Digital Commons Network^™

Capfish Project Report : Summer Academy For The Pacific Islands, Kathleen Auld, Francis Neat, Raphaël Baumler

Reports

The CAPFISH Project was created in response to an identified need for capacity-building to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related matters - a complex problem affecting aquatic ecosystems, coastal communities, fishers and fish workers, and economic and national security. Over the last four years, the CAPFISH Project has provided training and educational materials on IUU fishing to developing country administrations around the world, most recently with a two-week regional Summer Academy for the Pacific Islands. This Academy ran for two weeks and included delegates from fisheries, labour, safety, maritime, foreign affairs, and enforcement administrations in the Pacific …

Unlocking Platform Data For Research, Niva Elkin-Koren, Maayan Perel, Ohad Somech

Indiana Law Journal

Digital platforms, which control unique access points to the rich data stored on their servers, have become a “living lab” of real-time information. Scientists and researchers increasingly use platform data for various purposes, such as training machine learning (ML) systems and Natural Language Processing (NLP) models, and for studying diverse fields such as medicine, humanities, and social sciences, including the influence of digital platforms on society. However, researchers increasingly encounter significant barriers when attempting to access platform data. Although platforms typically lack proprietary rights over the data itself, they exert strong control over its use by imposing digital locks and …

Moving Slow And Fixing Things, Scott Shackelford, Janine Hiller, Christos Makridis, Iain Nash, Kathryn Kisska-Schulze, Hannibal Travis

Indiana Law Journal

Silicon Valley, and the U.S. tech sector more broadly, have changed the world in part by embracing a “move fast and break things” mentality popularized by Mark Zuckerberg. While it is true that the tech sector has attempted to break with such a reactive and flippant response to security concerns, including at Microsoft itself through its Security Development Lifecycle, cyberattacks continue at an alarming rate. As a result, there are growing calls from regulators around the world to change the risk equation. An example is the 2023 U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy, which argues that “[w]e must hold the stewards of …

Dark Patterns As Disloyal Design, Johanna Gunawan, Woodrow Hartzog, Neil Richards, David Choffnes, Christo Wilson

Indiana Law Journal

Lawmakers have started to regulate “dark patterns,” understood to be design practices meant to influence technology users’ decisions through manipulative or deceptive means. Most agree that dark patterns are undesirable, but open questions remain as to which design choices should be subjected to scrutiny, much less the best way to regulate them.

In this Article, we propose adapting the concept of dark patterns to better fit legal frameworks. Critics allege that the legal conceptualizations of dark patterns are overbroad, impractical, and counterproductive. We argue that law and policy conceptualizations of dark patterns suffer from three deficiencies: First, dark patterns lack …

Design Patent Law's Three Little Words, Mark D. Janis

Indiana Law Journal

U.S. design patent law protects the visual characteristics of articles of manufacture. For many years, major manufacturers of athletic footwear have protected their visually iconic designs with design patents, fueling a global market valued at nearly $100 billion. Today, however, shoe design has arrived in the digital universe. Digital sneakers such as Gucci’s Virtual 25 and Nike’s “Our Force Ones” can be “worn” only in virtual worlds but have substantial real world economic value. Yet U.S. design patent law makes it difficult—some would say impossible—to protect those designs, on the ground that they do not satisfy the statutory requirement for …

Can Ai, As Such, Invade Your Privacy? An Experimental Study Of The Social Element Of Surveillance, Aileen Nielsen

Indiana Law Journal

The increasing use of AI rather than human surveillance puts pressure on two long-used cultural and (sometimes) legal distinctions: as between human and machine observers and as between content and metadata. Machines do more and more watching through advancing technology, rendering AI a plausible replacement for humans in surveillance tasks. Further, machines can commit to surveil only certain forms of information in a way that humans cannot, rendering the distinction between content and metadata increasingly relevant too for crafting privacy law and policy. Yet despite the increasing importance of these distinctions, their legal importance remains in four key domains of …

Ninth Amendment Neurorights, Joseph A. Tomain

Indiana Law Journal

Neurotechnology developments threaten two fundamental human rights: freedom of thought and mental privacy. For example, neuroscientists use brain scans to decode unspoken thoughts and to predict political ideology and sexual orientation. Additionally, they have successfully implanted false memories in the minds of mice. There are undoubtedly beneficial uses of this dual-use technology, such as identifying and treating a variety of medical conditions. But left unchecked, neurotechnology will be exploited by public and private actors alike. There is a growing and contested literature about how the law should respond to the increasing risks of neurotechnology. This Essay contributes to that literature …

People Power And Police Policy: How Denying Intervenors In Pattern-Or-Practice Police Litigation Undermines Police Accountability, Alexander Lindenfelser

Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address: Envisioning Wage Justice, Ruben J. Garcia

Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality

No abstract provided.

Roll For Lawsuit: Are Actual-Play Series Copyright Ingringers?, Mark Mehochko J.D. Candidate

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Dungeons and Dragons is a highly popular Tabletop Role-Playing Game designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1973. The game’s emphasis on narrative storytelling makes it an interesting subject for copyright analysis. When a group plays Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) for an audience, using copyrighted materials from Dungeons and Dragons’s publisher, Wizards of the Coast, there is an open question about whether the players infringe on Wizards of the Coast’s exclusive rights under § 106 of the Copyright Act of 1976. This issue is further complicated by Wizards of the Coast’s unique approach to licensing.

This Note examines how …

The Mirage Of Artificial Intelligence Terms Of Use Restrictions, Peter Henderson, Mark A. Lemley

Indiana Law Journal

Artificial intelligence (AI) model creators commonly attach restrictive terms of use to both their models and their outputs. These terms typically prohibit activities ranging from creating competing AI models to spreading disinformation. Often taken at face value, these terms are positioned by companies as key enforceable tools for preventing misuse, particularly in policy dialogs. The California AI Transparency Act even codifies this approach, mandating certain responsible use terms to accompany models.

But are these terms truly meaningful, or merely a mirage? There are myriad examples where these broad terms are regularly and repeatedly violated. Yet except for some account suspensions …

In The Beginning: Crucial Lessons For Our World From The First Three Chapters Of Genesis (Book Review), Eduardo Echeverria

Pro Rege

Reviewed Title: In the Beginning: Crucial Lessons for Our World from the First Three Chapters of Genesis. Catholic Answers Press, May 2, 2024. 272 pp. BOD392K526

Our Relentless Objectification Of Native Americans: As Exemplified By Louise Erdrich And Cherie Dimaline, Lena Kozubek

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

Indigenous communities relentlessly challenge the normalized commodification of their culture and beliefs. One way they actively address these oppressions is through storytelling. Their accounts educate readers and encourage them to re-frame modern perspectives and how stereotypes affect Native communities. Their stories are not a simple myth; instead, they serve as an active participant to combat actions that treat Indigenous people as an anomaly. We should treat Native Americans as human beings who invariably struggle with present-day degradations, commodification, and continual displacement. Indigenous authors reclaim their narrative by using their historical context and storytelling skills to dissect the parallels between fact …

The Income Tax As A Market Correction, Rebecca N. Morrow

UC Law Journal

I confess. As a tax professor, it has long hurt my feelings that economists label tax as a market distortion. My field is summed up as an impurity on the otherwise pristine complexion of the economist’s pure market. I like to think that tax scholars are not so disparaging of economics. We do not view economically motivated action as a distortion to our tax system, but as a component of it. It is tax planning. This Article proposes that tax should be viewed as a component of a market system. Just as tax scholarship acknowledges that an imagined world in …

Legal Personhood For Artwork, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci

UC Law Journal

Artwork is unique and irreplaceable. It is signifier and signified. The signified of a work of art is its coherent purpose. But the signified of a work of art can be altered when not protected. The ramifications of unduly altering the signified of a work of art are consequential for both living and future generations. While the law provides protection to artists and art owners, it fails to grant rights to works of art themselves. The current legal paradigm, designed around the interest of owners and artists, also falls short of protecting Indigenous art aimed at conserving traditions and cultural …

“As Judged By Themselves”: Freedom, Transformative Experiences, Law, And Testimony, L. A. Paul, Cass R. Sunstein

UC Law Journal

One way to evaluate various legal interventions in people’s lives is to ask whether they make choosers better off by their own lights, or “as judged by themselves.” This criterion can be understood to borrow from the liberal political tradition insofar as it makes the judgments of choosers authoritative. If lawyers, judges, and policymakers give ultimate authority to choosers, this might be taken as respecting choosers’ own judgments and promoting their welfare (insofar as people are uniquely situated to know whether choices make them better off). But for certain decisions, the “as judged by themselves” criterion is indeterminate. In these …

Artificial Intelligence & Defamation Law: An Excuse To Do Away With The Infamously Controversial Section 230?, Kathryn Binder

UC Law Journal

With the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) in various aspects of our lives, it is not surprising that it has become a subject of legal disputes and controversy. In 2023, an individual filed the first defamation lawsuit against AI company, OpenAI, for its ChatGPT service, leaving many to speculate how the court will proceed. This Note assesses the viability of defamation actions against generative AI platforms and their broader effect on defamation law. Particularly, this Note considers how courts may characterize these platforms and how specific characterizations could further the controversy over an already polarizing and hotly debated piece …

Recent And Forthcoming

UC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Student Driver Knowledge And Behaviors Through A University Driver Education Safety Refresher Program, Jason Jackman, Audrey Everett, Kayleigh Murray, Leomar White

CUTR Internal Grant Research Program

This pilot program utilized an online survey to identify driver behaviors among students, faculty, and staff on the University of South Florida (USF) Tampa campus. Adopting a social marketing approach, the program focused on identifying and addressing driver safety issues and behaviors. The research aimed to develop recommendations for creating a safer driving environment at USF by updating driver safety information for students and raising awareness about safety across all campus transportation modes.

As part of this initiative, the USF Student Government (SG) partnered with the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) to pilot a new student transportation officer position …

Legitimacy Throughlines In The Structural Design Of International & "Internationalized" Criminal Tribunals, Michael J. Kelly

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Today, the rather surprising and sudden surfeit of prosecutions for international crimes by states utilizing universal jurisdiction as we open the second decade of the 21^st Century may represent a preference for domestic over international criminal prosecution altogether. Yet, the legitimacy quotient remains a key part of the discussion. For example, as discussed in section V below, with respect to the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine, opinion is divided as to whether prosecution for this crime should proceed from a newly created international tribunal or from an “internationalized” court within the Ukrainian judicial system.[1] Ukraine backs the …

Building Open Finance, Douglas W. Arner, Ross P. Buckley, Christine M. Wang, Dirk A. Zetzsche

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

As one of the most digitalized sectors of the economy, finance is increasingly dependent on data. Over the past decade, the implementation of Open Banking and Open Finance in an increasing number of major jurisdictions around the world, including the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), seeks to break down data silos, empower consumers, and increase competition among financial service providers, aiming to maximize the value of financial data for innovation, growth, and competitiveness. In addition to mandatory requirements, other governance approaches to Open Finance, including collaborative arrangements and voluntary initiatives, …

Specialization Or Diversification? Creators’ Strategies On User-Generated Content Platforms, Ziwei Ye

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Recent advancements in digital platforms have reshaped content creation and distribution. User-generated content (UGC), created and shared by internet users, is transforming entertainment, communication, and information sharing. The rise of UGC has fueled the growth of the "creator economy"—an ecosystem of creators, users, and advertisers facilitated by platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. While prior research has primarily explored how UGC platforms incentivize content quantity and quality, this study advances the literature by examining how creators' content strategies influence consumer attention and how platform mechanisms shape this relationship, offering new insights into the interplay between creator behavior and platform design. …

Using Computerized Instruction To Increase Professional Competence With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Cbt) Modifications, Paige Lee Sherlund-Pelfrey

Masters Theses

One in thirty-six children receive an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, and an estimated 5.4 million adults in the United States have previously received an ASD diagnosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022). At least seventy percent of individuals with ASD have one comorbid disorder (Valderas et al., 2009). Some common comorbid disorders for individuals with ASD include depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an evidence-based therapy that can support depressive, anxiety and OCD symptoms, and has empirically supported modifications that can be used with the ASD population. However, research reports that clinicians are not …

The Equal Rights Amendment: The 28th Amendment To The U.S. Constitution, Twiss Butler, Patrick Butler

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article reviews how Supreme Court interpretations of the 14^th Amendment have allowed laws to discriminate against women. It aims to show that the Equal Rights Amendment, ratified as the 28^th Amendment in 2020, offers a constitutional basis for eliminating all forms of legal sex discrimination against women. These forms include discrimination based on pregnancy and abortion, commodifying women’s bodies, and allowing men to intrude into women’s protected spaces. The review starts with the denial of protection for women by America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, denounces the Supreme Court’s precedent-setting 1974 Geduldig decision, which ruled—quite illogically—that discrimination …

Admiralty, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, as well as district courts within the Circuit, issued in 2024. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions during that timeframe, the Author identified and provided summaries of key rulings of interest to the maritime practitioner

Bankruptcy Law, E. Tate Crymes, Siena Berrios Gaddy, Victoria Barbino Grantham

Mercer Law Review

This Article focuses on bankruptcy opinions issued by the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Topics addressed include: (1) whether an insurer with financial responsibility for a bankruptcy claim is a “party in interest” under 11 U.S.C. § 1109; (2) appropriate remedies for a constitutional violation described in Siegel v. Fitzgerald; (3) whether the bankruptcy code authorizes a court to extinguish claims and potential claims without the consent of those affected or without martialing total assets for creditors; (4) finality of a contempt order; (5) revival under Rule 69(a) …

Labor And Employment, W. Jonathan Martin Ii

Mercer Law Review

This Article focuses on recent cases concerning federal labor and employment laws. Those opinions address the Federal Arbitration Act; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; The Americans with Disabilities Act; and The Fair Labor Standards Act.

You Are Your Child’S Keeper: People V. Crumbley Opens The Door To Parental Criminal Liability, Abigail C. Letts

Mercer Law Review

In the spring of 2024, James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents to Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter after their son shot and killed four Oxford High School classmates. This decision marks the first time in the history of the United States that the parents of a school shooter have been charged criminally for contributing to the death of the shooting victims, and comes in the midst of an era where our nation is wracked by gun violence.

In the quarter century since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, a generation of children have lived under the …

Introduction: International Environmental Law And Sustainability, Timothy E. Lynch, Irma S. Russell

UMKC Law Review

Introduction to the symposium issue, International Environmental Law and Sustainability

Sustainability-Competent Lawyering In The International Context, Amy L. Edwards, John C. Dernbach

UMKC Law Review

No abstract provided.