Law Commons^™

Chancery Court Again Grants Early Dismissal Of Litigation Challenging Control Stockholder-Led Buyout, Robert S. Reder

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chevron On Stilts: A Response To Jonathan Siegel, Philip Hamburger

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Analyzes Mfw's Ab Initio Requirement In Controlling Stockholder Litigation, Robert S. Reder, Ashleigh C. Bennett

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Declines To Apply Corwin To Foreclose A Books And Records Inspection Under Dgcl Sec. 220, Robert S. Reder, Dylan M. Keegan

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Corporate Incapacitation: A Handmaid's Tale, Mihailis E. Diamantis

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Finds That Adverse Directors Not Entitled To Privileged Board Communications Concerning A Potential Merger, Robert S. Reder, Katie Clemmons

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Towards Optimal Enforcement, Kent Barnett

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Finds Corwin Applicable To Merger Transaction Negotiated With 33.5 Stockholder, Robert S. Reder

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Amended Rules, Amended Pleadings: How The Abrogation Of Form 18 Politicized Direct Infringement Patent Pleading, Nick Baniel

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Since the abrogation of Form 18, the template for pleading direct infringement of patents, district courts have struggled to assess exactly what a plaintiff must assert in pleadings to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. In place of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 84, courts have developed multiple standards to assess pleading sufficiency. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has provided little guidance when given the opportunity to resolve this division, leaving uncertainty for litigants and judges. Using data collected from opinions on motions to dismiss during 2016 and 2017, this Note …

Commercial Clicks: Advertising Algorithms As Commercial Speech, Kerri A. Thompson

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Congressional hearings have finally called for the "right regulation" of social media platforms. The First Amendment, however, has shielded internet companies from regulation since the birth of social media. Even if Congress enacts legislation now, internet companies will be able to defend against the "wrong regulation" by claiming the regulation unconstitutionally limits their freedom of speech. This Article uses Facebook's advertising algorithms as a case study of how Congress can properly regulate Facebook by analyzing the advertising algorithms as commercial speech, which receives less protection under First Amendment jurisprudence. In doing so, Congress can protect the strong public interest in …

Reviewing St. Regis: Unresolved Issues At The Intersection Of Tribal Sovereign Immunity And Patent Law, Lucas Paez

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In July 2018, the Federal Circuit ruled that sovereign immunity does not circumvent an inter partes review brought by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. By deciding against the tribe in Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals ("St. Regis"), the court determined that inter partes reviews are adjudicatory proceedings brought by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and not an action brought by a private party. This ruling was the second significant ruling regarding inter partes reviews of the year, the first being the Supreme Court holding that inter partes reviews are constitutional. While the specific matter in …

Service Of Process Via Social Media: Exploring The Use Of Social Media Platforms To Provide Notice To Defendants In Civil Cases In Belgium, Cedric Vanleenhove

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In common law systems, there has recently been a trend to permit plaintiffs to serve process on defendants through social media networks. This trend raises the following question: Is this form of service also beneficial in civil law countries-in particular, Belgium? To answer this question, this Article analyzes the conditions under which this type of service has been allowed by US courts, where most of the new development has occurred. This Article concludes that social media service may be a valuable additional means of notice when the defendant does not have a known address. In such circumstances, Belgian law currently …

Delaware Chancery Court Rejects Federal Forum Selection Clause For Securities Act Claims, Robert S. Reder, Jona N. Mays

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Applies M&F Framework To Transactions In Which Controlling Stockholders Allegedly Received Unique Benefits, Robert S. Reder, Elizabeth F. Shore

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Pleading Standard In Post-Closing Damages Action Alleging Breach Of Revlon Duties, Robert S. Reder, Victoria L. Romvary

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Personal Jurisdiction: The Walls Blocking An Appeal To Rationality, Richard D. Freer

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Dell Appraisal: Delaware Supreme Court Rejects Chancery Court Valuation Giving No Weight To Deal Price In Connection With Management-Led Lbo, Robert S. Reder

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Finds Corwin Applicable To Third-Party Buyout Of A Company Controlled By A Large Stockholder, Robert S. Reder

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Declares Corwin Is Not A Massive Eraser For All Fiduciary Wrongdoing, Robert S. Reder

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Neighborhood Names: Why Should The Law Care, Nadav Shoked

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Rule 36 Decisions At The Federal Circuit: Statutory Authority, Matthew J. Dowd

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Recent commentary has questioned the validity of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's use of Rule 36 affirmances in deciding appeals from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). One article in particular posits that 35 U.S.C. § 144 and 15 U.S.C.§ 1071(a)(4) require the Federal Circuit to write an opinion in every appeal from the USPTO and therefore the court's use of Rule 36 affirmances, particularly with appeals of cases from the America Invents Act, is improper. This Article presents a reasoned counterpoint to that argument. A complete analysis of the statutory text, the legislative history, …

Who Owns A Joke? Copyright Law And Stand-Up Comedy, Scott Woodard

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Copyright laws are touted as the highest legal authorities by which artists can protect their works against all comers. However, when an artist's work fails to fit neatly into the statutory parameters needed to acquire copyright protection, that artist could receive no safeguards to ensure that their works will not be misappropriated by others.

This article undertakes a comparative analysis of two copyright regimes--from the United States and the United Kingdom--and measures their relative similarities and differences. From this comparison, this article explains how stand-up comedians, a group of artists who have traditionally believed their work was incapable of receiving …

Weeding Out Wolves: Protecting Speakers And Punishing Pirates In Unmasking Analyses, Nathaniel Plemmons

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

How should courts determine whether to expose an anonymous internet speaker's identity? Millions of Americans anonymously use the internet. The overwhelming majority of anonymous users obscure their identity while engaging in political or otherwise protected speech. A substantial minority, however, obfuscate their true identity while defaming others, pirating intellectual property, and otherwise breaking the law to escape liability for their wrongful actions, crying "free speech" when sued. Courts tread a razor-thin line between protecting legitimate exercises of free speech and exposing wrongdoers, as wrongful disclosure chills speech and exposes innocent persons to the very real threat of doxing. Conversely, failure …

Weeding Out Wolves: Protecting Speakers And Punishing Pirates In Unmasking Analyses, Nathaniel Plemons

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note examines the prevalence of anonymous internet speakers, the practical and legal issues that courts confront when balancing the rights of anonymous internet speakers with those of plaintiffs seeking to unmask them, and the serious dangers courts expose speakers to if wrongfully unmasked. Part I argues that internet speech merits the same First Amendment protections as traditional speech, notes the unique benefits of anonymous internet speech, examines the practical difficulties faced by courts and plaintiffs in unmasking anonymous speakers, and details the immense dangers these speakers face if wrongfully exposed. Part II analyzes the most common approaches courts use …

The Imaginary Constitution, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

How many ways can conservatives spin an originalist tale to support their deregulatory, small-government vision? The answer is apparently infinite. In a new book, Gary Lawson and Guy Seidman are the latest in a long line of scholars who insist that the real original meaning of the Constitution demands unwinding the regulatory state and substantially limiting the power of the federal government. They argue that the Constitution is a fiduciary instrument, specifically a power of attorney. After summarizing the book, this essay turns to three of its most important failings, each of which serves to make the book a work …

Saving Human Rights From Human Rights Law, John Tasioulas

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article advances the thesis that international human rights law (IHRL) has strayed from its formative purpose. This purpose, as formulated by the Formative Aim Thesis (FAT), is to give expression and effect to an underlying morality of human rights, insofar as it is appropriate to do so, through the medium of individual legal rights ascribed to all human beings. This Article elaborates on two main ways in which IHRL has deviated from the FAT: (1) a tendency to ignore the vital distinction between human rights (which have associated obligations) and universal human interests or values more generally; and (2) …

Disclosing Prosecutorial Misconduct, Jason Kreag

Vanderbilt Law Review

Prosecutorial misconduct in the form of Brady violations continues to plague the criminal justice system. Brady misconduct represents a fundamental breakdown in the adversarial process, denying defendants a fair trial and undermining the legitimacy of the criminal justice system. Commentators have responded by proposing a range of reforms to increase Brady compliance. Yet these reforms largely ignore the need to remedy the harms from past Brady violations. Furthermore, these proposals focus almost entirely on the harms defendants face from prosecutors'Brady misconduct, ignoring the harms victims, jurors, witnesses, and others endure because of Brady misconduct. This Article proposes a new remedy …

Wealth-Based Penal Disenfranchisement, Beth A. Colgan

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article offers the first comprehensive examination of the way in which the inability to pay economic sanctions-fines, fees, surcharges, and restitution-may prevent people of limited means from voting. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of penal disenfranchisement upon conviction, and all but two states revoke the right to vote for at least some offenses. The remaining jurisdictions allow for reenfranchisement for most or all offenses under certain conditions. One often overlooked condition is payment of economic sanctions regardless of whether the would-be voter has the ability to pay before an election registration deadline. The scope of wealth-based penal …

David Williams Ii, In Memoriam 1948-2019, Nicholas S. Zeppos

Vanderbilt Law Review

On February 15, 2019, hundreds of people gathered at the Temple Church in Nashville to celebrate the life and impact of David Williams II. As remembrances were spoken from the pulpit, and as tearful exchanges occurred between friends in the crowd, it was clear that people, communities, institutions, and lives were forever molded by this man—this fearless leader who left us unexpectedly.

In remembering my dear friend David, it is impossible not to think big. Words like “leader,” “trailblazer,” and “revolutionary” may seem diffuse on their own, but they are clear in their description of a man who always thought …

3d Challenges: Ensuring Competition And Innovation In 3d Printing, Michal S. Gal

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Not often does a general-purpose technology disrupt numerous markets and significantly affect social welfare. 3D printing is an exception. This technology promises to improve the quality of certain goods and to greatly increase the efficiency of their production processes. More importantly, it holds potential to reshape entire supply chains, including the design, manufacture, assembly, distribution, warehousing, and marketing of some goods, potentially even eliminating some parts of such chains. By changing the Coasean tradeoff, 3D printing also reshapes relationships between market players. This Article reviews the potential disruptive effects of 3D technology, analyzing the ways it impacts market dynamics and …