Law Commons^™

Fixing Informational Asymmetry Through Trademark Search, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

I call this paper a “Levendowski special.” It follows the signature format of much of Professor Levendowski’s prior work which, as in the latest article, recruits a legal tool typically aimed at one set of problems for the purpose of cleverly addressing a different set of problems. Her past articles harnessed copyright law to “fix artificial intelligence’s implicit bias” (2018) and to “combat revenge porn.” (2014). This paper draws on Professor Levendowski’s expertise working in private practice as a trademark attorney to address the problem of surveillance technology opacity. It is a primer on how to investigate trademark …

The Immanent Rationality Of Copyright Law, Shyamkrishna Balganesh

Michigan Law Review

Review of What’s Wrong with Copying? by Abraham Drassinower.

The Past And Future Of Copyright Politics, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Ip Law Book Review, Vol. 2 #2, February 2012, William T. Gallagher, Chester Chuang

Intellectual Property Law

Reviews and Reviewers:

JUSTIFYING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, by Robert P. Merges. Reviewed by Amy L. Landers, Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT LITIGATION: FORMS AND ANALYSIS–VOLUME I: CEASE-AND-DESIST DEMANDS THROUGH ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY, by Mark V.B. Partridge and Phillip Barengolts. Reviewed by Timothy Cahn, Kilpatrick Townsend LLP.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF NGOS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, by Duncan Matthews. Reviewed by Margaret Chon, Seattle University School of Law.

PATENTS AND TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD: LIBER AMICORUM JOSEPH STRAUS, edited by Wolrad Prinz zu Waldeck und Pyrmont, Martin J. Adelman, Robert Brauneis, Josef Drexl and …

Book Review: R.L. Campbell, Legal Issues In Electronic Commerce, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The juncture of “law and technology” from a legal education point of view is an interesting one. Successfully engaging with law and technology requires stu- dents (of all ages and stripes) to absorb at least some of the substance of many discrete areas of law, as well as to assess how technology creates nexuses between them and challenges some of their underlying notions. As electronic commerce increasingly becomes the bread and butter of many law practices, this need comes into sharper relief — one has to grasp a large variety of fundamentals and simultaneously generate some insight as to where …

Book Review: William F. Patry, How To Fix Copyright, Graham Reynolds

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In How to Fix Copyright, William F. Patry, one of America’s leading experts on copyright, calls for a “top-to-bottom, systemic overhaul” of copyright laws. For a Canadian readership in the midst of our own process of copyright reform, such a call to action is both timely and relevant.

Book Review: E-Discovery In Canada, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

It is not hyperbolic to say that the proliferation of electronically stored information (ESI) is probably the most prominent change-harbinger and potential havoc-wreaker in civil litigation today — second only, perhaps, to the spiralling costs of litigation itself. Indeed, the practical and legal difficulties associated with the storage, gathering, preservation, disclosure and evidentiary use of ESI have the potential to act as a Trojan Horse, causing what would previously have been ordinary cases to implode under their weight. Increasing recognition of this is evident; electronic discovery (e-discovery) cases have begun to emerge in the reports, a successful co-operative effort by …

Privacy, Crime And Terror: Legal Rights And Security In A Time Of Peril By Stanley A. Cohen (Markham: Lexisnexis Butterworths, 2005), Teresa Scassa

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

It is now trite to say that the events of September 11, 2001 have had a profound impact on our national security, in terms of its institutional and normative dimensions, and also in terms of a more general public anxiety. The hastily enacted Anti-terrorism Act of 2001 brought about significant changes to a wide range of statutes including, among others, the Criminal Code, the Official Secrets Act, the Canada Evidence Act, and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act. An early conference and resultant book on the Anti-terrorism Act raised serious concerns about the potential impact of the changes on …

Pathological Patenting: The Pto As Cause Or Cure, Rochelle Dreyfuss

Michigan Law Review

The Patent Act was last revised in 1952. The hydrogen bomb was exploded that year, vividly demonstrating the power of the nucleus; in the ensuing postwar period, the Next Big Thing was clearly the molecule. Novel compounds were synthesized in the hopes of finding new medicines; solid-state devices exploited the special characteristics of germanium and other semiconductors; as investments in polymer chemistry soared, advice to the college graduate soon boiled down to "one word ... just one word[:] ... Plastics." Over the next half-century, things changed dramatically. "Better living through chemistry" has begun to sound dated (if not sinister). Genomics …

E-Commerce Legislation And Materials In Canada: Lois Sur Le Commerce Électronique Au Canada Et Documents Connexes By Sunny Handa, Claude Marseille & Martin Sheehan (Markham, Ont.: Lexisnexis Butterworths, 2005), John D. Gregory

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This hefty volume is a useful compendium of the basic source materials for the law of electronic commerce in Canada. It offers the text of all the general-purpose legislation that removes legal barriers to the use of electronic communications, for all jurisdictions in the country. It then takes a dozen related areas of law, from domain names to taxation, from competition law to consumer protection, from security to standards, and offers a quick overview and the key documents applicable to each. In each case the commentary is in English then in French, and where the texts are available in both …

Producers And Consumers In Eu E-Commerce Law, Banu Sit

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Rapid growth of technology in the last decades has given rise to electronic commerce (e-commerce) as a new mode of commerce. This new commerce environment has many characteristics that affect commercial relationships and parties. Of these characteristics, global and borderless commercial activity and the intangible nature of communication can be singled out.

From a legal perspective, e-commerce has developed new modes, of contract formation, performance of contracts for intangible goods, as well as payment. In this new borderless and transient sphere, certain interests of parties involved in commercial activities as buyers or sellers are in need of protection. In particular, …

Review Of Legal Issues In Electronic Commerce, 2nd Edition (Concord, Ontario: Captus Press, 2005), Chidi Oguamanam

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This collection of materials is part of the Canadian Legal Studies Series. According to the publishers, the objective of the Series is to offer ‘‘a wealth of carefully selected, and up-to-date examinations of Canadian legal issues’’. The first of such collections under the same title appeared in 2002. According to Takach, one of the dynamics of computer, and indeed information technology, law is rapid change in technology trends. Thus, after two years, technological developments and corresponding legal responses on the subject of electronic commerce warrant a new edition of materials of this nature.

Biotechnology Unglued: Science, Society, And Social Cohesion By Michael D. Mehta, Ed. (Vancouver: Ubc Press, 2005), Chidi Oguamanam

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In Biotechnology Unglued, Mehta and his thirteen-member interdisciplinary team, comprising mainly of social scientists using a number of ‘‘case studies’’, explore in nine essays ‘‘how advances in agricultural, medical, and forensic biotechnology may threaten the social cohesiveness of different kinds of communities and at different scales’’. In a way, the project is a successful attempt to underscore the theme of (and imperative for) social accountability of science and bio/technological innovations. This 208-page collection of nine essays in a corresponding number of chapters is a remarkable effort. It is a departure from the traditional concerns regarding biotechnology innovations which, hitherto, emphasized …

Electronic Commerce - A Practitioner's Guide Edited By Alan M. Gahtan, Martin P.J. Kratz, And J. Fraser Mann (Toronto: Thomson Carwell, 2003), Harmonie Roesch-West

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

At a time when there seems to be no clear consensus on how to regulate electronic commerce comes a much-needed discussion of the many salient factors impacting the matter in Electronic Commerce: A Practitioner’s Guide. The collaborative effort includes works from several authors, compiled by Alan M. Gahtan, Martin P.J. Kratz, and J. Fraser Mann. This guide is an excellent first step in clarifying the issues and summarizing the precedents and relevant statute law to date. Although the target is an audience of law professionals, other e-commerce stakeholders, including business pro- fessionals, will find this collection useful.

Information Technology Transactions: Business, Management And Legal Strategies By Dunca Card (Toronto: Carswell, 2002), Michael E. Deturbide

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Although a number of Canadian books have appeared over the past few years addressing the legal issues that have arisen with the explosion in information technology, few have highlighted the practical implica- tions that these legal issues have in technology transac- tions. Duncan Card’s new book, Information Tech- nology Transactions: Business, Management and Legal Strategies, tackles these issues from a practical perspective that will be useful, as the title suggests, to both lawyers and management.

A Review Of The New Trade-Mark Manual, Lenore B. Stoughton

Michigan Law Review

The United States Trade-Mark Act of July 5, 1946, is a statute designed to be of far-reaching effect. The appraisal of the statute must be made in the light of that fact rather than in the light of the confusion and disputation which have arisen as to the proper interpretation of many of its provisions.

One might have supposed that an act which had been subjected to intensive study and extensive revision over so many years before its final enactment would emerge in complete clarity. Such has not proved to be the case; and it should not have been expected. …

The Law Of Unfair Competition And Trademarks, Milton Handler

Michigan Law Review

A Review of THE LAW OF UNFAIR COMPETITION AND TRADEMARKS By Harry D. Nims.