Digital Commons Network^™

E-Commerce And Electronic Payment System Risks: Lessons From Paypal, Lawrence J. Trautman

Lawrence J. Trautman Sr.

What are the major risks perceived by those engaged in e-commerce and electronic payment systems? What development risks, if they become reality, may cause substantial increases in operating costs or threaten the very survival of the enterprise? This article utilizes the relevant annual report disclosures from eBay (parent of PayPal), along with other eBay and PayPal documents, as a potentially powerful teaching device. Most of the descriptive language to follow is excerpted directly from eBay’s regulatory filings. My additions include weaving these materials into a logical presentation and providing supplemental sources for those who desire a deeper look (usually in …

The Constitutional Infirmity Of Warrantless Nsa Surveillance: The Abuse Of Presidential Power And The Injury To The Fourth Amendment, Robert M. Bloom, William J. Dunn

Robert Bloom

In recent months, there have been many revelations about the tactics used by the Bush Administration to prosecute their war on terrorism. These stories involve the exploitation of technologies that allow the government, with the cooperation of phone companies and financial institutions, to access phone and financial records. This paper focuses on the revelation and widespread criticism of the Bush Administration’s operation of a warrantless electronic surveillance program to monitor international phone calls and emails that originate or terminate with a United States party. The powerful and secret National Security Agency heads the program and leverages its significant intelligence collection …

Doctors, Patients, And Pills--A System Popping Under Too Much Physician Discretion? A Law-Policy Prescription To Make Drug Approval More Meaningful In The Delivery Of Health Care, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

This article challenges the scope of physician discretion to engage in off-label use of prescription drugs. The discretion to prescribe dimensions beyond the clinical research that puts new drugs on pharmacy shelves has been shaped by two historic influences: a legacy of physician paternalism, solidarity, autonomy, and self-determination that predates the contemporary commercialization of medicine by more than half a century, and regulatory necessity due to the limits of science and innate crudeness of pharmaceuticals prior to the genomics revolution (drug development and delivery based upon genetic expression). Although both factors have changed immensely, the standard for drug approval has …

"Do-Not-Track" As Contract, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Support for enforcement of a do-not-track option in browsers has been gathering steam. Such an option presents a simple method for consumers to protect their privacy. The problem is how to enforce this choice. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could enforce a do-not-track option in a consumer browser under its section 5 powers. The FTC, however, currently appears to lack the political will to do so. Moreover, the FTC cannot follow the model of its successful do-not-call list since the majority of Internet service providers (ISPs) assign Internet addresses dynamically — telephone numbers do not change, whereas Internet protocol (IP) …

The Magic Circle, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

This Article examines the concept of the "magic circle," the metaphorical barrier that supposedly excludes real-world law from virtual worlds. The Article argues that this metaphor fails because there is no "real" world as distinguished from "virtual" worlds. Instead of a magic circle, this Article advocates a rule of consent: actions in a virtual world give rise to legal liability if they exceed the scope of consent given by other players within the game. The Article concludes that although real-world law cannot reasonably be excluded from virtual worlds, game gods and players can control the interface between law and virtual …

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 …

Navigating Through The Fog Of Cloud Computing Contracts, T. Noble Foster

T. Noble Foster

This paper explores legal issues associated with cloud computing, provides analysis and commentary on typical clauses found in contracts offered by well-known cloud service providers, and identifies strategies to mitigate the risk of exposure to cloud-based legal claims in the critical areas of data security, privacy, and confidentiality. While current research offers numerous case studies, viewpoints, and technical descriptions of cloud processes, our research provides a close examination of the language used in cloud contract terms. Analysis of these contract terms supports the finding that most standard cloud computing contracts are unevenly balanced in favor of the cloud service provider. …

Do-Not-Track As Default, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Do-Not-Track is a developing online legal and technological standard that permits consumers to express their desire not to be tracked by online advertisers. Do-Not-Track has the ability to change the relationship between consumers and advertisers in the information market. Everything will depend on implementation. The most effective way to allow users to achieve their privacy preferences is to implement Do-Not-Track as a default feature. The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) standard setting body for Do-Not-Track has, however, endorsed a corrosive standard in its Tracking Preferences Expression (TPE) draft. This standard requires consumers to set their privacy preference by hand. This …

Mixed Reality: How The Laws Of Virtual Worlds Govern Everyday Life, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Just as the Internet linked human knowledge through the simple mechanism of the hyperlink, now reality itself is being hyperlinked, indexed, and augmented with virtual experiences. Imagine being able to check the background of your next date through your cell phone, or experience a hidden world of trolls and goblins while you are out strolling in the park. This is the exploding technology of Mixed Reality, which augments real places, people, and things with rich virtual experiences. As virtual and real worlds converge, the law that governs virtual experiences will increasingly come to govern everyday life. The problem is that …

Avatar Experimentation: Human Subjects Research In Virtual Worlds, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Researchers love virtual worlds. They are drawn to virtual worlds because of the opportunity to study real populations and real behavior in shared simulated environments. The growing number of virtual worlds and population growth within virtual worlds has led to a sizeable increase in the number of human subjects experiments taking place in such worlds. Virtual world users care deeply about their avatars, their virtual property, their privacy, their relationships, their community, and their accounts. People within virtual worlds act much as they would in the physical world because the experience of the virtual world is “real” to them. The …

Lawyering In The Shadow Of Data, Dru Stevenson, Nicholas J. Wagoner

Dru Stevenson

Attorney bargaining has traditionally taken place in the shadow of trial, as litigants alter their pretrial behavior—including their willingness to negotiate a settlement – based on perceptions of likely outcomes at trial and anticipated litigation costs. Lawyers practicing in the shadow of trial have, in turn, traditionally formed their perception of the likely outcome at trial based on their knowledge of case precedents, intuition, and previous interactions with the presiding judge and opposing counsel in similar cases. Today, however, technology for leveraging legal data is moving the practice of law into the shadow of the trends and patterns observable in …

Cracks In The Foundation: The New Internet Regulation's Hidden Threat To Privacy And Commerce, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Scholarship to date has focused on the legal significance of the novelty of the Internet. This scholarship does not describe or predict actual Internet legislation. Instead of asking whether the Internet is so new as to merit new law, legislators and academics should re-evaluate the role of government in orchestrating collective action and change the relative weight of enforcement, deterrence, and incentives in Internet regulations. A perfect example of the need for this new approach is the recent CANSPAM Act of 2003, which was intended to protect personal privacy and legitimate businesses. However, the law threatens both of these interests, …

Legal Mirrors Of Entrepreneurship, Mirit Eyal-Cohen

Mirit Eyal-Cohen

Small businesses are regarded the engine of the economy. But just what is a “small” business? Depending on where one looks in the law, the definitions vary and they differ from one section to another. Unfortunately, what these various size classifications fail to assess, are the policy considerations and the legislative intent for granting regulatory preferences to small concerns to begin with.

In the last century, the U.S. government has been cultivating one such policy of fiscal and economic growth. Consequently, Congress and private institutions have been acting to incentivize, support and reward entrepreneurship through the law in order to …

No Path But One: Law School Survival In An Age Of Disruptive Technology, Michele R. Pistone, John J. Hoeffner

Michele R. Pistone

In the absence of a dramatic shift in their approach to legal education, law schools are approaching the last days of Rome, a time when decline cannot be reversed and only the precise date of the final fall is to be determined. The role of marauding Germanic tribes will be played by new legal education competition whose emergence is enabled by recent technological developments. The new competition will be highly flexible, unencumbered by expensive legacy costs and, because it will reside mainly online, so scalable that no traditional, place-based law school will be immune from its impact. There will be …

The Scientifically Trained Law Clerk: Legal And Ethical Considerations Of Relying On Extra-Record Technical Training Or Experience, Timothy Li

Timothy Li

Technically trained law clerks should be permitted to rely on extralegal scientific principles, but only if those principles are objectively verifiable and not subject to reasonable dispute—a standard that matches Federal Rule of Evidence 201. By contrast, law clerks should not rely on extralegal scientific principles that are not objectively verifiable or beyond reasonable dispute. Technical training is particularly useful for law clerks at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals because of its focus on patent cases. Technically trained clerks could also be useful at the trial level because the district courts recently began a ten-year Patent Pilot Program.

Patents For Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals And Biotechnology: Fundamentals Of Global Law, Practice And Strategy By Philip W. Grubb, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

No abstract provided.

A Discourse On The Public Nature Of Research In Contemporary Life Science: A Law-Policy Proposal To Promote The Public Nature Of Science In An Era Of Academia-Industry Integration, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

This article addresses the impact of integration of academia, industry, and government on the public nature of research. The article concludes that, while the integration has benefited science immensely, regulatory measures should be taken to restore the public nature of research in an age of integration.

Dealing With The Realities Of Race And Ethnicity: A Bioethics-Centered Argument In Favor Of Race-Based Genetics Research, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

No abstract provided.

United States Regulation Of Stem Cell Research: Recasting Government's Role And Questions To Be Resolved, Owen C. B. Hughes, Alan L. Jakimo, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

This article directly addresses the stem cell controversy, but also the broader history and norms regarding the roles of federal and state government in U.S. science research funding.

R2dford: Autonomous Vehicles And The Legal Implications Of Varying Liability Structures, Alexander P. Herd

Alexander P Herd

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, traffic accidents will be the fifth leading cause of death in the world. Thus when Google announced that it had designed an autonomous car which could reduce traffic accidents by as much as ninety percent, there was cause for excitement. Some states have already started legislation to permit the use of autonomous cars in anticipation of the release later this decade. Courts and lawmakers need to consider who will be liable when the car that drives itself crashes. Standards used in aviation and naval cases regarding auto-pilot can be applied to the …

Patent Protection Of Pharmacologically Active Metabolites: Theoretical And Technological Analysis On The Jurisprudence Of Four Regions, Richard Li-Dar Wang, Pei-Chen Huang

Richard Li-dar Wang

Active metabolite patents have been instrumental for brandname pharmaceutical companies to maintain their exclusivity even after the drug patents expire. This strategy obstructs market entry of generic medicine and reduces affordable drugs. The authors review jurisprudence from the United States, Europe, India, and Taiwan in search for practical solutions to confront this problem. Given the unique pharmacological value that active metabolites may possess, patent protection for those purified or synthesized in vitro should be preserved, but for those produced by metabolism should be declined. Except India, most countries under investigation comport with this dichotomy. Their jurisprudence may be subsumed into …

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Parentage For Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Citizenship for Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas Professor Kristine S. Knaplund Abstract The United States has long followed the English common law view that citizenship can be attained at birth in two ways: by being born in the U.S. (jus soli), or by being born abroad as the child of a U.S. citizen (jus sanguinis). The first, jus soli, is now part of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.” …

What May Lead Behind Odr Rapid Step ? (Indonesia’S Information Technology Law Perspective Study), Patricia Ruslijanto

patricia ruslijanto

No abstract provided.

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Parentage For Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

Jus Sanguinis: Determining Citizenship for Assisted Reproduction Children Born Overseas Professor Kristine S. Knaplund Abstract The United States has long followed the English common law view that citizenship can be attained at birth in two ways: by being born in the U.S. (jus soli), or by being born abroad as the child of a U.S. citizen (jus sanguinis). The first, jus soli, is now part of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.” …

A Case For The Public Domain, Clark Asay

Clark Asay

Over the past several decades open license movements have proven highly successful in the software and content worlds. Such movements rely in part on the belief that greater freedom of use triggers innovative activity that is superior to what a restrictive IP approach produces. Ironically, such open license movements also rely on IP rights to promote their vision of freedom and openness. They do so through IP licenses that, while granting significant freedoms, also impose certain conditions on users such as the “copyleft” requirement in the software world. Such movements rely on this IP-based approach due to fears that, without …

Defying Dna: Rethinking The Role Of The Jury In An Age Of Scientific Proof Of Innocence, Andrea L. Roth

Andrea L Roth

In 1946, public outrage erupted after a jury ordered Charlie Chaplin to support a child who, according to apparently definitive blood tests, was not his. Half a century later, juries have again defied apparently definitive evidence of innocence, finding criminal defendants guilty based on a confession or eyewitness notwithstanding exculpatory DNA test results. One might expect judges in such cases to direct an acquittal, on grounds that the evidence is legally insufficient because no rational juror could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Yet few if any do. Instead, courts defer to juries when they form an actual belief in …

Comparative Studies On Isps' Secondary Copyright Liability In China And The Us, Hong Lou

Hong Lou

In China, the amount of copyright infringement disputes cases related to ISPs is rapid increasing, and current legislation seems to be insufficient to regulate these problems. Moreover, there is a chaos in different courts around China using different approaches and standards on search engines' secondary liability.Therefore, how to improved Chinese copyright legislation and unite relevant judgments with reasonable approaches has become an urgent task. The purpose of this essay is to compare legislation and legal practice in China and the US, to point out the tendency of ISPs' secondary copyright liability in these two countries, and to make useful suggestions …

Patents And The University, Peter Lee

Peter Lee

This Article advances two novel claims about the internalization of academic science within patent law and the concomitant evolution of “academic exceptionalism.” Historically, relations between patent law and the university were characterized by mutual exclusion, based in part on normative conflicts between academia and exclusive rights. These normative distinctions informed “academic exceptionalism”—the notion that the patent system should exclude the fruits of academic science or treat academic entities differently than other actors—in patent doctrine. As universities began to embrace patents, however, academic science has become internalized within the traditional commercial narrative of patent protection. Contemporary courts frequently invoke universities’ commercial …

Testing The Social Media Waters - First Amendment Entanglement Beyond The Schoolhouse Gates, Lily M. Strumwasser

Lily M Strumwasser

Dear Editor:

I am a third-year student at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois, where I serve as the executive student publications editor of The John Marshall Law Review. In September 2013, I will work as an associate at Seyfarth Shaw in its labor and employment practice group. I am writing to submit my article, "Testing The Social Media Waters - First Amendment Entanglement Beyond The Schoolhouse Gates" My article considers the contours of student free speech rights within the context of public schools. I think and hope you will find it to be interesting and …

Holy Internet, Bringer Of Truth, Pray For The Church’S Sinners, Now And At The Hour Of It’S Death…: The Internet’S Impact On The Priest Abuse Crisis, Joanne E. Wilson

Joanne E Wilson

The Roman Catholic Church is being murdered. Yet, the attempted murderer is still free. The accused attempted murderer is the Internet. Throughout history, the Church has tried to halt communication in order to maintain control of its flock. But inventions in communication have empowered society while loosening the Church’s grip on the lives of its parishioners. A fatal wound was created in the mid fifteenth century with Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the movable type printing press. An artery of the Church was spliced open in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five page written revolt against the Church on the …