Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Resilient Dispute Resolution Systems For International Energy Conflicts, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Seattle University Law Review

Energy-related conflicts are on the rise, spanning diverse issues such as the impacts of rare mineral mining on local communities, the impacts of sanctions on energy investments due to the Russia-Ukraine war, and the impacts of expanded subsidies on the electric vehicle and solar panel industries. Increasingly, companies, communities, and governments are clashing over the challenges of pursuing disparate and sometimes competing energy policies. This Article argues that dispute resolution mechanisms in the energy investment sector must be fundamentally rethought. Traditional semi-adjudicatory models, which focus on winners and losers, fail to accommodate the complex and multifaceted nature of contemporary energy …

Product Nationality And Corporate Identity, Trang (Mae) Nguyen

Seattle University Law Review

Global supply chains have long depended on a deceptively technical device: the attribution of a “nationality” to goods. A trade law principle, rules of origin assign products an “economic passport” that governs how they are treated at the border, including what markets they may enter and which tariff rates apply. In recent years, however, product nationality has taken on a new and far more ambitious role. As U.S. trade policy increasingly intersects with national security and human rights policy, policymakers rely on nationality-based measures to police supply chain linkages, curb geopolitical issues, and discipline firms for their links to forced …

Fight For Your Right: An Analysis Of A Musician’S Ability To Terminate A Copyright Assignment Of A Music Recording, Ian Waldron

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

In 2019, musicians joined together to launch two separate lawsuits against Sony Music Entertainment (“Sony”) and Universal Music Group (“UMG”) after the record labels ignored the musicians’ copyright termination notices. Copyright termination is a powerful tool that allows the original owner of a work, under some circumstances, to regain possession years after they have assigned it to another party. To defend their actions, UMG and Sony countered that since the recordings were created under a record deal, they were works for hire and the musicians acted as employees. Therefore, under the record label’s theory, the musicians would have no ownership …

A Shareholder’S Guide To Blowing Up 100 Years Of Delaware Corporate Law: Intellectual Property And Corporate Governance After Delaware Senate Bill No. 313, Avery C. Hill

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

This note examines the intersection between shareholders agreements and intellectual property ownership in Delaware corporations after Delaware Senate Bill No. 313. Delaware corporate governance law has created extensive statutory and case law balancing the competing interests of corporate actors. The board of directors maintains an exclusive right to manage the affairs of a corporation, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation. Delaware law defers to director’s management authority through the business judgement rule, but fiduciary duties govern a director’s responsibly to shareholders. Shareholders maintain rights such as voting for the board of directors, receiving distributions, and selling shares, but …

Victims’ Rights Or The Public’S Right To Know: Rethinking The Boundaries Of The Right Of Publicity In True Crime, Millicent F. Dye

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

Advancements in technology and the development of new online platforms have paved the way for true crime to become one of the most popular genres today. While some believe true crime content is akin to news reporting, others have raised ethical concerns and believe that victims’ identities should be protected by a right of publicity.  The key is to find a balance between protecting victims and protecting free speech. This Note explores the right of publicity laws in a select few countries and addresses the shortcomings of the current approaches. This Note asserts that certain true crime content must be …

Unplugging The Federal Right Of Publicity: Why Existing Laws Can Protect Artists Without A Federal Right Of Publicity, Ashley L. Burgess

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence(AI)in music creation has sparked concern over how the rights of artists can remain adequately protected from unauthorized uses of their voices, likeliness, and stylistic elements. A popular proposed solution to this complex problem is the creation of a federal right of publicity. Proponents of this solution stress that it would provide artists with a unified legal framework to better protect the commercialized use of their identity.

This paper argues that a federal right of publicity is neither necessary nor the most efficient solution to address the challenges posed by AI music. A federal right …

No Patent Attorney In Their Right Mind: How Jepson Claims Clarify Subject Matter Eligibility Post-Mayo, Jared M. Brown

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

Patent practitioners have gradually shelved Jepson claims for four decades. In those four decades, Supreme Court patent subject matter eligibility jurisprudence has taken a roller-coaster ride from an ancient point-of-novelty approach through the days of Diamond v. Diehr and back to a modernized arguably point-of-novelty-focused approach again in Mayo and Alice. In the absence of congressional action, the Federal Circuit has been left to deal with the aftermath. The inventive landscape—particularly with regard to biotech and software—is shifting fast, and our patent scheme is struggling to keep up.

In the case of software inventions, the Federal Circuit has largely …

Patents In Paradise: The Evolution Of Patent Law In The Cayman Islands, Andrew W. Torrance, Andrew P. Morriss, Lisa C. Friedman

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

This study examines the Cayman Islands’ unique position in the global intellectual property (IP) landscape, contrasting its success as an exporter of financial and legal services with the inherently domestic nature of patent protection. We hypothesize that due to this limitation, the Cayman Islands functions as a strategic, cost-effective jurisdiction for augmenting patent protection initially obtained elsewhere. Our research provides the first comprehensive analysis of Caymanian patents, and through a quantitative examination of patent family data—including filing trends, economic valuation, geographic distribution, and assignee profiles—we find strong empirical evidence to support this thesis.
Our findings reveal a disproportionate presence of …

Toward A Transformative Fair Use Standard After Warhol, Sangwook Park

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith narrowed the transformative fair use inquiry but left unresolved where derivative adaptation ends and genuine transformation begins. This article proposes that the Purpose-Expression Shift (PES) Framework can supply that missing line, a dual-pronged standard rooted in § 107(1) that asks (1) whether the secondary work serves a purpose meaningfully different from the original and (2) whether its expressive alterations are tailored to realize that new purpose. Mapping two decades of case law onto a four-quadrant matrix, this article shows how the PES Framework can predict outcomes under first factor …

The Transatlantic Clinical Trial Transparency Gap, Gabriela Lenarczyk

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

Clinical trial data occupy a contested space between private commercial assets and public goods. While the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has historically shielded these data through expansive trade-secret interpretations, the European Union (EU) has adopted a more open disclosure regime. This Article compares the two regimes and traces how the EU’s two-decade journey toward transparency has become a key reference for researchers and advocates of open data-sharing.

Focusing on EU practices—targeted redactions, time-bound access, granular disclosure guidelines—the paper shows that U.S. objections to broader transparency often rest on overstated concerns about competitive harm. A Filspari (sparsentan) case …

The Free Content Illusion, Jonathan M. Barnett

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

Conventional scholarly wisdom tends to discount the importance of copyright as a tool for delivering remuneration to the artists that sustain the digital creative ecosystem or as an enabling mechanism that facilitates the licensing, distribution, and financing transactions that constitute the economic infrastructure of the media and entertainment industries. This position runs counter to the evolution of digital content markets, which have experienced renewed investment and growth concurrently with the development of technological tools that have enabled content owners to correct for the “copyright deficit,” regulate access, and extract payment from platforms and users. This result conforms to standard economic …

The Case For Ai Authorship In Copyright Law, Cheng Lim Saw, Duncan Lim

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Today, with generative AI, literary and artistic works can be created almost effortlessly. There is at present intense debate as to whether works generated by AI – broadly categorised as “AI-assisted” and “AI-generated” works – ought to attract copyright protection. AI-assisted works are those that involve some degree of human intervention. Where AI-generated works are concerned, however, such works are created autonomously by the AI itself with minimal (de minimis) input from an identifiable human being. Presently, it is generally accepted that AI-generated works do not attract copyright protection for want of a human author. This article examines whether it …

Patent Pending: How The Current Patent Utility Requirement Hinders Biotechnological Innovation, Madison Drlik

Journal of Law and Health

The legal system is always playing catch up to adapt to new legal landscapes, doctrines, and technology; however, patent law needs help to compete with biotechnological research in the race towards innovation. Biotechnological research in the realm of human health and medicine often involves the use of therapeutic drugs. The field of healthcare biotechnology takes biological systems and processes and generates novel, creative solutions to a number of human health conditions. However, the translation process for a new drug, therapy, or process is long and expensive which requires investors to help the researchers and scientists move their creations from inception …

How Should The Law Treat Future Ai Systems? Fictional Legal Personhood Versus Legal Identity, Heather Alexander, Jonathan Simon, Frédéric Pinard

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

The law draws a sharp distinction between objects and persons, and between two kinds of persons, the ''fictional'' kind (i.e. corporations), and the ''non-fictional'' kind (individual or ''natural'' persons). This paper will assess whether we maximize overall long-term legal coherence by (A) maintaining an object classification for all future AI systems, (B) creating fictional legal persons associated with suitably advanced, individuated AI systems (giving these fictional legal persons derogable rights and duties associated with certified groups of existing persons, potentially including free speech, contract rights, and standing to sue ''on behalf of'' the AI system), or (C) recognizing non-fictional legal …

Ai Training Is Fair Use: The Beginning Of The End Of The Copyright Assault On Gen Ai, Michael D. Murray

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

Two federal courts overseeing claims against the developers of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) have pointed the way to resolving these infringement actions by finding that the training of GenAI models is a transformative fair use under copyright law. While the two opinions differed in tone and scope, this article takes these rulings as the starting point for a discussion on resolving the ongoing copyright claims against AI developers, signaling what may be the beginning of the end of the copyright assault on GenAI.

The goal of this article is to inject urgency into resolving these matters. It asserts that uncertainty …

Evolving Threats, Evolving Duties: Ransomware, Artificial Intelligence, And Cybersecurity Law, Chase Hayes

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

This paper examines the evolving legal obligations of corporations and public institutions in the face of ransomware, cyber threats, and artificial intelligence, asserting that a proactive legal framework is essential to mitigate or altogether avoid liability, protect stakeholders, and ensure national security. As cybercriminals become increasingly sophisticated, laws and regulations struggle to keep up. Generative artificial intelligence only deepens this disruption and with technology continuously evolving, it is difficult to imagine what the cyberspace will look like in years to come. This article responds to the gap by emphasizing the need for integration between the legal profession and cybersecurity expertise. …

Table Of Contents & Letter From The Editor

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Ai Co-Inventor: Robot Enabled Patent Prosecution, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

De Minimis Confusion, Maximum Risk: Consumer Vulnerability And Trademark Law In Lerner & Rowe V. Brown Engstrand, Gabriella Johnson

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Operational Agency: A Permeable Legal Fiction For Tracing Culpability In Ai Systems, Anirban Mukherjee, Hannah H. Chang

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

Modern artificial intelligence (AI) systems act with a high degree of independence yet lack legal personhood—a paradox that fractures doctrines grounded in human-centric notions of mens rea and actus reus. This Article introduces Operational Agency (OA)—a permeable legal fiction structured as an ex post evidentiary framework—and Operational Agency Graph (OAG)—a tool for mapping causal interactions among human actors, organizations, and AI systems. OA evaluates an AI’s observable operational characteristics: its goal-directedness (as a proxy for intent), predictive processing (as a proxy for foresight), and safety architecture (as a proxy for standard of care). OAG operationalizes that analysis by embedding these …

Front Matter

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Suing The Ghost In The Medical Machine, Jason R. Cheek

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

Devices that autonomously diagnose medical conditions, with no human interaction, have arrived. These self-operating systems incorporate artificial intelligence (AI), and include machines that diagnose preventable blindness, as well as some that write radiology reports. These devices feature AI-integrated software to make diagnosis decisions traditionally made by humans who have received extensive medical training. Soon, AI-driven devices will autonomously make treatment decisions.

What happens when these autonomous medical systems harm a patient? At the moment, most would expect product liability law to provide a path to recovery. But AI oftentimes uses multiple complex inputs and approaches, including statistical probabilities, to reach …

An Empirical Examination Of Law Student Attitudes Toward Legal Writing With Generative Ai, Abigail L. Perdue

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

Amid mounting predictions that generative artificial intelligence (AI) will substantially disrupt legal education, legal writing professors grapple with how and when to integrate generative AI into the classroom. While some believe that it should be woven into existing courses and integrated across the curriculum, even in the first year, others contend that it is better reserved for discussion in upper-level courses dedicated to AI-assistance. Yet it remains unclear which approach will best prepare graduates for the modern practice of law. Indeed, some scholars caution that permitting law students to use generative AI to complete their legal writing coursework, particularly in …

Fading Prestige: A Comparative Analysis Of Trademark Dilution's Impact On Luxury Fashion Brands In The United States And European Union, Pravalika Surakanti

IP Theory

The paper focuses on the concept of trademark dilution in relation to luxury fashion brands in international markets. Focusing on the United States and the European Union, it will look at the different approaches these regions take and how certain holdups in dilution law affect fashion companies’ global brand protection strategies. The paper looks at the application of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act, the EU Trademark Directive, and other essential laws to their respective jurisdictions’ cases to determine the trends of trademark dilution claims. It is found that both regions provide luxury fashion houses with substantial protection; however, the European …

State Ai Therapy Regulations – Analyzing The Illinois Wellness And Oversight For Psychological Resources Act, Natalie Browne

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

According to the Harvard Business Review, the top use case for generative artificial intelligence (AI) in 2025 was therapy and companionship. Accordingly, numerous “therapy-specific” AI tools have hit the market in recent years, vying to fill this growing need. However, individuals are also turning to generic large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, to express their deepest anxieties, seek reassurance, and gather advice. While tech optimists assert that AI therapy tools will extend mental health treatment in care deserts, attention-grabbing headlines about such use cases have shattered communities and shocked legislatures. To address growing concerns about AI therapy, Illinois enacted …

Beyond Hipaa: The Ftc’S Expanding Role In Digital Health Privacy Enforcement, Sandhya Srinivasa

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

Consumer digital health platforms have become an increasingly prominent feature of modern health care, collecting and storing sensitive health information directly from users. Yet most of these applications operate outside the scope of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), creating a significant regulatory gap in the protection of personal health data. This case note examines how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stepped into that gap by leveraging Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) to police privacy and data security practices among non-HIPAA-covered digital health platforms. Focusing on three landmark enforcement …

Patenting Ai Discoveries In Life Sciences: Overcoming Eligibility, Disclosure, And Inventorship Challenges, Dhohyung Kim, Ryan P. Hiler

IP Theory

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries face transformative opportunities through artificial intelligence and machine learning integration. However, these technological advances create distinct patent law complications that traditional drug development does not encounter. This article analyzes three interconnected obstacles: establishing eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, meeting disclosure standards under § 112(a), and determining proper inventorship when AI systems contribute substantially to claimed inventions. Drawing from recent USPTO guidance and Federal Circuit precedent, this analysis offers evidence-based strategies for patent practitioners, research scientists, and business leaders seeking robust intellectual property protection for AI-integrated pharmaceutical innovations.

Ai Can't Adlib: Theorizing An Improvisation Carveout In The Work For Hire Doctrine, Audrey Pope

IP Theory

AI-generated actors and digital replicas are an increasingly pressing concern in the filmmaking industry. While this technology is only one of the myriad ways that generative AI is set to change Hollywood, debates about its use reflect a throughline in debates about AI generally: Can this technology do a convincing, much less desirable, job of what humans have done before? This Article argues that, at least in one particular context, the answer is no. It focuses on the art of adlibbing. It explains the unique position of improvisation within copyright law and proposes one mechanism—a carveout in the work for …

Recentering Creativity In Copyright Law Discourse, Joshua Yuvaraj

IP Theory

Copyright discourse often centers around creativity; as a rationale for copyright, and as a threshold for copyright to subsist in songs, books, art and other creative works. Yet creativity remains an ethereal concept: if we do not know what it means, we cannot evaluate whether copyright law is promoting it, nor can we properly understand what it means for a work to be "creative" where that is required for copyright to subsist. An emerging strand of copyright discourse seeks to respond by examining scientific insights into the cognitive process of creativity to highlight how copyright law should be reshaped to …

Inconsistencies At The International Trade Commission And The United States Federal District Courts, Christine Dedoulis

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

This article will analyze Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, under which the International Trade Commission (Commission) conducts unfair import investigations, as it applies to patent infringement cases. Further, this article will explore different outcomes regarding parallel litigation at the Commission and District Courts, including what remedies are available and the effect of duplicative and inconsistent determinations on the patentee. In light of these comparisons, this article will provide suggestions on how to minimize inconsistencies between the Commission and District Courts, with particular emphasis on determining if some middle ground exists and if a classification system could be …