Commercial Law Commons^™

Real Bullets, Plastic Guns: Evaluating The Strength Of 3-D Printed Gun Parts, Maria Latenia Mayol

Student Theses

Privately made firearms (PMFs), often referred to as “ghost guns,” are firearms manufactured or assembled by individuals rather than federally licensed manufacturers. Although the terms are frequently used interchangeably, “ghost gun” more specifically describes an unserialized firearm, whereas PMFs include a broader range of firearms produced through nontraditional manufacturing methods. PMFs may be entirely 3-D printed, assembled from partially completed firearm kits, or constructed by integrating additively manufactured components with commercially manufactured firearm parts. The increasing accessibility of additive manufacturing and widespread dissemination of computer-aided design files have raised concerns about concealment, regulation, and forensic evasion, particularly when factory-manufactured components …

The Extension Of The Arbitration Clause To Non-Signatories In Qatar's Construction Arbitration: A Study Under Law No. 2 Of 2017, Nazir Hasen Ikhlayel

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines whether an arbitration clause in a construction contract governed by Qatar Arbitration Law No. 2 of 2017 can be extended to a non-signatory party. The study addresses a problem that arises in major construction projects, in which employers, main contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and suppliers are linked by separate yet interdependent contracts. At the same time, arbitration remains structured around bilateral consent.

The importance of the study lies in its relevance to Qatar’s legal and economic development. Qatar’s major infrastructure projects, including those accelerated by the 2022 FIFA World Cup and those continuing under Qatar National Vision 2030, …

Welcome Tilly Norwood: Forecasting Hollywood’S Ai Policy Futures, Samuel P. Rooker

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

In late 2025, weekly trade publication Variety Magazine reported on the announcement of a new acting talent in Hollywood: Tilly Norwood. Norwood is an industry outsider and the pet project of Eline Van der Velden, who unveiled the actress’ existence to the world at the Zurich Film Festival. The announcement quickly gained media coverage while Van der Velden has since faced cyclical backlash from Hollywood trade unions, which does not seem entirely without reason. Tilly Norwood is a digital persona, a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) program, designed by Van der Velden’s novel AI talent studio, Xicoia, to become the next …

Pedro Aceves Mfa Thesis, Pedro M. Aceves

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My Work is about looking at Cruising through a queer decolonial lens. Using multiple mediums such as photo, glass, Augmented reality, and film, I explore these queer histories and aesthetics through not just an anthropological approach but also an artistic epistemological approach weaving together narratives of prehispanic and modern queer Latinidad.

Comprehensive Analysis Of The Different Fields Of Law, Kaitlyn Lee

Honors Theses

Since American law developed in the early 1700s, lawyers have played a crucial role in society, advocating for justice and upholding the rule of law. Over the years the legal profession has evolved immensely and now offers many different fields for individuals to practice. People are often curious about the work that lawyers do and the education that is required to become an attorney. This thesis aims to satisfy the curiosity of those individuals by exploring many facets of the different areas of law. It will examine the unique and shared aspects of the various legal fields, detailing the specific …

E-Commerce In Saudi Arabia: An Analysis Of The Law And Practical Challenges For Businesses And Consumers, Sultan Abdulhadi Alqahtani

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

E-commerce between businesses and consumers has developed tremendously in recent years, which led to the need to develop legislation to keep up with technical, infrastructural and legal changes. Therefore, countries have issued the necessary legislation to help regulate e-commerce activity and provide legal protection for the contracting parties.

Noting this significance, the Saudi Arabian legislature issued the E-Commerce Law in 2019 as the first e-commerce law in Saudi Arabia that regulates the contractual relationship between a service provider and a consumer in Saudi Arabia. This dissertation is one of the first to complete an in-depth, comprehensive analysis of the many …

Rethinking The Civil Protection Of Patients From Misleading Pharmaceutical Marketing Under Saudi Law, Muflih Saud Almughyirah

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

The effect of pharmaceutical marketing on individuals is a universal concern. It can influence patients' health and wealth. Patients, as well as their prescribing medical doctors, have been targeted by such marketing through different means. Many patients are unaware of their position as the most vulnerable party in this context and how these promotional strategies affect their physicians' decisions. When pharmaceutical marketing includes false, misleading, or otherwise negligent statements, patients become potential victims. This research addresses patients' civil protection from misleading pharmaceutical marketing under Saudi law. The study addresses four crucial aspects of patient protection: (i) ex-ante government regulations, (ii) …

Standard Licensing Template For University Of Akron Startups, Drew Horton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In order to facilitate fast, equitable, and effective sublicensing to University of Akron technology startups, spinoffs, and spinouts, an express license was developed. This expresses license was developed by benchmarking existing terms in order to determine market rates. Universities, venture capital firms, and nonprofits were interviewed in order to establish a set of best practice guidelines for the creation of the express license. These results were then tabulated and statistically analyzed in order to determine a series of startup friendly terms that support the University of Akron’s interests. A series of express licenses were then developed from this data. These …

Foreign Judgments And Foreign Arbitral Awards Enforceability As A Factor And A Guarantee For Foreign Investments: The Case Of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Rashed Mohammed Arhama Alshamsi

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Foreign investments are considered an efficient and effective instrument to diversify and strengthen the economy; foreign investors generally need guarantees before entering a new market. One of these guarantees is a stable, transparent, predictable legal and judicial system. Such a system must be open to foreign laws and judgments as well as foreign arbitral awards, and it must also be flexible to increase foreign investments. Saudi Arabia has tried since the 50s’ to be more attractive to foreign investors and investments by enacting legislation and creating a modern court system to diversify their economy. However, the discretion of Saudi judges …

The Economic Impact Of Cyberattacks In The United States, Habibullah Asadi

Student Theses

In recent years, the global economy has been beset by cyber-attacks. These events disrupt business and governmental operations, large and small, and include broad-horizon attacks on infrastructure and pointed network takeovers. The attacks can include malicious online activities directed at stealing financial and intellectual property or, manipulating, destroying, and denying access to critical information. Despite increased awareness of these challenges, the victimization of private and public networks continues, and the economic impacts mount daily. This research will present the economic impact of cyberattacks on United States businesses and governmental agencies.

Inconsistency Crisis And Reformative Proposals Of Investor-State Arbitration System- Umbrella Clauses Considered, Abdallah Elsayed

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of investment treaties is to provide guarantees and protections for the investors in order to maintain the flow of foreign direct investment. As a consequence, when disputed, an adjudicator confronts a dilemma of figuring out the actual intention that the parties consented to. As for umbrella clauses are concerned, an interpreter falls into a loop to attain whether the parties consented to prioritize investor’s interest and elevate any contractual breach to the level of a treaty breach, or to consider the state’s regulatory power. The root could be traced to the interpretation process itself. Human conduct differs …

The "Law To Use The Mark The Delpaís," Act 195-2016: Case Study Of A Puerto Rican Certification Mark With Potential Of Becoming A Geographic Indication For Economic Development, Paola Gabriela Zaragoza Cardenales

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

In 2016, the Puerto Rican Congress codified the “Law for the use of the DelPaís Mark” (the DelPaís Law), creating a composite certification mark called Productos DelPaís de Puerto Rico (the DelPaís Mark) for raw fruits, milk, honey, meats, egg, fish, ornamental plants, spices, vegetables, starches, and value-added products. The Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture intended the DelPaís Mark to function as a certification mark and Geographical Indication (GI) to differentiate local from imported products to promote purchasing of locally produced items and eventually export internationally. A GI is a source identifier identifying that a place makes a particular product …

The Regulatory And Procedural Examination Of Trademarks In Saudi Arabia: Deficiencies In The Similarities Factor And The Registration Requirements, Abdulaziz Mohammad Aleiban

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of trademarks is to protect consumers from confusion between products and to support fair competition in the market. However, in Saudi Arabia, to determine the similarities between trademarks, the Trademark Registration Office relies on the class number, rather than the goods and services category. This is a prevailing issue in the Kingdom’s practice of trademark examination. Therefore, this dissertation investigates how improper understanding and application of Nice Classification by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Trademark Law and the Registration Office at the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property generate overlapping between goods and services. This study ascertains that there …

Funding Access To Arbitration: Possibility Of Third Party Funding For International Commercial Arbitration In Thailand, Montira Achavanuntakul

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

With the growth of cross-border commercial transactions in an increasingly connected world, the use of international commercial arbitration is on the rise. Considering the cost and complexity of international arbitration proceedings and the growing demands on parties to manage the potentially high costs and risks associated with arbitration, a new emerging third party funding (TPF) mechanism has proved to be a practical solution for dealing with such concerns. Essentially, TPF not only provides claimants with financial support in order to gain access to arbitration, but also opens up commercial options for parties to mitigate risks, control the financial exposure associated …

Personal Data Privacy And Protective Federal Legislation: An Exploration Of Constituent Position On The Need For Legislation To Control Data Reliant Organizations Collecting And Monetizing Internet-Obtained Personal Data, Giovanni De Meo

Dissertations

In the past twenty years, the business of online personal data collection has grown at the same rapid pace as the internet itself, fostering a multibillion-dollar personal data collection and commercialization industry. Unlike many other large industries, there has been no major federal legislation enacted to monitor or control the activities of organizations dealing in this flourishing industry. The combination of these factors together with the lack of prior research encouraged this research designed to understand how much voters know about this topic and whether there is interest in seeing legislation enacted to protect individual personal data privacy.

To address …

Responsible Business Conduct In The Extractive Industries: Prospect Of Respecting Women's Human Rights In Ghana, Veronica Dossah

LLM Theses

Business operations in the extractive industries (EI) continue to violate women’s human rights and the environment in the communities in which they operate. In Ghana, existing laws and regulations do not preclude businesses from such violations. This makes it important to reflect on innovative means including soft laws which could encourage companies operating in the EI in Ghana to respect women’s human rights and the environment over and above compliance with national laws and regulations. This thesis examines the problem of land grabbing by EI companies operating in Ghana, the unique negative impacts women in mining communities face as a …

The Impact Of Corporate Governance On The Continuity Of Family Businesses In Saudi Arabia, Saad Abdulmohsin Alrowaished

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

In small villages, in cities booming with commerce, in remote fishing communities, and massive marketplaces, in tropical destinations, and in corners of the globe few have ever visited, one is always able to find family businesses. From small wares being sold to neighbors, to huge corporations with billions in assets, families hold and always have held a segment of the global market that cannot be ignored. While family businesses have existed throughout history, legal advice and governance specifically geared toward them, which holds the success of the family business at the center of the laws, has never been a focus …

The State And Future Of Autonomous Vehicle Regulation In The United States, Nikolay Nyashin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Autonomous vehicle technology is poised to revolutionize transit around the world. There are currently tens of private companies either testing or building autonomous vehicles, including industry juggernauts like Ford and Google. This new mode of transportation falls into a regulatory grey area. Once cars reach full autonomy, governments will have to decide what entities will regulate them, where they will be allowed to drive, who will be responsible for them and a host of other issues. In some municipalities like San Francisco and Phoenix, autonomous vehicles (AVs) are being tested on public streets in real life conditions. Meanwhile, in 2017, …

Designing A Robust Tax System For Nigeria: Lessons From An International Perspective, Olukemi Tawoju

LLM Theses

This thesis argues that Nigeria can adapt its tax system for better gain from investment and other taxation. It outlines the foundation for a good tax policy, and explores initiatives by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD and the United Nations (UN) regarding harmful tax practices and tax incentives. Their recommendations and those of scholars, conclude that tax incentives are ineffective in attracting foreign direct investment, may result in taxpayer abuse, and erode the revenue base of capital importing countries like Nigeria. Utilizing internationally accepted features on effective tax incentive design, examining the operation of the Nigerian tax …

The Application Of The United Nations Convention On Contracts For The International Sale Of Goods Uniformity Interpretation Principle In U.S., Yuqing Nie

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (hereinafter: CISG) plays an increasingly important role in international sale of goods. However, the CISG is not always correctly applied, especially one of its basic principles – the uniform interpretation principle stated in its Article 7(1), which is usually ignored or incorrectly applied in its contracting States.

The CISG requires high-level uniformity, which requires the CISG to be applied autonomously if there involves parties from two CISG contracting States and the contract governing the transaction has no clause specifying other law as the governing law. Additionally, the CISG …

Exploring Banks' Duty Of Care Towards Non-Customers In U.C.C. Article 3 & 4, Anis A. Houssein

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

This Thesis analyzes the bank transaction regarding cashing or accepting for deposit instruments over forged or unauthorized indorsements. Also, it investigates the development of conversion of instruments through the years and the courts’ contribution to the development. It examines the U.C.C. former section 3-419 and the courts’ reaction to the defense afforded to banks against an allegation of conversion and examines as well the current 3-420 and the reasons that led to the amendment. Besides all that, this Thesis discusses the banks’ defenses regarding Impostors and Fictitious Payees under § 3-404, Employer’s responsibility for fraudulent indorsement by his employee under …

Research On Mortgage Of Ocean-Going Vessel Under Construction, Peng Xiao

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Study On The Legal Issues Concerning The Mortgage Of Ships Under Construction, Ziyi Ge

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Research On Standard Of Reasonable General Average Act, Yanfeng Li

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

The Bill Of Lading In An Era Of Electronic Commerce: Legal Developments And The Reform Options For Nigeria, Kenneth Ugwuokpe

LLM Theses

One of the pervasive effects of the advancement in information and communication technology is a radical shift in the means of conducting business transactions. With the digitalization of the global economy, business transactions are increasingly conducted in an electronic medium. The bill of lading, as the most important ocean transport document, has, in response to the needs of the times, passed through many phases of development to its present electronic nature. The problem however, is adapting the challenges of electronic commerce to the old contractual legal order. For the bill of lading, the challenge is the replication of all its …

Research On The Carrier’S Seaworthiness Obligation In Rotterdam Rules And The Influence On The China Maritime Code, Qiong Huang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Swot Analysis Of The Authorization Of Chinese Ship Recycling Yards, Faming Sun

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Relationships Between Registration, Delivery And Transfer Of Ship Ownership, Guixin Chen

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

The Individual Mandate, Commerce Clause, And Supreme Court: Predicting The Court's Ruling In Hhs V. Florida, Nicholas Medling

CMC Senior Theses

An analysis of the evolution of the Commerce Clause, the Justices on the Supreme Court, and the arguments presented in this case indicate that the minimum coverage provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will be struck down. Although the Court will likely be split 5 to 4 along ideological lines, each of the justices will have a unique rationale behind their decision. Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia, and Justice Kennedy were heavily targeted by both parties’ oral and written arguments because there was speculation that any one of these traditionally conservative justices could be the fifth vote …

Balancing Developed And Developing State Interests Under A Regulatory Framework For Foreign Direct Investment: The Potential Of The Gats Model, Tumininu Modupe Laiyemo

LLM Theses

This thesis examines the need for a multilateral regime for the regulation of foreign direct investment. The absence of such a regime has slowed the growth of foreign direct investment, as investment decisions are difficult to make because of the uncertainty of investment rules. Attempts to establish a multilateral framework for investment have failed due to disagreement between developed and developing countries on its scope. The major source of controversy has been the inclusion of the national treatment standard in the prospective agreement. This thesis analyses the position of both sides, and attempts to find a balance between the positive …