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Full-Text Articles in Law

Digital Innocence, Joshua A.T. Fairfield, Erik Luna Jul 2014

Digital Innocence, Joshua A.T. Fairfield, Erik Luna

Scholarly Articles

Recent revelations have shown that almost all online activity and increasing amounts of offline activity are tracked using Big Data and data mining technologies. The ensuing debate has largely failed to consider an important consequence of mass surveillance: the obligation to provide access to information that might exonerate a criminal defendant. Although information technology can establish innocence—an ability that will only improve with technological advance—the fruits of mass surveillance have been used almost exclusively to convict. To address the imbalance and inform public dialogue, this Article develops the concept of “digital innocence” as a means of leveraging the tools of …


Sowing The Seeds Of Protection, Elizabeth I. Winston Jan 2014

Sowing The Seeds Of Protection, Elizabeth I. Winston

Scholarly Articles

Seeds are chattel. As such, seeds are protectable by the same tapestry of public and private ordering as other forms of chattel. However, the distinguishing characteristic of seeds, their method of propagation, and the history of seeds-traditionally viewed as a public good rather than chatteldistort that tapestry. The model of seed distribution thus needs to be refrained in light of the often disparate interests of innovators, producers, and consumers. As with all chattel, there is no single, correct model for distributing seeds, but law and contract may be woven together to strike a balance.