Law Commons^™

Hack, Mash & Peer: Crowdsourcing Government Transparency, Jerry Brito

Jerry Brito

Hack, Mash & Peer: Crowdsourcing Government Transparency

JERRY BRITO George Mason University - Mercatus Center - Regulatory Studies Program October 21, 2007

Abstract: In order to hold government accountable for its actions, citizens must know what those actions are. To that end, they must insist that government act openly and transparently to the greatest extent possible. In the Twenty- First Century, this entails making its data available online and easy to access. If government data is made available online in useful and flexible formats, citizens will be able to utilize modern Internet tools to shed light on government activities. Such …

The Costs And Benefits Of Separating Wireless Telephone Service From Handset Sales And Imposing Network Neutrality Obligations, Rob M. Frieden

Rob Frieden

Wireless operators in most nations qualify for streamlined regulation when providing telecommunications services and even less government oversight when providing information services, entertainment and electronic publishing. In the United States, Congressional legislation, real or perceived competition and regulator discomfort with ventures that provide both regulated and largely unregulated services contribute to the view that the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has no significant regulatory mandate to safeguard the public interest. Such a hands off approach made sense when cellular radiotelephone carriers primarily offered voice and text messaging services in a marketplace with six or more facilities-based competitors in most metropolitan areas. …

The Human Factor: Globalizing Ethical Standards In Drug Trials Through Market Exclusion, Fazal R. Khan

Fazal Khan

This paper proposes a framework of international soft law and domestic drug regulations to a priori remove incentives for unethical clinical drug research in developing nations. The globalization of drug testing is very problematic from a bioethics perspective. While stringent regulations in the U.S. or E.U. may pose an adequate check on unethical research practices, many multinational corporations are engaging in regulatory arbitrage by outsourcing ethically questionable research to countries with less restrictive regulations. Given the tremendous financial reward a blockbuster therapy might generate, there is a strong incentive to move more research and development to countries with even looser …

A Philosophy Of Privitization: Rationing Health Care Through The Medicare Modernization Act Of 2003, Eleanor B. Sorresso

Eleanor B Sorresso

Over the past two decades, managed care coverage programs have grown to dominate the private health insurance market. With the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, managed care programs are now expanding to envelop our nation’s Medicare program as well. Proponents have based this expansion primarily on the premise that market economics provides a more efficient paradigm under which to regulate available health care resources. However, this premise of market efficiency proves problematic in the health care arena because it disregards issues of societal responsibility and the risk of socioeconomic stratification in the allocation …

The Risky Business Of Lifestyle Genetic Testing: Protecting Against Harmful Disclosure Of Genetic Information, Gabrielle Z. Kohlmeier

Gabrielle Z Kohlmeier

The technological and scientific advances of nutrigenetic testing imply that the future is here, but unfortunately the legal protections are not. Nutrigenetics—the newly developing science correlating diet and genotypes—promises an easier way to escape the consequences of unhealthy lifestyles. And a large contingent of Americans, including cost-conscious employers and health insurers, are seeking such high-tech solutions. Web-based nutrigenetic testing, purportedly offering custom-tailored plans without a trip to the doctor’s office, thus captures a wide audience. The enthusiasm for nutrigenetics may obfuscate the unusual problems surrounding protection of genetic information, particularly in a market context. Upon providing genetic material, an individual …

The Intelligent Construction Of The Universe: A Mathematical Proof - The Link Among Science, Natural Law And Jurisprudence, Ashley Saunders Lipson

Ashley Saunders Lipson

A mathematical proof that the Universe was intelligently constructed. The paper forms the predicate for a new form of jurisprudence (Mathematical Determinism)linking science to Natural Law and morality.

Virtual World Taxation: Theories Of Income Taxation Applied To The Second Life Virtual Economy, Timothy J. Miano

Timothy J Miano

A virtual world is a computer simulated environment in which users interact with each other via graphical representations of themselves. Second Life is one such virtual world released by Linden Lab in 2003. One of the most important and interesting aspects of virtual worlds is the depth and sophistication of the economies that develop among the users. In fact, some virtual worlds, including Second Life, have currency exchanges where users can trade real-world currencies for virtual-world currency and vice versa. This means that the currency, goods, and services within the virtual-world marketplace have a corresponding real-world monetary value. The implication …

Forensic Dna Phenotyping: Regulatory Issues, Bert-Jaap Koops, Maurice Schellekens

Bert-Jaap Koops

Forensic DNA phenotyping is an interesting new investigation method: crime-scene DNA is analyzed to compose a description of the unknown suspect, including external and behavioral features, geographic origin and perhaps surname. This method is allowed in some countries but prohibited in a few others. Most countries have not yet taken a stance on this. This article addresses the question to what extent this investigation method should be allowed. The relevant regulatory issues are analyzed: the right of people not to know what their DNA tells about propensities for diseases or other propensities, data protection and privacy, stigmatization and discrimination, and …

License To Sue?, Lorelei Ritchie De Larena

Lorelei Ritchie de Larena

Courts, commentators and practitioners have for too long viewed intellectual property law as a discrete discipline, without putting it into the proper theoretical context of general jurisprudence. Intellectual property law cannot and must not exist on its own, outside the normative framework of overlapping legal institutions. Even within the rubric of intellectual property, courts have overlooked the potential for cross-applying relevant doctrines between patent, copyright, and trademark law. Certainly, when intellectual property disputes touch on other disciplines, such as civil procedure, contract, or tort law, courts have tended to overlook their synergies, focusing instead on only one of several important …

Federal Search Commission? Access, Fairness, And Accountability In The Law Of Search, Oren Bracha, Frank Pasquale

Oren Bracha

Should search engines be subject to the types of regulation now applied to personal data collectors, cable networks, or phone books? In this article, we make the case for some regulation of the ability of search engines to manipulate and structure their results. We demonstrate that the First Amendment, properly understood, does not prohibit such regulation. Nor will such interventions inevitably lead to the disclosure of important trade secrets. After setting forth normative foundations for evaluating search engine manipulation, we explain how neither market discipline nor technological advance is likely to stop it. Though savvy users and personalized search may …

Neither Fish Nor Fowl: New Strategies For Selective Regulation Of Information Services, Robert M. Frieden

Rob Frieden

Neither Fish Nor Fowl: New Strategies for Selective Regulation of Information Services Rob Frieden Professor, Penn State University 102 Carnegie Building University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (814) 863-7996; rmf5@psu.edu web site: http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/r/m/rmf5/ The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has created a dichotomy between telecommunications and information services with an eye toward limiting traditional common carrier regulation to the former category. This regulatory dichotomy provides the basis for exempting most Internet-mediated services from traditional telephony regulation that requires carriers to provide nondiscriminatory network interconnection even with competitors. To support its deregulatory mission the FCC has found ways to subordinate the telecommunications components in …

Differing Shades Of Meaning, Robin C. Feldman

Robin C Feldman

The relationship between patent law and antitrust law has challenged legal minds since the emergence of antitrust law in the late 19th century. In reductionist form, the two concepts pose a natural contradiction: One encourages monopoly while the other restricts it. To avoid uncomfortable dissonance, the trend across time has been to try to harmonize patent and antitrust law. In particular, harmonization efforts in recent decades have led Congress and the courts to engage in a series of attempts, some aborted and some half-formed, to graft antitrust doctrines onto patent law. These efforts have failed to resolve the conflicts.

This …

Dealing With The Realities Of Race And Ethnicity: A Bioethics-Centered Argument In Favor Of Race-Based Genetics Research (Aug. Draft), Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

This article addresses the proliferation of race and ethnicity-based genetics research, which has become increasingly prevalent with the utilization of population genetics to make medical sense out of the map of the human genome. The article challenges the work of several law scholars with arguments based in bioethics, research pragmatism, and genetic science to propose that recognition of race and ethnicity is preferred in population genetics. The article concludes that proposals to stretch U.S. antidiscrimination jurisprudence to regulate away race and ethnicity in genetics research are misguided at best.

If The Glove Don’T Fit, Try Newer Gloves: The Unplanned Obsolescence Of The Substantial Similarity Standard For Experimental Evidence, Jonathan M. Hoffman

Jonathan M Hoffman

In the context of a recent Fifth Circuit decision, this article reviews the law concerning the admissibility of “experimental” and demonstrative evidence. The standards used to determine the admissibility of both categories of evidence predate the Federal Rules of Evidence. These standards for admission of such evidence are obsolete and at odds with the Federal Rules. The issue is particularly important in the wake of the Kumho Tire decision and the 2000 amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, as engineers and other technical experts are increasingly called upon to test their hypotheses, even as the courts’ continued use of …

From Face-To-Face To Screen-To-Screen: Real Hope Or True Fallacy, Philippe Gilliéron

Philippe Gilliéron

The development of e-commerce involves the implementation of effective Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) methods. While the enactment of ODR methods is made particularly easy thanks to the technological tools at disposal, their mere implementation does still not ensure their efficiency. ODR has drawn much attention in legal scholarships in recent years. Strangely enough, hardly any scholar has however focused on a key factor for the good development of ODR: differences between face-to-face and computer-mediated interactions. After having described the current state of literature related to ODR, I shall focus more specifically on these differences based upon experiments conducted in the …

The Fda And The Future Of The Brain-Computer Interface: Adapting Fda Device Law To The Challenges Of Human-Machine Enhancement, Eric D. Chan

Eric David Chan

The neuroelectronic interface is an emerging technology that uses electric signals to communicate directly with the human brain. It promises to make possible a new generation of user-worn prosthetic devices that can be controlled at the speed of thought, functioning as actual extensions of the human body. Prototypes already exist, though they are still in development – artificial retinas, which can provide replacement sight for the blind; sophisticated prosthetic limbs. Though current applications are geared towards replacing lost natural function, there is no reason that these brain-computer interface devices cannot also be used to enhance the capabilities of a healthy …

Access To Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Susan B. Apel

Susan B. Apel

Abstract: The use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has raised questions about patient access to these new means of reproduction. This article explores existing legal constraints on access, primarily within the United States, including federal and state legislation and professional regulation. The article also raises questions as to the appropriate role and form of law in resolving disputes over patient access. The author acknowledges the difficulties in the drafting and use of positive, substantive law, and concludes by suggesting that legal concepts embedded in legal procedure may be useful in the resolution of access disputes.

If You Could Read My Mind: Implications Of Neurological Evidence For Twenty-First Century Criminal Jurisprudence, John G. New

John G. New

The advent of new technologies has permitted cognitive neuroscientists to explore the neural mechanisms underlying deceptive behaviors. Lawyers and law enforcement entities have shown great interest in exploring the legal consequences of employing such technologies; indeed such interest extends back to the days of phrenology and the advent of polygraphy. This article recounts current advances in the development of “truth telling” technologies, particularly functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and Brain Fingerprinting and recent attempts to introduce the latter into court as scientific evidence. The second part of the article explores the challenges to constitutional jurisprudence, especially to the Fifth and …

Benefiting Society And Children Through Violent Media: As Evidenced By First Amendment Protection For Violent Video Games, Austin Nowakowski

Austin James Nowakowski

This article discusses the constitutional, psychological, and societal reasons for why the courts have never upheld any laws censoring violent video games.

Patent Injunctions And The Problem Of Uniformity Cost, Michael W. Carroll

Michael W. Carroll

In eBay v. MercExchange, the Supreme Court correctly rejected a one-size-fits-all approach to patent injunctions. However, the Court's opinion does not fully recognize that the problem of uniformity in patent law is more general and that this problem cannot be solved through case-by-case analysis. This Essay provides a field guide for implementing eBay using functional analysis and insights from a uniformity-cost framework developed more fully in prior work. While there can be no general rule governing equitable relief in patent cases, the traditional four factor analysis for injunctive relief should lead the cases to cluster around certain patterns that often …

Who Owns "Hillary.Com"? Political Speech And The First Amendment In Cyberspace, Jacqueline Lipton

Jacqueline D Lipton

In the lead-up to the next presidential election, it will be important for candidates both to maintain an online presence and to exercise control over bad faith uses of domain names and web content related to their campaigns. What are the legal implications for the domain name system? Although, for example, Senator Hillary Clinton now owns ‘hillaryclinton.com’, the more generic ‘hillary.com’ is registered to a software firm, Hillary Software, Inc. What about ‘hillary2008.com’? It is registered to someone outside the Clinton campaign and is not currently in active use. This article examines the large gaps and inconsistencies in current domain …

Who Owns "Hillary.Com"? Political Speech And The First Amendment In Cyberspace, Jacqueline Lipton

Jacqueline D Lipton

In the lead-up to the next presidential election, it will be important for candidates both to maintain an online presence and to exercise control over bad faith uses of domain names and web content related to their campaigns. What are the legal implications for the domain name system? Although, for example, Senator Hillary Clinton now owns ‘hillaryclinton.com’, the more generic ‘hillary.com’ is registered to a software firm, Hillary Software, Inc. What about ‘hillary2008.com’? It is registered to someone outside the Clinton campaign and is not currently in active use. This article examines the large gaps and inconsistencies in current domain …

High Speed Rail Transit: Developing The Case For Alternative Transportation Schemes In The Context Of Innovative And Sustainable Global Transportation Law And Policy , Kamaal Zaidi

Kamaal Zaidi

This paper examines high-speed rail transit in the context of global transportation law and policy. Given increasing traffic congestion and rising pollution from existing forms of transportation, the author argues that high-speed rail transit is gaining popularity, and is quickly becoming a part of the transportation sector in several nations. The rise of this form of alternative has much to do with a strong commitment from legislators, and from growing partnerships between public and private entities. This commitment comes in the form of funding mechanisms, technological research and development, and application of environmental measures designed to reduce the impact of …

To Mark Or Not To Mark: Application Of The Patent Marking Statute To Websites And The Internet , Eugene Goryunov, Mark V. Polyakov

Mark V Polyakov

The Marking Statute expressly limits the patent owner’s recovery of damages if the patent owner itself, anyone making, offering for sale, or selling failed to mark its patented invention, sold within the United States, with the associated patent number. In these cases, damages must be limited to those that accrue after the infringer is provided actual notice of infringement. The authors suggest that, in light of relevant jurisprudence and the purpose of the Marking Statute, owners of patents that are directed to any business activities on the Internet should mark their own websites, and require their licensees to mark their …

Re-Evaluating Declaratory Judgment Jurisdiction In Intellectual Property Disputes, Lorelei Ritchie De Larena

Lorelei Ritchie de Larena

The Declaratory Judgment Act of 1934 was quickly tagged by the U.S. Supreme Court as a simple procedural measure. Whether simple or procedural, the addition of the declaratory judgment option has dramatically increased the rights of would-be defendants. This is of special interest in patent law, where without the ability to initiate legal action, an alleged infringer would typically have no recourse but to either drop a lucrative business and lose a massive investment, or to languish in legal limbo while potentially accruing liability for treble damages. The option of a mirror-image lawsuit removes the patentee’s ability to unilaterally decide …

Legal Construct Validation: Expanding Empirical Legal Scholarship To Unobservable Concepts, David S. Goldman

David S Goldman

This article proposes a system with which to empirically study unobservable legal concepts. Although empirical legal scholarship is becoming an increasingly important component of legal studies, its usefulness has so far been confined to topics that are directly observable, such as court decisions or crime rates. This limitation has unfortunately prevented the study of many of law’s foundational concepts, such as deterrence, incentives, or freedom, because they are not directly measurable. But this obstacle can be overcome by looking to social sciences, particularly psychology, that have developed mechanisms for assessing concepts like happiness or depression that cannot be directly measured. …

Somebody Has To Pay: Products Liability For Spyware, Jacob R. Kreutzer

Jacob R Kreutzer

It can be unsettling to discover that you have spyware (software that tracks user behavior and displays advertisements) installed on your computer. The signs of its presence can vary: a new toolbar may appear in your browser, or you may experience a proliferation of pop up advertisements. Whatever the symptoms, the cause is the same: a piece of software that was inconspicuous (or invisible) at the time of its installation is now dedicating itself to disrupting your use of your computer. A persistent consumer will likely be able to identify spyware that is present on his computer, whether through technological …

Turning A Blind Eye To Misleading Scientific Testimony: Failure Of Procedural Safeguards In A Capital Trial, William C. Thompson

William C Thompson

In September 1999, Robin Lovitt was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a pool hall manager in Arlington, Virginia. The DNA evidence that was a key part of the government’s case was presented in a misleading and unfair manner. In this case study, we first examine the way in which DNA evidence was misused. We then discuss the failure of the legal system at all levels to recognize and remedy this problem. Our goal is to explain how a system that supposedly leaves no stone unturned in capital trials managed to miss or ignore a crucial problem …

Real World Toys And Currency Turn The Legal World Upside Down: A Cross-Sectional Update On Virtual World Legalities, Ian W. Gillies

Ian W. Gillies

With 40 million members on the leading virtual world and overall user growth at 22%, some experts are saying virtual worlds are to the new millennium what websites were to the 90s. Just as the technological and economic growth of the internet drove numerous moral and legal issues to the forefront of society, so also will virtual world growth expand the overlapping moral and legal boundaries between virtual and real world experience. This paper provides a technology and market overview of virtual worlds and explores the intersection of some social and legal issues arising from the financial opportunity and virtual …

'Scrubbing' The Inbox: A Constitutional Alternative To Child Protection Registries, David Logan Pool

David Logan Pool

After the judicial demise of the Communications Decency Act and Child Online Protection Act and the continued impotency of CAN-SPAM to curb unsolicited commercial email, children remain vulnerable to harmful, indecent content via their inbox. In a recent attempt to curtail such exposure, several States have created Child Protection Registries. In essence, the laws allow children to register their email addresses with the state. The state laws impose significant criminal and civil penalties on senders of indecent material who send such emails to registered minors. Because the States retain the list of protected emails, senders of potentially indecent emails must, …