Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Law

Pathogen Genomes As Global Public Goods (And Why They Should Not Be Patented), Jorge L. Contreras Apr 2023

Pathogen Genomes As Global Public Goods (And Why They Should Not Be Patented), Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

During past viral outbreaks, researchers rushed to patent genomic sequences of the viruses as they were discovered, leading to disputes and delays in research coordination. Yet similar disputes did not occur with respect to the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. With respect to COVID-19, global research collaboration occurred rapidly, leading to the identification of new variants, the ability to track the spread of the disease, and the development of vaccines and therapeutics in record time. The lack of patenting of SARSCoV-2 is likely due the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Association for Molecular Pathology v. …


Pathogen Genomes As Global Public Goods (And Why They Should Not Be Patented), Jorge L. Contreras Apr 2023

Pathogen Genomes As Global Public Goods (And Why They Should Not Be Patented), Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

During past viral outbreaks, researchers rushed to patent genomic sequences of the viruses as they were discovered, leading to disputes and delays in research coordination. Yet similar disputes did not occur with respect to the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. With respect to COVID-19, global research collaboration occurred rapidly, leading to the identification of new variants, the ability to track the spread of the disease, and the development of vaccines and therapeutics in record time. The lack of patenting of SARS-CoV-2 is likely due the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Association for Molecular Pathology v. …


Proportionality Defenses In Frand Cases - A Comparative Assessment Of The Revised German Patent Injunction Rules And Us Case Law, Peter Georg Picht, Jorge L. Contreras Mar 2023

Proportionality Defenses In Frand Cases - A Comparative Assessment Of The Revised German Patent Injunction Rules And Us Case Law, Peter Georg Picht, Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

A new defense against injunctions in FRAND cases has arisen in Germany, and its relationship to the Huawei defense (whether viewed as a competition or contractual matter) is largely unexplo-red. In August 2021, the “Second Act for the Modernization of Patent Law” (Zweites Pa-tentrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz) took effect and modified the German Patent Act (GPA) in sever-al respects. Pertinent to our topic is an amendment to § 139(1) GPA which introduced an expli-cit proportionality defense against injunction claims. The new proportionality mechanism con-sists of three main elements: First, § 139(1)(3) GPA excludes the claim to an injunction in case of patent infringement …


Laws Governing Restrictions On Charitable Gifts: The Consequences Of Codification, Nancy Mclaughlin Jan 2023

Laws Governing Restrictions On Charitable Gifts: The Consequences Of Codification, Nancy Mclaughlin

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Over the last two decades we have seen marked changes in the laws governing donor-imposed restrictions on charitable gifts. These changes have occurred primarily as a result of the adoption in many states of the Uniform Trust Code (the UTC) and the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA). This Essay explains that codification in the UTC and UPMIFA of liberalized versions of cy pres and deviation, as well as other related changes to the common law, have had unintended negative consequences. Those negative consequences include a lack of coherence in the law, an elevation of form over substance …


How Victim Impact Statements Promote Justice: Evidence From The Content Of Statements Delivered In Larry Nassar's Sentencing, Paul Cassell, Edna Erez Jan 2023

How Victim Impact Statements Promote Justice: Evidence From The Content Of Statements Delivered In Larry Nassar's Sentencing, Paul Cassell, Edna Erez

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Whether crime victims should present victim impact statements (VISs) at sentencing remains a subject of controversy in the criminal justice literature. But relatively little is known about the content of VISs and how victims use them. This article provides a content analysis of the 168 VISs presented in a Michigan court sentencing of Larry Nassar, who pleaded guilty to decades of sexual abuse of young athletes while he was treating them for various sports injuries. Nassar committed similar crimes against each of his victims, allowing a robust research approach to answer questions about the content, motivations for, and benefits of …


Plastics And The Limits Of U.S. Environmental Law, Robert W. Adler, Carina E. Wells Jan 2023

Plastics And The Limits Of U.S. Environmental Law, Robert W. Adler, Carina E. Wells

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Plastics are among the most ubiquitous materials on the planet, used for functions ranging from single-use cups to medical syringes to industrial equipment. The properties that make plastic useful, however, also make them highly persistent in the environment when improperly disposed. Moreover, although plastic polymers are inert, they break down in the environment into harmful microplastics and nanoplastics, and plastics are often made using toxic chemicals or include toxic additives. These properties have caused a plastic pollution crisis. Massive amounts of plastics and breakdown chemicals contaminate the oceans and other ecosystems throughout the globe. The United States continues to contribute …


The Carpenter Test As A Transformation Of Fourth Amendment Law, Matthew Tokson Jan 2023

The Carpenter Test As A Transformation Of Fourth Amendment Law, Matthew Tokson

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

For over fifty years, the Fourth Amendment’s scope has been largely dictated by the Katz test, which applies the Amendment’s protections only when the government has violated a person’s “reasonable expectation of privacy.” This vague standard is one of the most criticized doctrines in all of American law, and its lack of coherence has made Fourth Amendment search law notoriously confusing. Things have become even more complex following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Carpenter v. United States, which has spawned its own alternative test for determining the Fourth Amendment’s scope. The emerging Carpenter test looks to the revealing nature …


Coercive Rideshare Practices: At The Intersection Of Antitrust And Consumer Protection Law In The Gig Economy, Christopher L. Peterson, Marshall Steinbaum Jan 2023

Coercive Rideshare Practices: At The Intersection Of Antitrust And Consumer Protection Law In The Gig Economy, Christopher L. Peterson, Marshall Steinbaum

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This Essay considers antitrust and consumer protection liability for coercive practices vis-à-vis drivers that are prevalent in the rideshare industry. Resale price maintenance, nonlinear pay practices, withholding data, and conditioning data access on maintaining a minimum acceptance rate all curtail platform competition, sustaining a high-price, tacitly collusive equilibrium among the few incumbents. Moreover, concealing relevant trip data from drivers is both deceptive and unfair when the platforms are in full possession of the relevant facts. In the absence of these coercive practices, customers too would be better off due to platform competition, which would lower average prices by sharpening competition …


Federalism And The Right To Travel: Medical Aid In Dying And Abortion, Leslie P. Francis, John Francis Jan 2023

Federalism And The Right To Travel: Medical Aid In Dying And Abortion, Leslie P. Francis, John Francis

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This article explores how rights to movement may limit state efforts to restrict abortions, either directly or indirectly. We use the language of “movement” to encompass short-term visits, longer-term residency changes, and the movement of goods or services across state lines. We prefer “movement” to “travel” or “tourism,” as this language risks trivializing the seriousness of what might be at stake. However, since “travel” is the term used in many U.S. court decisions and other discussions concerning the right,7 we use that term as relevant to these. The centerpiece of our defense is the relationship between freedom of movement and …


A Research Agenda For Standards-Essential Patents, Jorge L. Contreras Jan 2023

A Research Agenda For Standards-Essential Patents, Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This Chapter discusses the current state of legal, economic and policy research on standards-essential patents (SEPs) and fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) licensing of SEPs, and recommends additional research directions for the future. Areas for future research include the investigation of market adoption of standardized products subject to FRAND licensing and available on a royalty-free basis, measurement of various characteristics of SEPs including disclosure, validity, essentiality and transfer, the evolution of SDO and consortia patent policies, SEP licensing behavior, both by SEP holders and product manufacturers, SEP and FRAND disputes and litigation, including arbitration, and competition among patent pools for …


Shifting The Male Gaze Of Evidence, Teneille R. Brown Jan 2023

Shifting The Male Gaze Of Evidence, Teneille R. Brown

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

In this article I target the altar at which many of us worship—the pursuit of rationality. For evidence purposes, rationality is defined as decisions that are reasonable, objective, inductive, and free from the bias of emotion. This view of rationality is deeply embedded in evidence scholarship and practice. It is also reflected in evidence rules like FRE 403, which treat emotional testimony as unfairly prejudicial simply because it is emotional. The anti-emotion view of rationality reflects the thinking of Western philosophical giants. Plato, Hobbes, Descartes, and Bacon all thought that men should strive for rationality by suppressing their emotions, because …


Creating A Transparent Methodology For Measuring Success Within A Continuum Of Conservation For The America The Beautiful Initiative, Jamie Pleune Jan 2023

Creating A Transparent Methodology For Measuring Success Within A Continuum Of Conservation For The America The Beautiful Initiative, Jamie Pleune

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

On January 27, 2021, the Joseph Biden Administration identified the national goal of conserving at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. With this order, the America the Beautiful Initiative (“ATB Initiative”) was born, and the United States joined many other nations in adopting the 30 x 30 conservation target. However, beneath the lofty aspiration lay ambiguity. The Administration has not defined the term “conservation” or explained how it will be measured. Without a clear definition or metric for measuring the outcome of conservation projects, the ATB Initiative will lose credibility. The Biden Administration should avoid this result …