, Alessandro Romano, Andrew F. Tuch

Minnesota Law Review Vols. 106:2 onward (2021-present)

Products are routinely labeled “carbon neutral,” “recycled,” “biodegradable,” “ocean-friendly,” and “sustainable.” Bonds are marketed as “green” and mutual funds as “ESG,” while firms may pledge to become “net zero.” But are statements concerning environmental qualities reliable? It is often hard for consumers and investors to tell. Environmental qualities tend to have credence attributes; they cannot be verified even after consumption. Green gatekeepers constitute an increasingly important response to this problem. Occasionally required by law but more often enlisted voluntarily by firms, green gatekeepers certify claims made about the green qualities of products or firms, promising to significantly mitigate information asymmetries …

Can Labor Law Still Protect Concerted Activity?, Charlotte Garden

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.