Computer Law Commons^™

It Waste Management In Canada: From Cost Recovery To Resource Conservation?, Meinhard Doelle

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The volume, composition and management of solid waste generated by households, governments, the commercial sector, and industry have all changed dramatically over the past century. Household waste contained mainly organic material a hundred years ago. Today, both residential and commercial waste is a complex mix of organics, plastics, paper products, metals and a variety of toxic material. Historically, individual households looked after their own waste, through efforts such as composting and burning. Over the past century, with significant increases in volume of waste generated, municipalities have taken over primary responsibility for solid waste management, initially mainly for aesthetic and sanitary …

Ests Under Canadian Patent Law: Useful Or Not?, Natalie C. Bellefeuille

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The following discussion will examine the utility requirement for patentability in the context of EST patents. Part I will provide background information regarding the utility requirement under patent law and will explain why it has been difficult to apply to ESTs. Part II will briefly examine how other jurisdictions, in particular the United States, have addressed the difficul- ties associated with applying the current utility require- ment to biological materials, in particular ESTs. Part III will look at how Canadian courts have interpreted and applied the utility requirement for patentability, and will suggest that ESTs have sufficient value to the …

Personal Medical Information: Privacy Or Personal Data Protection?, Wilhelm Peekhaus

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Some of the existing literature concerning the privacy of health information seems to suggest that medical information has a particularly special nature; either through its oft-cited association with dignity or the need for its ‘‘unobstructed’’ use by health care practitioners for a variety of reasons. It is against such a backdrop that this paper will review and compare a number of legislative mechanisms that have been designed to meet the challenge of safeguarding the privacy of personal information without completely hindering the continued flow of information required by economic and health care systems. An attempt will be made to situate …

E-Commerce Legislation And Materials In Canada: Lois Sur Le Commerce Électronique Au Canada Et Documents Connexes By Sunny Handa, Claude Marseille & Martin Sheehan (Markham, Ont.: Lexisnexis Butterworths, 2005), John D. Gregory

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This hefty volume is a useful compendium of the basic source materials for the law of electronic commerce in Canada. It offers the text of all the general-purpose legislation that removes legal barriers to the use of electronic communications, for all jurisdictions in the country. It then takes a dozen related areas of law, from domain names to taxation, from competition law to consumer protection, from security to standards, and offers a quick overview and the key documents applicable to each. In each case the commentary is in English then in French, and where the texts are available in both …

How Much Spam Can Can-Spam Can? – Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Can-Spam Act In The Wake Of White Buffalo Ventures V. University Of Texas, Fay Katayama

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Buried Online: State Laws That Limit E-Commerce In Caskets, Jerry Ellig, Asheesh Agarwal

ExpressO

Consumers seeking to purchase caskets online could benefit from the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision that states cannot discriminate against interstate direct wine shipment. Federal courts have reached conflicting conclusions when asked whether state laws requiring casket sellers to be licensed funeral directors violate the U.S. Constitution’s Due Process Clause. In Powers v. Harris, the 10th Circuit even offered an unprecedented ruling that economic protectionism is a legitimate state interest that can justify otherwise unconstitutional policies. In Granholm v. Heald, however, the Supreme Court declared that discriminatory barriers to interstate wine shipment must be justified by a legitimate state interest, and …

Criminalizing Internet Gambling: Should The Federal Government Keep Bluffing Or Fold?, Wesley S. Ashton

ExpressO

This paper first describes the various mechanical aspects of Internet gambling, and then reviews the U.S. criminal laws that apply to gambling conducted online. As part of this review, several criminal and civil cases involving Internet gambling activities are discussed. Lastly, how the rapidly changing gambling landscape in the United States and the world may effect future federal lawmaking efforts for controlling Internet gambling is considered.

Opting Out: Procedural Fair Use, Michael R. Mattioli

ExpressO

This article explores the advantages of opt-out plans, and identifies a critical shortcoming in Copyright’s doctrine of Fair Use. The discussion is fueled by a current controversy: In December of 2004, Google, Inc. announced its plan to digitally scan thousands of copyrighted books as part of a massive new digital indexing service. Hedging against possible litigation, Google provided a free and easy opt-out procedure for authors who didn’t want their books scanned. Despite this measure, two major authors’ groups have sued Google, claiming the opt-out plan imposes an unfair burden. This article explores the fairness of established opt-outs in contract …

Online Boilerplate: Would Mandatory Website Disclosure Of E-Standard Terms Backfire?, Robert A. Hillman

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Secret Is Out: Patent Law Preempts Mass Market License Terms Barring Reverse Engineering For Interoperability Purposes, Daniel Laster

ExpressO

As patent protection has emerged to protect software, courts and commentators have mistakenly focused on copyright law and overlooked the centrality of patent preemption to limit contract law where a mass market license which prohibits reverse engineering (RE) for purposes of developing interoperable products leads to patent-like protection. Review of copyright fair use cases on RE and Congress’s policy favoring RE for interoperability purposes in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act reinforce the case for patent preemption. Also, the fundamental freedom to RE embodied in state trade secret law, coupled with federal patent and copyright law and policies, cumulatively should override …

Choice In Government Software Procurement: A Winning Combination, Mclean Sieverding

ExpressO

Governments are such significant purchasers of IT products and services that their purchasing decisions have a substantial impact on the world’s IT marketplace. This fact calls into question the wisdom of decisions by a few policymakers (on national, state, and local levels) around the world that have sought to require that governmental procurement officials give varying degrees of preference to open source software (OSS) when evaluating competing software solutions, claiming, among other things, that such preferences are justified because OSS is cheaper and more interoperable than proprietary software and needs government handicapping in order to enter the market to compete …

The Protection Of Maps And Spatial Databases In Europe And The United States By Copyright And The Sui Generis Right, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 195 (2006), Katleen Janssen, Jos Dumortier

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Spatial data and applications play an ever-increasing part in our economy and in our society in general, but the protection of spatial databases by intellectual property rights seems to be a challenge because the Internet and information technology have caused a considerable increase in the copying of data, maps, route descriptions, hiking trails, etc. The illegal copying of spatial data, however, has caused the data producers to turn to several means of protection, such as intellectual property legislation, unfair competition, confidentiality and privacy. This paper begins by determining what is meant by spatial data. Thereafter, the paper reflects on the …

Provisional Relief In Transnational Litigation In The Internet Era: What Is In The Us Best Interest?, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 263 (2006), Panagiota Kelali

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Using the hypothetical of a college student victimized by a fraudulent website, this comment addresses the issue of Internet fraud. In the example presented, the perpetrators are Greek nationals located in Greece. Focusing on the intangible and international nature of the Internet, the comment addresses the complications surrounding litigating an Internet fraud case. The issues discussed include a determination of the forum where the suit should be brought, preservation of the status quo pending determination of the dispute, and the status of a transnational cooperation on the issue of recognition and enforcement of judgments. The comment presents the options available …

Transsexuals And The Family Medical Leave Act, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 315 (2006), Charles Thomas Little

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article examines the implications for transsexuals seeking sexual reassignment surgery (“SRS”) under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). Currently, the scant case law pertaining to the FMLA suggests that the statutes and regulations will likely fail to provide even minimal protection to transsexuals. If applied literally, the FMLA may present barriers to transsexuals seeking SRS in opposition to the true purpose behind the Act, which is to allow employees the opportunity to take reasonable leave from work by mandating more medical leave than the employers might otherwise be willing to grant for things such as the adoption or birth …

Liability For Botnet Attacks, Jennifer A. Chandler

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper will consider the possibility of using tort liability to address cyber insecurity. In previous work, I have proposed a hypothetical lawsuit by the victim of a DDoS attack against the vendor of unreasonably insecure software, the flaws of which are exploited to create the DDoS attack army. Indeed, software vendors are facing increasing public disapproval for their contributions to cyber insecurity. However, not all DDoS attack armies are assembled by exploiting flaws in software. Computers are also infected when users voluntarily open infected email attachments or download infected files from file-sharing networks. Accordingly, the cyber insecurity resulting from …

The Twenty-Fifth Annual John Marshall International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law: Brief For The Respondent, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 733 (2006), Timothy T. Hsieh, Jennifer Simmen Lewin, Jerome C. Pandell

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Twenty-Fifth Annual John Marshall International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law: Brief For The Petitioner, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 699 (2006), Chris Norris, Justin Sisemore, Anndi Queenan

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Copyright Misuse Doctrine On Computer Software: A Redundant Doctrine Of U.S. Copyright Law Or A Necessary Addition To E.U. Copyright Law?, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 571 (2006), Haris Apostolopoulos

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Twenty-Fifth Annual John Marshall International Moot Court Competition In Information Technology And Privacy Law: Bench Memorandum, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 673 (2006), David E. Sorkin, Larisa V. Benitez-Morgan, J. Preston Carter, William P. Greubel Iii, Matthew Hector, Kellen Keaty, Lisa Rodriguez

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Federal Election Commission & Political Blogging: A Perfect Balance Or Just Not Enough?, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 611 (2006), Niki Vlachos

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Cleaning Metadata On The World Wide Web: Suggestions For A Regulatory Approach, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 531 (2006), Marcel Gordon

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Borders Online, Llc V. State Board Of Equalization: It's Time For Congress To Weigh The Possibilities Of This California Decision, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 641 (2006), Ronnie E. Webb

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Domestic Surveillance And The Constitution, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 177 (2006), Lawrence Friedman, René M. Landers

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article argues that President Bush’s domestic electronic surveillance program is unconstitutional. The program allows the President to order the NSA to conduct surveillance of electronic communications, including communications involving United States citizens, without court order. The authors conclude that the President lacked the statutory or constitutional power to authorize such a program and that the program runs afoul to the letter and the spirit of the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures embraced by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Congress and the President share overlapping constitutional authority in matters of foreign affairs and national security. …

Voip Goes The Bad Guy: Understanding The Legal Impact Of The Use Of Voice Over Ip Communications In Cases Of Nsa Warrantless Eavesdropping, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 227 (2006), Eric Koester

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

For purposes of national security, the Bush administration delegated authority to the National Security Administration (“NSA”) to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans; and such surveillance defies tradition. At the same time, emerging communications technology, like Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”), complicates the already controversial issue by generating uncertainty about how courts will analyze warrantless surveillance of such forums. The problem lies in outdated communications and surveillance regulations, which effectively address older communications forums, like the telephone, but encounter stifling ambiguity vis-à-vis VoIP and other new forums. VoIP is a relatively new technology, but it encompasses the large and ever-growing use …

The Gathering Twilight? Information Privacy On The Internet In The Post-Enlightenment Era, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 353 (2006), Mark F. Kightlinger

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This Article provides a timely examination of U.S. law and policy concerning information privacy on the Internet, a subject that receives almost daily attention in the press. This Article constructs a new theoretical framework from the writings of Alasdair MacIntyre, a major contemporary philosopher and social theorist. Over the past 30 years, MacIntyre has examined the roots and continuing impact of the failure of post-Enlightenment thinkers to produce an account of human nature and action that could replace an older Aristotelian account and command the assent of all rational persons. In addition to extending MacIntyre’s examination of our post-Enlightenment situation, …

Contribution To The Understanding Of The Public Domain, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 411 (2006), Vincenzo Vinciguerra

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property Rights At The Crossroad Between Monopolization And Abuse Of Dominant Position: American And European Approaches Compared, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 455 (2006), Emanuela Arezzo

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

A Comedy Of Errors: Defining "Component" In A Global Information Technology Market - Accounting For Innovation By Penalizing The Innovators, 24 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 507 (2006), William Greubel

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Digital Copyright, Jessica D. Litman

Books

In 1998, copyright lobbyists succeeded in persuading Congress to enact laws greatly expanding copyright owners' control over individuals' private uses of their works. The efforts to enforce these new rights have resulted in highly publicized legal battles between established media and new upstarts.

In this book, law professor Jessica Litman questions whether copyright laws crafted by lawyers and their lobbyists really make sense for the vast majority of us. Should every interaction between ordinary consumers and copyright-protected works be restricted by law? Is it practical to enforce such laws, or expect consumers to obey them? What are the effects of …

Regulating Access To Databases Through Antitrust Law, 2006 Stan. Tech. L. Rev. 7 (2006), Daryl Lim

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

It is largely uncontroversial that the “creative” effort in a database will be protected by copyright. However, any effort to extend protection to purely factual databases creates difficulties in determining the proper method and scope of protection. This Paper argues that antitrust law can be used to supplement intellectual property law in maintaining the “access-incentive” balance with respect to databases. It starts from the premise that a trend toward “TRIPs-plus” rights in databases, whatever its form, is inevitable. The reason is a simple, but compelling one: business needs shape the law. Various means of database access regulation are explored and …