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Full-Text Articles in Law
Consignment Catastrophes: Lessons From New York's Art Gallery Fraud, Megan Haslach
Consignment Catastrophes: Lessons From New York's Art Gallery Fraud, Megan Haslach
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
The 2007 collapse of Salander O’Reilly Gallery in New York City caught the attention of New York’s state lawmakers after artists and their heirs lost nearly $120 million in gallery owner Lawrence Salander’s schemes. This scandal ultimately led lawmakers to enact major changes in the state’s art consignment statute. The changes bolstered existing protections while adding additional safeguards for artists who choose to consign their works through galleries rather than selling them wholesale. This Article will examine the relationship between consignors and consignees, highlighting major vulnerabilities that current consignment statutes create for artist consignors. In Section I, this Article will …
Framing The Issue: Avoiding A Substantial Similarity Finding In Reproduced Visual Art, Rachael Wallace
Framing The Issue: Avoiding A Substantial Similarity Finding In Reproduced Visual Art, Rachael Wallace
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Copyright issues are litigated in the United States every day. Yet attorneys representing visual artists settle suits more often when those suits involve the potential of a copyright infringement, partly because of the relatively few decisions on the matter. In Harney v. Sony Pictures, Inc., the First Circuit found that a copyrighted photograph could be copied to look nearly the same as the original because the copied elements were each unprotectable under the copyright. The copyright protected only those elements of the photo that were the result of the photographer’s choices in depicting the subject. The court held that …
Getting Beyond Abstract Confusion: How The United Kingdom's Jurisprudence Can Aid In Developing An Analytic Framework For Patent-Eligibility In Light Of Alice V. Cls Bank, Brendon Beheshti
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
This Article advocates consideration of the United Kingdom’s jurisprudence as persuasive authority for implementation of a new framework for analysis of subject matter eligibility of computer-implemented inventions in light of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International. The U.K.’s patent jurisprudence provides a more developed and clear analytic framework that conforms to the policy objectives of Alice, while also avoiding the conceptual problem of determining what is “abstract.” The result is a more useful and concrete analytic framework that also reduces conflicts of laws, and thus can help spur innovation across the …
Hologram Images And The Entertainment Industry: New Legal Territory?, Stephen Anson
Hologram Images And The Entertainment Industry: New Legal Territory?, Stephen Anson
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Modern technology allows for the holographic reproduction of a dead artist’s likeness, with the ability to perform past classic works or new original artistic works. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival performance by the “holographic” Tupac Shakur in April 2012 dazzled an excited crowd and made the idea of bringing back deceased musical celebrities or other public personalities a reality. The use of such holographic performances is in its infancy, but the potential for possible intellectual property infringement is real and concerns the areas of copyright, trademark, and–most importantly–the right of publicity, which protects a celebrity’s name, likeness, voice …
Fixed Perspectives: The Evolving Contours Of The Fixation Requirement In Copyright Law, Evan Brown
Fixed Perspectives: The Evolving Contours Of The Fixation Requirement In Copyright Law, Evan Brown
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
To qualify for copyright protection under the current Copyright Act, a work must, inter alia, be fixed in a tangible medium of expression. This requirement is easily met when a work is embodied in a historical medium of mass expression like a printed book, photograph, or audio recording. However, when an author departs from such established media of fixation, the requirement can create a more significant barrier to copyrightability. Three decades ago, digital media provided one such challenge. Today, authors and lawyers alike are pushing the conceptual boundaries of communicative media, and this has led to some controversial recent …
The Evolving Landscape Of Tcpa Consent Standards And Ways To Minimize Risk, Misa K. Bretschneider
The Evolving Landscape Of Tcpa Consent Standards And Ways To Minimize Risk, Misa K. Bretschneider
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Given the exponential growth in mobile phone usage, more businesses are adopting mobile communication strategies to engage with existing and potential customers. With 97% of all mobile marketing text messages being opened by their intended recipients, mobile text message marketing is both effective and lucrative. However, businesses must ensure that such messages comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which generally prohibits sending unsolicited commercial text messages. Indeed, TCPA litigation has become the recent darling of class action lawyers due to uncapped statutory damages and is sure to increase with the heightened consent regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications …
Discovering The Undiscoverable: Patent Eligibility Of Dna And The Future Of Biotechnical Patent Claims Post-Myriad, Alex Boguniewicz
Discovering The Undiscoverable: Patent Eligibility Of Dna And The Future Of Biotechnical Patent Claims Post-Myriad, Alex Boguniewicz
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
In June 2013 the Supreme Court held that naturally occurring human DNA cannot be patented, but synthetically created DNA is patent-eligible. Though a major victory for patients’ rights, the holding of Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics appears to be the latest in a series of restrictions on patents and the human body, much to the annoyance of biotechnology companies. However, this case should not be viewed as the final word in patenting “natural phenomena.” Patent claims of genetic material are still viable when the claim details a new and useful improvement on the naturally occurring product or an …
Spying On Americans: At What Point Does The Nsa's Collection And Searching Of Metadata Violate The Fourth Amendment?, Elizabeth Atkins
Spying On Americans: At What Point Does The Nsa's Collection And Searching Of Metadata Violate The Fourth Amendment?, Elizabeth Atkins
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Edward Snowden became a household name on June 5, 2013, when he leaked highly classified documents revealing that the American Government was spying on its citizens. The information exposed that the National Security Agency (NSA) collected millions of American’s metadata through forced cooperation with telephone-service providers. Metadata contains sensitive and private information about a person’s life. When collected and searched, metadata can reveal a portrait of a person’s intimate activities amounting to a violation of one’s reasonable expectation of privacy. This Article suggests changing the current standard allowing the NSA to collect and search metadata under Section 215 of the …
Who Knew? Refining The "Knowability" Standard For The Future Of Potentially Hazardous Technologies, Scott P. Kennedy
Who Knew? Refining The "Knowability" Standard For The Future Of Potentially Hazardous Technologies, Scott P. Kennedy
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
As consumer technology becomes increasingly complex, so too does the manufacturer’s task in assessing the scope of its duty to warn of potential dangers. A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Rosa v. Taser International, Inc., offers a prime illustration of this challenge through its analysis of a hazard posed by Taser weaponry. The Rosa court highlights a point of uncertainty in this area of law: courts typically determine which hazards were knowable at the time of manufacture as a matter of law, but they sometimes do so in the absence of …
Are Courts Phoning It In? Resolving Problematic Reasoning In The Debate Over Warrantless Searches Of Cell Phones Incident To Arrest, Derek A. Scheurer
Are Courts Phoning It In? Resolving Problematic Reasoning In The Debate Over Warrantless Searches Of Cell Phones Incident To Arrest, Derek A. Scheurer
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
In 1973, the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Robinson granted police broad authority to search arrestees’ personal property. Robinson’s broad rule has not been significantly limited and appears increasingly anachronistic in an age of rapidly advancing mobile technologies. Whether upholding or invalidating such searches, courts have relied on reasoning that ignores or conflicts with Robinson. This Article illustrates four problematic contrivances used by state and federal courts: (1) the comparison of mobile devices to “containers; (2) the misinterpretation of United States v. Chadwick’s concept of “property not immediately associated with the person;” (3) the …
Forced Turnovers: Using Eminent Domain To Build Professional Sports Venues, Peter Montine
Forced Turnovers: Using Eminent Domain To Build Professional Sports Venues, Peter Montine
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
If a city wants to keep a professional sports team within its borders, can that city use the power of eminent domain to do so? Although cities have not been able to successfully condemn the actual sports franchises within their respective cities, they have been successful in condemning land for the development of new sports venues intended to entice their teams to stay. In 2005, the City of Arlington, Texas invoked the power of eminent domain to condemn and destroy houses to make room for the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium. In 2006, New York City used eminent domain on land …
Sentencing Court Discretion And The Confused Ban On Internet Bans, Matthew Fredrickson
Sentencing Court Discretion And The Confused Ban On Internet Bans, Matthew Fredrickson
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
In United States v. Wright, issued June 2013, the Sixth Circuit cited a supposed consensus among circuit courts that Internet bans are per se unreasonably broad sentences in electronic child pornography possession and distribution cases. This Article demonstrates that the Sixth Circuit’s claim of a consensus is mistaken. While some circuit courts of appeal have limited judicial sentencing discretion when it comes to imposing Internet bans, many more have not imposed this limit. Despite this lack of consensus, in cases where such bans are challenged, most courts make their decisions partly based on either the Internet’s pervasive importance in …
The Internet And The Constitution: A Selective Retrospective, M. Margaret Mckeown
The Internet And The Constitution: A Selective Retrospective, M. Margaret Mckeown
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Over the last two decades, the Internet and its associated innovations have rapidly altered the way people around the world communicate, distribute and access information, and live their daily lives. Courts have grappled with the legal implications of these changes, often struggling with the contours and characterization of the technology as well as the application of constitutional provisions and principles. Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has had a close-up view of many of these Internet-era innovations and the ways the courts have addressed them. In this Article, adapted from her …
Pacific Nortwest Perspective: The Impact Of The America Invents Act On Nonprofit Global Health Organizations, John Morgan, Veronica Sandoval
Pacific Nortwest Perspective: The Impact Of The America Invents Act On Nonprofit Global Health Organizations, John Morgan, Veronica Sandoval
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) makes fundamental changes to the legislative landscape governing patent law in the United States and will bring about corresponding changes in the manner in which inventors and attorneys address patent issues. While the law is newly implemented, inventors in all sectors of the economy are eager to formulate reactions to it. In this Article, we explore the effects of the AIA on nonprofit research organizations dedicated to global health and life sciences. We report the perspectives of counsel representing such organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest. We also consider the patent system, and …
When Is A Youtube Video A "True Threat"?, Pedro Celis
When Is A Youtube Video A "True Threat"?, Pedro Celis
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
In United States v. Jeffries, the Sixth Circuit upheld a defendant’s conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) for transmitting a threat through interstate commerce after the defendant posted a music video on YouTube. The video threatened a local judge presiding over the defendant’s child custody proceedings. Circuits have split on whether § 875(c) and other similar federal threat statutes require the defendant to possess a subjective intent to threaten. This Article argues that the “true threat” test courts use to apply § 875(c) essentially incorporates a subjective intent to threaten. The Article then applies the subjective intent requirement to …
Aereo And Cablevision: How Courts Are Struggling To Harmonize The Public Performance Right With Online Retransmission Of Broadcast Television, Sam Méndez
Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts
Americans increasingly turn to the computer instead of the television to gain access to their favorite shows. With this in mind, Aereo allows its subscribers to stream broadcast television content to their computers, but does not compensate the broadcasters for these retransmissions. The broadcasters argue this violates their public performance right under the Copyright Act’s Transmit Clause, but because of Aereo’s curious technology platform, in which thousands of tiny antennas are each assigned to a unique subscriber, infringement is uncertain. The Supreme Court will soon hear American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc., arising out of the Second Circuit, …