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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Wooly-Mammoth In The Room: The Patentability Of Animals Brought Back From Extinction Through Cloning And Genetic Engineering, Miriam Ricanne Swedlow
The Wooly-Mammoth In The Room: The Patentability Of Animals Brought Back From Extinction Through Cloning And Genetic Engineering, Miriam Ricanne Swedlow
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Advances and success in cloning and genetic engineering may mean passenger pigeons, dodos, gastric-brooding frogs, thylacines, woolly mammoths, and other extinct species will once again grace this planet. As de-extinction becomes a reality, it is uncertain whether these animals are patent eligible. Diamond v. Chakrabarty opened the door to cloning multicellular organisms. Since then, the U.S. Patent Office’s Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences has found “non-naturally occurring, man-made organisms including animals” to be patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Because the initial case challenging this decision failed on procedural grounds, the underlying legal issue has not been …
The Dmca Rulemaking Mechanism: Fail Or Safe?, Maryna Koberidze
The Dmca Rulemaking Mechanism: Fail Or Safe?, Maryna Koberidze
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
This Article analyzes seventeen years under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) rulemaking mechanism and suggests changes to reinforce its successes while remedying its failures. Part I briefly discusses the legislative history of the rulemaking mechanism and policy justifications for its adoption within the DMCA scheme. Part II reviews legal and evidentiary standards of the rulemaking and recent changes to its administrative procedure. Part III provides an overview of the prior rulemakings and their impact on non-infringing uses, with a particular focus on the “e-book” and “cellphone unlocking” exemptions. Part IV applauds the Breaking Down Barriers to Innovation Act of …
Real-Time Sports Data And The First Amendment, Ryan M. Rodenberg, John T. Holden, Asa D. Brown
Real-Time Sports Data And The First Amendment, Ryan M. Rodenberg, John T. Holden, Asa D. Brown
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Technological advancements have created an emergent challenge for organizations attempting to monetize real-time information. Real-time data as a commodity is especially relevant in the sports industry. Sports leagues increasingly seek to control the dissemination of real-time data in conjunction with lucrative distribution agreements. We analyze the legal status of real-time sports data under both intellectual property law and the First Amendment, with our case-by-case analysis extending to spectators, gamblers, journalists, and non-gambling entrepreneurs. Although we conclude that the First Amendment protections are broad across all four categories, particularly when the underlying sporting event takes place on public land, we find …
From Inwood To Internet And Beyond: Assessing The Web Host-User Relationship In Contributory Online Trademark Infringement, Julie Liu
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
While courts have created a doctrine of contributory trademark infringement in response to the expansion of goods and services from brick-and-mortar to the Internet, the exact duties of web hosts under the rule are not yet clear. Despite judicial attempts to carve out new standards to define traditional requirements, the application of these standards remains inconsistent and has left unresolved ambiguities. The disparities between the standards may be balanced through an analysis of the affirmative duties imposed by the law on online service providers, as well as a closer look at the relationship between a service provider and user. This …
Graffitti And The Visual Artists Rights Act, Amy Wang
Graffitti And The Visual Artists Rights Act, Amy Wang
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Common adornments on the sides of freight trains, highway underpasses, and dark alleyways, aerosol paint designs now also boast recent appearances on high-fashion runways, in Top 40 music videos, and even at sophisticated art auctions. Graffiti, by any other name, is still generally associated with gang activity. However, the acceptance of street art by pop culture has legitimized spray painting as another expression of modern art and aerosol artists have proven they deserve recognition. Nonetheless, while intellectual property law extends protection to benefit other artists, its application is limited as a recourse for graffiti artists. Why? Because the irony of …
Markman Twenty Years Later: Twenty Years Of Unintended Consequences, Jerry A. Riedinger
Markman Twenty Years Later: Twenty Years Of Unintended Consequences, Jerry A. Riedinger
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
The Federal Circuit’s Markman decision removed juries from the claim interpretation process, thereby revolutionizing patent law. Designed to provide greater certainty and predictability, Markman nevertheless produced unintended consequences, increasing ambiguity and complexity. By declaring claim interpretation an entirely legal issue, the Federal Circuit imposed intricate and even contradictory rules, many resulting from the Federal Circuit’s long insistence that no issues of fact existed, so that claim construction was entirely subject to de novo review. The uncertainty was compounded by rules focused on semantic quibbles unrelated to what was invented. Increased burdens and continuing uncertainty followed.
Standing Room Only: Madstad Engineering And The Potential To Challenge The Constitutionality Of The America Invents Act's "First-Inventor-To-File" Patenting System, Christopher J. Ferrell
Standing Room Only: Madstad Engineering And The Potential To Challenge The Constitutionality Of The America Invents Act's "First-Inventor-To-File" Patenting System, Christopher J. Ferrell
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
In 2011, the Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) was signed into law, bringing significant changes to the Patent Act of 1952. Arguably, the most substantial change was the demise of the “American approach” to patent law: the “first-to-invent” patent filing system. Congress, by enacting the AIA, changed America's patent system from “first-to-invent” to “first-inventor-to-file,” sparking controversy among patent scholars and practitioners, with some individuals arguing that this change was unconstitutional. Recently, the Federal Circuit faced an issue of first impression when an inventor challenged the constitutionality of the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the AIA, and by extension the AIA as a …