Law Commons^™

Evaluation Criteria And Quality Control For Legal Knowledge Systems On The Internet: A Case Study, Marie Stefanini Newman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Professor Newman discusses evaluation criteria for law-oriented Internet sites and how to use these criteria when launching new sites or improving existing sites. She also discusses the use of quality control procedures to ensure accuracy and reliability in Internet sites, and concludes with a case study of the Pace University School of Law's Web site on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

Expanding New York's Dna Database: The Future Of Law Enforcement, Robert W. Schumacher Ii

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article discusses a proposal by New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir to expand New York's DNA Database. The proposal would allow the police to obtain DNA from anyone arrested for a recordable offense. The Article describes how DNA is used by law enforcement from the molecular level to DNA databases. The Article then describes Safir's proposal, including the controversy surrounding Fourth Amendment privacy concerns and fears of potential misuse of the DNA information by law enforcement. Despite these concerns, in light of New York's recidivism rates, crime trends, administrative costs, and investigative efficiency, the Article argues that Safir's …

Why Start-Ups?, Joseph Bankman, Ronald J. Gilson

Faculty Scholarship

The prototypical start-up involves an employee leaving her job with an idea and selling a portion of that idea to a venture capitalist. In many respects, however, the idea should be worth more to the former employer. The former employer can be expected to have better information concerning the employee-entrepreneur and the technology, have opportunities to capture economies of scale and scope not available to a venture capital-backed start-up, and will receive more favorable tax treatment than the start-up should the innovation fail. In connection with an auction of the idea, the former employer should have both a more accurate …

Art And The Marketplace Of Expression, Marcie A. Hamilton

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

No abstract provided.

A Proposed Defense To Patent Infringement, Alfonso Garcia Chan

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

The American patent system is a major catalyst for technological progress and economic growth. In most cases, the system works well to achieve those ends. In rare but significant circumstances, however, the patent system can be manipulated to suppress technological progress. Unlike patent rights in other nations, the American patent grant is a negative right to exclude others. Thus, the patent owner need not practice or license others to practice the invention. Indeed, a patent owner has the right to do nothing for the lifetime of the patent. A patent owner's lack of action, however, could prevent progress in a …

Courting Cyberspace, Al Harrison

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Having the ability to practice law in cyberspace has virtually metamorphosed the legal landscape into an amorphous mass. In this murky region, trying to apply well-established legal principles creates a colloidal covering of uncertainty. Besides compelling changes in the way legal services are delivered, this metamorphosis has introduced numerous practical and ethical concerns for lawyers and law firms. For example, consider the following questions:

• With whom are you communicating by sending e-mail?
• Are you inadvertently providing free legal advice to an unknown person in an unknown venue?
• Have you inadvertently established an attorney-client relationship?
• Are you licensed in the state …

Dna Database Searches And The Legal Consumption Of Scientific Evidence, Peter Donnelly, Richard D. Friedman

Articles

DNA evidence has transformed the proof of identity in criminal litigation, but it has also introduced daunting problems of statistical analysis into the process. In this Article, we analyze a problem related to DNA evidence that is likely to be of great and increasing significance in the near future. This is the problem of whether, and how, to present evidence that the suspect has been identified through a DNA database search. In our view, the two well-known reports on DNA evidence issued by the National Research Council ("NRC"), each of which has carried great authority with the American courts on …

Capital Formation And The Internet: An Alternative Source Of Equity Financing For Small Businesses, Brandon W. Freeman

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Traditional methods of equity financing are unrealistically expensive for most small companies with capital needs. Under federal and state disclosure laws, start-up ventures must pay for printing a prospectus, advertising, and mailing, along with legal fees and other expenses, which are often beyond their means. But the Internet is expanding to enable small companies in their early growth stages to raise money from outside equity investors. By accommodating new technologies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state regulators have aided the Internet's expansion into equity financing.

In October 1995, through a Securities Act Release, the SEC endorsed and encouraged …

Saving Trees And Saving Time: Researching Environmental Law On The Internet, Jennifer Hodgkins

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Conducting research on environmental law typically involves using federal and state statutes, administrative regulations, caselaw, law reviews, journals, and other resources in highly technical and scientific areas. Many of these resources are now available on the Internet, enabling lawyers to take advantage of free and convenient access to information. This paper focuses on sites specifically pertaining to environmental law; it will not address more general sites that provide statutes, administrative regulations, and caselaw. Internet sites that may be useful to environmental lawyers are grouped into the following twelve categories:

(1) Federal Government Agencies (page 38)

(2) Texas Government Agencies (page …

Herd Behavior In Designer Genes, Peter H. Huang

Publications

The ability of individuals to choose their children's genes has increased over time and may ultimately culminate in a world involving free market reprogenetic technologies. Reprogenetic technologies combine advances in reproductive biology and genetics to provide humans increased control over their children's genes. This Article offers economic perspectives that are helpful in understanding the possibly unexpected ethical, legal, and social issues at stake in using reprogenetic technologies for trait enhancement selection. The Appendix analyzes two competitive games that might arise in such a biotechnological society. Specifically, the Article focuses on herd behavior, caused by either a popularity contest or positional …

Clear Signatures, Obscure Signs, Adam White Scoville

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judicial Decision-Making In The Age Of Biotechnology, George P. Smith Ii

Scholarly Articles

The major premise, minor premise, and conclusion of this Article are one and the same - for, they conduce to an acceptance of the fact that the social constructs and legal tools necessary for the modern judiciary to meet head-on and deal with the contentious issues of bioethics and biotechnology are already in place. To resolve problems arising from these potential quagmires, perhaps the major concern is for the courts to remain forever vigilant to the interlinking relationships or synergistic forces found in law, science, ethics, and medicine. Without vigilance and enhanced awareness of the dynamic and fluid situation here, …

Dickinson V. Zurko: Limits On The Federal Circuit's Standard Of Review, Sue Ann Mota

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Standards ofreview matter -or at least we think they do. After receiving an unfavorable decision from an administrative agency, a party faces a high hurdle on appeal if the standard of review is quite deferential. In Dickinson v. Zurko, the Supreme Court recently held that decisions of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) must be reviewed under the relatively lax scrutiny required by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). In contrast, the Federal Circuit had claimed the right to use the tougher "clearly erroneous" standard in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a).

Rejecting the historical, statutory, and policy reasons of …

The Ghost In The Computer: Radio Frequency Interference And The Doctrine Of Federal Preemption, Ralph H. Brock

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

The "Police Blotter" feature in a local Texas newspaper sets the scene. A man had reportedly complained to the police that a neighbor's use of a citizens' band (CB) radio was interfering with his business. He could hear the neighbor's CB radio transmissions on his telephone and through his computer speakers. After installing filters on his telephone and complaining to the FCC, the man had filed a criminal mischief complaint with the local police. Unfortunately for him, though, the local police have no jurisdiction.

Drafting A Patent Noninfringement Opinion Letter In Light Of Markman And Warner-Jenkinson, Barry Dove

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

This article provides a practical guide to drafting a patent noninfringement opinion letter in light of two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions: Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. and Warner-Jenkinson Co. v. Hilton Davis Chemical Co. The guidelines offered here do not represent the only way to write a noninfringement opinion letter. But if they are followed, the opinion letter should protect the interests of both the client and the patent attorney.

Table Of Contents

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

No abstract provided.

The Domain Name Game: Applying Trademark Law To An Internet Tug Of War, Deanna L. Kendall

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

This article focuses on the unique problems that the domain name registration system creates for traditional trademark law. First, the article discusses the Internet and explains how the domain name system works. Next, it identifies the trademark law that is implicated by the domain name system, paying particular attention to the FTDA. Then, it discusses nonjudicial remedies that may be used by trademark owners and domain name holders to resolve disputes. Finally, it analyzes the current caselaw in the area of domain name disputes and predicts what courts will do when faced with these novel and complex issues.

Cd-Rom Filings At Trial And Beyond, Clint F. Sare

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

For motions and briefs, using digital formats - such as a CD-ROM format - may provide significant benefits. Very few courts, however, accept electronic documents for filing in place of paper documents. Thus, for now, computer media may be used only to supplement those traditional filings. This paper discusses the following issues related to CD-ROM filings: (1) when CDROM filings may be allowed in trial and appellate courts; (2) what the disk may and should contain; and (3)whattechnical requirements may apply to such CDROM filings.

Because CD-ROM filings are far from standard, and are sometimes unacceptable, this article is necessarily …

Copyright Legislation For The "Digital Millennium", Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

In October 1998, Congress passed two major copyright bills, the "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" [DMCA], and the "Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act." Moreover, the Senate ratified U.S. accession to the WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties. The DMCA implements the obligations set forth in articles 11 and 12 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty [WCT] (and articles 18 and 19 of the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty [WPPTI) to protect technological measures against circumvention, and to protect "copyright management information" against removal or alteration that facilitates infringement. The DMCA also includes a chapter on the liability of online service …

A Brief Note On Database Protection And The United States, Marci A. Hamilton

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Legal Infrastructure Of High Technology Industrial Districts: Silicon Valley, Route 128, And Covenants Not To Compete, Ronald J. Gilson

Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, scholars and policymakers have rediscovered the concept of industrial districts – spatial concentrations of firms in the same industry or related industries. In this Article, Professor Gilson examines te relationship between high-technology industrial districts and legal infrastructure by comparing the legal regimes of California's Silicon Valley and Massachusetts's Route 128. He contends that legal rides governing employee mobility influence the dynamics of high technology industrial districts by either encouraging rapid employee movement between employers and to startups, as in Silicon Valley, or discouraging such movement, as in Route 128. Because California does not enforce post-employment covenants not …

Cloning And The Preservation Of Family Integrity, David Orentlicher

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Misperception That Bioethics And The Law Lag Behind Advances In Biotechnology, David Orentlicher

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Lochner In Cyberspace: The New Economic Orthodoxy Of "Rights Management", Julie E. Cohen

Michigan Law Review

Ninety-three years ago, in Lochner v. New York, the Supreme Court struck down a maximum-working-hours law for bakers as an impermissible invasion of employer-employee liberty of contract and, by implication, of the employer's property rights in his business. Lochner came to symbolize, and was vilified for, a vision of state power as rigidly circumscribed by the operation of judicially-determined laws of social ordering. By the late 1930s, the Court had changed course and accepted that the states' police power - or, in the case of Congress, the commerce power - encompassed even protective regulation of the parameters of the private …

Technocentrism And The Soul Of The Common Law Lawyer , Molly Warner Lien

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should There Be Another Ewe? A Critical Analysis Of The European Union Cloning Legislation, Khristan A. Heagle

Penn State International Law Review (1982 - 2011)

No abstract provided.

Speculating About The Next Administrative Conference: Connecting Public Management To The Legal Process, Paul R. Verkuil

Articles

The article advocates for the establishment of a new initiative inspired by the legacy of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) to address the need for improved public management in the federal system. It proposes a reimagined organization that would bridge the gap between legal processes and management issues, fostering a unified approach to public management. The new initiative would build on the strengths of the ACUS, such as its ability to facilitate dialogue between public and private sectors, while overcoming its limitations, including a narrow focus on legal procedures. The article emphasizes the importance of connecting legal …

Discovery, Learning And Adoption Of New Techniques: Choosing Specialization To Optimize Technical Progress, James Bessen

Faculty Scholarship

Why is it that adopting new technologies takes so long and costs so much? Clearly, firms do not know all the details necessary to implement a complex technology efficiently; learning these details requires extensive search. However, this explanation has a problem: even limited search may be so costly that newly discovered techniques will not be tried. We find that specialization solves this problem. If a complex process is divided into many small components, each searched in parallel, then discoveries are readily tested. Moreover, specialized search can perform surprisingly well even for processes of indefinite complexity. We measure the returns to …

Internet Contacts And Forum Notice: A Formula For Personal Jurisdiction, Darren L. Mccarty

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.