Law Commons^™

Business Method Patents And Their Limits: Justifications, History, And The Emergence Of A Claim Construction Jurisprudence, Nicholas A. Smith

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Scholars, practitioners, and even popular media spilled much ink over business method patents in the late 1990s, eager to discuss the shift in jurisprudence that enabled patent holders to enforce business method patents for the first time. Since that initial period of excitement--during which businesses filed record numbers of applications for business method patents, and numerous articles tracing the doctrinal shift were published--commentators have written little on the topic. Various patent holders, however, have since litigated business method patent claims. During these first few years after judicial endorsement of business method patents, such litigation has focused on the scope of …

The Disappearing Settlement: The Contractual Regulation Of Smith & Wesson Firearms, Charles C. Sipos

Vanderbilt Law Review

Consider three transactions: (1) federal legislation passed by Congress; (2) an order of judgment in a private lawsuit; and (3) a contractual arrangement between private parties. If one were asked to rank those transactions in order of the potential impact they should have on public and social policy, they would probably appear in the order that they are listed. Intuition, experience, and plain common sense might likely lead to the conclusion that legislation has the greatest impact on public policy, private agreements the least,' and final judgments in litigation somewhere in between. Democratic principles provide very good reasons for this …

Coalbed Methane Development In The Intermountain West: Primer, Gary Bryner

Coalbed Methane Development in the Intermountain West (April 4-5)

50 pages (includes color illustrations and maps).

Contains 7 pages of endnotes.

An Overview Of The Symposium, Timothy L. Fort, Cindy A. Schipani

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

By design, this conference was constructed to brainstorm about the connection of governance, ethics, and peace. To that end, the conference and these papers were a success. As a novel question, however, we are far from providing a definitive answer to exactly what should be done to foster the connection and, more basically, exactly what the connection looks like. One can, however, identify three general themes emanating from the conference that provide a sense for the opportunities of future research.

First, there is a public policy dimension. Corporations gain their authority through state action and the duties of fiduciaries of …

Public Policy And The Tyranny Of The Bottom Line In The Termination Of Older Workers, Judith D. Fischer

Judith D. Fischer

This article discusses whether termination of an older worker in order to hire a younger worker for less money should be construed as a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Drawing on scholarship from the fields of education, business psychology, sociology, and the law, the article concludes that allowing salary-based terminations is bad public policy. In additional to harming the terminated workers, such terminations also affect the remaining employees’ morale and send younger workers the message that if they work hard and achieve high salaries, they will become prime targets for termination. The article also critiques the …

Educationally Related Mental Health Services For Children With Serious Emotional Disturbance: Addressing Barriers To Access Through The Idea, Lucy W. Shum

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Why Suppose - Let's Find Out: A Public Policy Research Program On Dispute Resolution, Lisa B. Bingham

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In this commentary, I suggest that we can get a broader picture of the research agenda to address these policy issues by refining our notions of self-determination. In addition to self-determination over process and outcome in the individual case, we need to start examining who has control over design of the dispute system as a whole. First, this commentary addresses the difference between self-determination at the case level and self-determination in dispute system design and how these two separate dimensions of self-determination can help us distinguish among different uses of mediation and arbitration. Second, using this framework, I attempt to …

So Help Me God: A Comparative Study Of Religious Interest Group Litigation, Jayanth K. Krishnan, Kevin R. Den Dulk

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Charities And The Constitution: Evaluating The Role Of Constitutional Principles In Determining The Scope Of Tax Law's Public Policy Limitation For Charities, David A. Brennen

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article expands the discussion of whether tax-exempt charities, for constitutional law purposes, should be treated as government actors, as private actors or as something in between. While government actors are subject to constitutional law restrictions concerning discrimination and free speech, private non-government actors are not generally subject to these same restrictions. Although tax-exempt charities are often thought of as sovereigns and, thus, government-like, the fact remains that charities are private entities created to serve public purposes. As private entities, charities - like all other private entities - are not necessarily bound by constitutional law principles. Still, the many “public” …

The Practical Entry And Utility Of A Legal-Managerial Framework Without The Economic Analysis Of Law, James E. Holloway

Campbell Law Review

This article examines the practicality underlying the entry and utilization of a L-M analysis and legal information into the process of business decision-making by lawyers and managers who generally do not understand or use each others' methodology and thinking, such as business methods and legal analysis, in their professional works and practices.

Using Immigration Law To Protect Human Rights: A Critique Of Recent Legislative Proposals, William J. Aceves, Paul L. Hoffman

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article critiques several legislative proposals that sought to impose immigration restrictions on serious human rights abusers. Part I provides a brief overview of the international restrictions on immigration relief. In particular, it focuses on those restrictions that limit immigration relief available to individuals who have committed serious human rights abuses. Part II then reviews the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and its restrictions on immigration relief. It also examines the federal agencies charged with investigating cases of serious human rights abusers in the United States. Part III describes recent legislative proposals that have sought to deny immigration relief to …

Nevada’S Employee Inventions Statute: Novel, Nonobvious, And Patently Wrong, Mary Lafrance

Scholarly Works

In its Seventy-First Session, the Nevada Legislature enacted a new statute, S. B. 558, granting employers complete ownership of any work-related inventions created by their employees, regardless of whether the employer contributed any resources whatsoever to the inventive process. This stunning reversal of longstanding common law was little noticed by the public, and was debated only superficially in the state legislature before receiving its overwhelming vote of approval.

This Article examines Nevada's new employee invention statute from the perspectives of common law and public policy. It compares Nevada's new statute with the traditional common law rules governing employee inventions, as …

Policing Guns And Youth Violence, Jeffrey A. Fagan

Faculty Scholarship

To combat the epidemic of youth gun violence in the 1980s and 1990s, law enforcement agencies across the United States adopted a variety of innovative strategies. This article presents case studies of eight cities' efforts to police gun crime. Some cities emphasized police-citizen partnerships to address youth violence, whereas others focused on aggressive enforcement against youth suspected of even minor criminal activity. Still others attempted to change youth behavior through "soft" strategies built on alternatives to arrest. Finally, some cities used a combination of approaches. Key findings discussed in this article include:

• Law enforcement agencies that emphasized police-citizen cooperation benefited …

Publicly Financed Sports Facilities: Are They Economically Justifiable? A Case Study Of The Los Angeles Staples Center, Matthew J. Parlow

Matthew Parlow