Law Commons^™

Rethinking The Communications Decency Act: Eliminating Statutory Protections Of Discriminatory Housing Advertisements On The Internet, James D. Shanahan

Federal Communications Law Journal

The recent decision in Craigslist signals a drastic reduction in the effectiveness of the prohibition on discriminatory housing advertisements under the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"). Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act gives blanket immunity to Internet Content Providers from publisher liability for content originating from third parties. One of the effects of this immunity is the creation of a monopoly for discriminatory advertisements otherwise proscribed by the FHA. This Note argues that the simplest solution for Congress is to adjust the language of § 230 by adding the FHA to the list of exceptions to statutory immunity.

Japanese Prefectural Scapegoats In The Constitutional Landscape: Protecting Children From Violent Video Games In The Name Of Public Welfare, Susan Minamizono

San Diego International Law Journal

Part I of this comment will examine the history and application of freedom of expression in Japanese case law and the evolution of the public welfare concept and its circumscribing effect on individual freedoms. Part II will explore the recent local regulatory efforts and the historical underpinnings for these laws that place restrictions on materials to children. Part III will compare the Japanese legislative endeavors with their American counterparts and highlight the reasons why United States laws will continue to be struck down by courts. Part IV will analyze the response of the video game industry to the onslaught of …

Net Neutrality: An International Policy For The United States, Frederick W. Pfister

San Diego International Law Journal

Consider this scenario: Alex and John still are avid video game players and play hours a day, each connecting from the same town through different ISPs. However, since it is a peak Internet traffic time, it may be difficult for them to play. While Alex has the "Diamond" package from his ISP that ensures he has guaranteed high-bandwidth connection, John's ISP does not offer anything other than regular residential service. John must compete with everyone else in his local area for bandwidth, including a few who constantly watch high-definition video-on-demand and subsequently constrain bandwidth for other users. Would it not …

Who Controls The Internet? A Review, Deborah J. Salons

Federal Communications Law Journal

Book Review: Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World, Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, Oxford University Press 2006.

Ms. Salons reviews Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World, Oxford University Press, 2006. Authored by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, the book provides a history of the Internet and analyzes the nexus between globalization and government coercion. The book focuses on how these agents have shaped and developed the Internet as we are familiar with it today.

Bosley Medical Institute V. Kremer: The Winds Shift To Protect Cybergripers And A Circuit Split Blows Into Town, Anita Bhushan

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

On Virtual Worlds: Copyright And Contract Law At The Dawn Of The Virtual Age, Erez Reuveni

Indiana Law Journal

This Article argues that copyright law can and should apply to artistic and literary creations occurring entirely in virtual worlds. First, the Article introduces the concept of virtual worlds as places millions of people visit not only for entertainment but also for life and work. Second, the Article reviews the philosophical justifications for copyright, examines objections to applying copyright to virtual, rather than real, creative works, and concludes that neither precludes copyright for virtual creations. Third, the Article articulates how copyright law would function within virtual spaces and reviews copyrightable creations from the perspective of both game developers and players. …

The Anarchist In The Coffee House: A Brief Consideration Of Local Culture, The Free Culture Movement, And Prospects For A Global Public Sphere, Siva Vaidhyanathan

Law and Contemporary Problems

Jürgen Habermas' influential historical work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, describes a moment in the social and political history of Europe in which a rising bourgeoisie was able to gather in salons and cafes to discuss matters of public concern. The public sphere represented a set of sites and conventions in the eighteenth century in which (almost exclusively male) members of the bourgeoisie could forge a third space to mediate between domestic concerns and matters of state. Here, Vaidhyanathan examines one particular Public Sphere experiment--the rise of a global Free Culture Movement that aims to limit the spread …

The Telecommunications Act And Statutory Interpretation: National Cable & Telecommunications Association V. Brand X Internet Services, Mark B. Grebel

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Dude, Where's My Wine? The Potential Effect Of Granholm V. Heald On Georgia Direct Wine Shipment Regulations, Shri M. Abhyankar

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Copyright And Youtube: Pirate's Playground Or Fair Use Forum?, Kurt Hunt

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The entertainment industry has a history of framing new technology as piracy that threatens its very existence, regardless of the potential benefits of the technology or the legal limits of copyright rights. In the case of YouTube, copyright owners' attempts to retain content control negatively impact the public's ability to discuss culture in an online world. This implicates the basic policy behind fair use: to prevent copyright law from "stifl[ing] the very creativity which that law is designed to foster." The internet has become a powerful medium for expression. It is a vital tool in today's world for sharing original …

Justice, And Only Justice, You Shall Pursue: Network Neutrality, The First Amendment And John Rawls's Theory Of Justice, Amit M. Schejter, Moran Yemini

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

As broadband becomes the public's technology of choice to access the Internet, it is also emerging as the battlefield upon which the struggle for control of the Internet is being fought. Operators who provide physical access to the service claim the right to discriminate among the content providers who use the infrastructure in which the operators have invested. In contrast, content providers warn that exercising such a policy would "undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success."[...] For academic observers, analysis of this issue has thus far been confined to the areas of property law, innovation, and …

Biometrics: Weighing Convenience And National Security Against Your Privacy, Lauren D. Adkins

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The biometric identifier relies on an individual's unique biological information such as a hand, iris, fingerprint, facial or voice print. When used for verification purposes, a "one-to-one" match is generated in under one second. Biometric technology can substantially improve national security by identifying and verifying individuals in a number of different contexts, providing security in ways that exceed current identification technology and limiting access to areas where security breaches are especially high, such as airport tarmacs and critical infrastructure facilities. At the same time, a legitimate public concern exists concerning the misuse of biometric technology to invade or violate personal …

The Evolution Of Internet Legal Regulation In Addressing Crime And Terrorism, Murdoch Watney

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Internet regulation has evolved from self-regulation to the criminalization of conduct to state control of information available, accessed and submitted. Criticism has been leveled at the different forms of state control and the methods employed to enforce state control. After the terrorist attack on the USA on 11 September 2001, governments justify Internet state control as a law enforcement and national security tool against the abuse and misuse of the Internet for the commission of serious crimes, such as phishing, child pornography; terrorism and copyright infringement. Some Internet users and civil rights groups perceive state control as an abomination which …

The Corporatization Of Communication, Eric Chiappinelli, Adam Candeub, Jeffrey Chester, Lawrence Soley

Seattle University Law Review

Our next panel discusses the corporatization of communication.

Breaching The Great Firewall Of China: Congress Overreaches In Attacking Chinese Internet Censorship, Miriam D. D'Jaen

Seattle University Law Review

The Global Online Freedom Act of 2007 promotes freedom of expression on the Internet by prohibiting U.S. businesses from cooperating with officials in Internet-restricting countries. While the Act should be commended for imposing a higher standard of ethical business practices on U.S.corporations, there are significant problems with curing China's censorship policies by imposing liability on U.S. Internet companies. The standards and recommendations proposed by Congress within the Act correspond with an inherently American conception of freedom of expression. Thus, the Act imposes our domestic standards, rooted in the First Amendment, on states with very different political ideologies. A better alternative …

Cyberstalking, A New Crime: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Current State And Federal Laws, Naomi Harlin Goodno

Missouri Law Review

This article explores how the nature of cyberstalking represents a form of behavior distinct from "offline stalking." As such, the interpretation of many of the statutes dealing with offline stalking may be inadequate to address the problem. The first part of this article explores the differences between offline stalking and cyberstalking. The second part examines what the criminal elements of cyberstalking should be in light of these differences. The third part considers how these differences create gaps in both state and federal stalking statutes so that it may be difficult to adequately prosecute all aspects of cyberstalking. This section also …

A Right To Reach An Audience: An Approach To Intermediary Bias On The Internet, Jennifer A. Chandler

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keep Your Eye On Your Ball: Patent Holders' Evolving Duty To Patrol The Marketplace For Infringement, Aaron B. Rabinowitz

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Choosing Between The Advice Of Counsel Defense To Willful Patent Infringement Or The Effective Assistance Of Trial Counsel: A Bridge Or The Troubled Waters, Christopher A. Harkins

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Trouble is brewing for patent infringement defendants who use lawyers from one law firm to act as trial counsel and other lawyers from the same or different firm (albeit perfectly screened off from the trial team) to prepare a non-infringement opinion as an advice of counsel defense to allegations of willful infringement. The 2006 Federal Circuit decision in EchoStar has set off a veritable feeding frenzy of attacks by patentees' counsel on the most sacred of attorney client communications and work product: that of trial counsel. In a case of first impression, one federal court has even granted a motion …

National Cable & Telecommunications Association V. Brand X Internet Services: Resolving Irregularities In Regulation?, Amy L. Signaigo

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Is Apple Playing Fair? Navigating The Ipod Fairplay Drm Controversy, Nicola F. Sharpe, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Illinois Tool Works: Allocating The Burden Of Proving Market Power In Patent Tying Cases, Dennis J. Abdelnour

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Extra-Judicial Decision Making For Drug Safety And Risk Management: Evidence From The Fda, Hazel Mcmullin, Andrew B. Whitford

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Times May Have Changed, But The Song Is Still The Same: Why The Supreme Court Was Incorrect To Stray From Sony's Reasoning In Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. V. Grokster, Ltd., Julie A. Wooten

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Overcoming The Achilles Heel Of Copyright Law, Haochen Sun

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Calling All Angles: Perspectives On Regulating Internet Telephony, Melissa Winberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act, substantially revising the Communications Act of 1934 to reflect technological advances, including the Internet, and Congress's deregulatory goals. Currently, however, new technologies are challenging the viability of the statutory definitions and regulatory schemes of the statute. Internet telephony, commonly called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is both a replacement for traditional telephone service and a new web-based technology. Given the current competitive political climate and the magnitude of the interests involved, Congress is unlikely to succeed in altering the telecommunications regime. Thus, the Federal Communications Commission, which has the authority to regulate interstate …

The Chilling Effect Of Government Surveillance Programs On The Use Of The Internet By Muslim-Americans, Dawinder S. Sidhu

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

American Diagnostic Radiology Moves Offshore: Surfing The Internet Wave To Worldwide Access And Quality Perspectives: American Diagnostic Radiology Moves Offshore: Where Is The Internet Wave Taking This Field, Eric M. Nyberg, Charles F. Lanzieri

Journal of Law and Health

International reading of medical imaging studies, or offshore teleradiology, has been a successful, though limited, practice benefiting patients and physicians for over a decade. Domestic and international market forces will continue to expand the demand for teleradiology as an important complement to United States based diagnostic radiology, though a full exodus of diagnostic reading to offshore sites is unlikely and inappropriate. Considerable obstacles remain to taking the teleradiology market to scale; however, barriers related to licensure, liability, quality assurance, and reimbursement will likely yield to market forces to be resolved in recognition of the significant benefits teleradiology offers to consumers …

Protecting The New Face Of Entrepreneurship: Online Appropriate Dispute Resolution And International Consumer-To-Consumer Online Transactions, Ivonnely Colón-Fung

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.