Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Privacy’S Next Act, Erik Lampmann-Shaver

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This Article identifies and describes three data privacy policy developments from recent legislative sessions that may seem unrelated, but which I contend together offer clues about privacy law’s future over the short-to-medium term.

The first is the proliferation, worldwide and in U.S. states, of legislative proposals and statutes referred to as “age-appropriate design codes.” Originating in the United Kingdom, age-appropriate design codes typically apply to online services “directed to children” and subject such services to transparency, default settings, and other requirements. Chief among them is an implied obligation to conduct ongoing assessments of whether a service could be deemed “directed …

Limits Of Algorithmic Fair Use, Jacob Alhadeff, Cooper Cuene, Max Del Real

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

In this article, we apply historical copyright principles to the evolving state of text-to-image generation and explore the implications of emerging technological constructs for copyright’s fair use doctrine. Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is frequently trained on copyrighted works, which usually involves extensive copying without owners’ authorization. Such copying could constitute prima facie copyright infringement, but existing guidance suggests fair use should apply to most machine learning contexts. Mark Lemley and Bryan Casey argue that training machine learning (“ML”) models on copyrighted material should generally be permitted under fair use when the model’s outputs transcends the purpose of its inputs. Their arguments …

Coded Social Control: China’S Normalization Of Biometric Surveillance In The Post Covid-19 Era, Michelle Miao

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This article investigates the longevity of health QR codes, a digital instrument of pandemic surveillance, in post-COVID China. From 2020 to 2022, China widely used this tri-color tool to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. A commonly held assumption is that health QR codes have become obsolete in post-pandemic China. This study challenges such an assumption. It reveals their persistence and integration - through mobile apps and online platforms - beyond the COVID-19 public health emergency. A prolonged, expanded and normalized use of tools which were originally intended for contact tracing and pandemic surveillance raises critical legal and ethical concerns. Moreover, their …

Quantifying Civil Recovery In Hybrid Antitrust-Data Protection Harms, Jose Maria Marella

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

If digital platforms are found liable on hybrid antitrust-data protection violations, by how much should individual users be compensated? While traditional antitrust literature offers some estimation techniques, these methods were developed mostly around the idea that anti-competitive conduct manifests in supra-competitive prices, lost profits, or lost customers, all of which are easily quantifiable using commercially available evidence.

In digital markets, where antitrust violations are often intertwined with data protection issues, several complications arise. First, unlike transactions covered by traditional treble damage estimation techniques, “data-for-services” dealings are not evidenced by receipts. Second, personal data valuation is highly contextual and prone to …

Franchising Law In The United States Between Theory And Practice: Heads Up For Foreign Investors, Radwa Elsaman

Touro Law Review

As a dynamic vehicle for fostering investment opportunities, both domestically and internationally, franchising spans a diverse array of industrial sectors, encompassing both goods and services. The United States plays a highly influential role in global franchise industry promotion, with a vast majority of International Franchise Association members representing American companies. Present data underscores that franchising has extended its reach to virtually every sector of the American economy. Notably, the United States stands among just four common law nations that have established dedicated franchise legislation, operating at both state and federal levels. This framework includes provisions for pre-sale disclosure, registration of …

Crypto-Counterfeiting, Joshua Fairfield

Scholarly Articles

The current crypto winter has given rise to a range of legal challenges. One of the most important sets of legal challenges goes to the heart of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency was intended to be non-duplicatable at will, that is, not to be counterfeitable. Blockchain technology is supposed to prevent token counterfeiting through a combination of game theory and cryptography that prevents normal users from simply ordering the system to generate more tokens for their benefit.

The difficulty is that blockchain software is still software. People in charge can order and program the software to generate many more tokens for those individuals’ …

Beyond Trade Secrecy: Confidentiality Agreements That Act Like Noncompetes, Camilla A. Hrdy, Christopher B. Seaman

Scholarly Articles

There is a substantial literature on noncompete agreements and their adverse impact on employee mobility and innovation. But a far more common restraint in employment contracts has been underexplored: confidentiality agreements, sometimes called nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). A confidentiality agreement is not a blanket prohibition on competition. Rather, it is simply a promise not to use or disclose specific information. Confidentiality agreements encompass trade secrets, as defined by state and federal laws, but confidentiality agreements almost always go beyond trade secrecy, encompassing any information the employer imparted to the employee in confidence.

Despite widespread use, confidentiality agreements have received little attention. …

Confusion Over Trademark Extraterritoriality…And Beyond, Timothy R. Holbrook, Anshu Garg

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court had afforded the Lanham Act extraterritorial reach over seventy years ago in Steele v. Bulova, but its recent extraterritoriality jurisprudence called that decision into question.

This Article explains the history of trademark extraterritoriality and the splits that emerged among the circuit courts of appeals. It then canvases all of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on the presumption against extraterritoriality and their effort to reinvigorate and standardize the law in that regard.

We then provide a detailed exploration of the Abitron decision. Next, we critique the decision and explore its implications not only for trademark law but also …

How The Supreme Court Ghosted The Phosita: Amgen And Legal Constructs In Patent Law, Timothy R. Holbrook

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This essay is an invited response to The Ghost in the Patent System: An Empirical Study of Patent Law’s Elusive “Skilled Artisan,” by Professors Laura Pedraza-Fariña and Ryan Whalen. In their piece, Pedraza-Fariña and Ryan Whalen offer an empirical study and use it to argue for a new conception of the Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (PHOSITA), patent law’s nod to the “reasonable person” construct.

As Professors Pedraza-Fariña and Whalen suggest, the PHOSITA should be understood as a crucial concept in patent law, warranting more scholarly attention. Pedraza-Fariña and Whalen provide that attention. They assert, based on an …

Relative And Absolute Patentability, Timothy R. Holbrook, Mark D. Janis

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, we define and interrogate a new typology for patentability rules. In our typology, some such rules are predominantly relative inquiries—meaning that they entail the use of discrete comparators—whereas others are predominantly absolute in that they lack this core comparative methodology. Selected patentability rules blend the characteristics of both relative and absolute inquiries in complex ways.

We leverage our relative/absolute typology in this Article to make two sets of contributions to the literature. First, we use our typology to craft a new descriptive account of the patentability doctrines. We show that the requirements of novelty and nonobviousness are …

Remembering Dr. Dmitry Karshtedt As A Scholar And Friend, Jonas Anderson, Sean Seymore, Timothy R. Holbrook

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Professor Dmitry Karshtedt was one of the preeminent patent law scholars of the past decade. Professor Karshtedt’s scholarship influenced the way that the Supreme Court thinks about patent law’s enablement doctrine. His work exploring the boundaries between patent law and tort law led to significant change in various areas of patent law. His work on nonobviousness changed the conversation about patent law’s most important doctrinal area. This article pays homage to Professor Karshtedt’s influential scholarship, illuminating his profound impact on the field while offering a glimpse into the enduring friendship shared by the authors and Professor Karshtedt.

What's The Use? The Structural Flaw Undermining Warhol V. Goldsmith, Peter J. Karol

Law Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that the Supreme Court’s recent and significant ruling in Warhol v. Goldsmith suffers from a foundational error that jeopardizes its value as precedent. Namely, the Court conceptualized the fair use defense at issue as arising from the alleged infringer’s “commercial licensing” of an Andy Warhol silkscreen to a non-party magazine publisher. But commercial licensing is neither a copyright use nor an act of infringement. It is the passive grant of permission to another to use the licensed work and a promise not to sue. It is incoherent to raise or evaluate fair use as a defense to …

Restorative Justice For International Traditional Cultural Expression Ownership Disputes, Sandra H. Sulzer

Michigan Journal of International Law

Traditional cultural expressions (“TCE”), which include dances, songs, and pottery, and traditional knowledge (“TK”), which includes plant properties, agricultural practices, and artistic techniques, are inarguably valuable both to the groups that create them and to outsiders who wish to use or sell them. International law broadly, and intellectual property (“IP”) law more specifically, are not well-suited to protect the interests of creators of TCE and TK. A persistent pattern of exploitation of traditional expressions and knowledge has been well-documented. But responses have been dissatisfying, and sometimes begin from a place of disregarding the value of these contributions. At present, when …

Holograms Are Taking Over The World! An Analysis On Legal Implications Holograms Pose In Right Of Publicity And Copyright Law, Marie A. Kessel

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

An Information Theory Of Intentional Trademark Infringement, Jake Linford

Scholarly Publications

Critiques of the intent inquiry in trademark likelihood of confusion cases are somewhat misguided in light of theories about how information is transmitted in communication systems. Properly calibrated legal systems can incentivize better information flow and appropriate behavior by commercial actors using information forcing default rules. This Article considers trademark law's information transmission function in light of legal theories about the efficiencies captured through information forcing rules, as well as Claude Shannon's information theory, which provides a model for information transmission and important insights for how to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio in the commercial market. Defendants who run afoul of …

The Use Of Clearview Ai To Support Warrants Violates The Fourth Amendment, Kevin Johnson

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Social media platforms encouraged millions of Americans to post hundreds of photos of themselves on the Internet. Clearview AI, a tool that harnesses “publicly available” online images for facial recognition, violated those platforms’ terms of service to collect those photos and in doing so de-anonymized millions of Americans. This Note examines the Fourth Amendment implications of law enforcement’s use of Clearview AI and its compatibility with constitutional protections. This Note argues that the use of Clearview AI by police to support warrant applications runs afoul of established legal standards by analyzing the evolution of Fourth Amendment ju …

Masthead

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Increasing Transparency Within City Government Using Blockchain Technology, Jennifer Ayala

Featured Student Work

When the news or a friend mentions blockchain technology, is it typically always referenced in the context of cryptocurrency? While cryptocurrencies do rely on blockchain technology to record financial transactions between people and businesses,

1 government agencies have begun testing how blockchain technology could improve the lives of constituents.2 A notable advantage of implementing blockchain technology within government, however, is that it has the possibility to prevent corruption due to its very nature.3 The City and County of San Francisco has been the latest victim of government corruption in recent years,

4 with the most recent scandal involving the indictment …

The Phillie Phanatic Hits Free Agency: An Analysis Of Phillies V. Harrison And The Application Of Copyright Law To Mascots As Characters, Olivia C. Giles

Duquesne Law Review

Wacky, chaotic, lovable. These are just a few words used to describe mascots of all types, especially the Phillie Phanatic. The Phanatic is arguably one of the most well-known and recognizable mascots in sports. Its taunting of opposing teams and goofy yet aggressive personality have shifted the mascot landscape; as the way mascots are perceived continues to change, so does the number of teams hoping to use them.¹ The Phanatic's antics at games have led to trouble more than a few times, gaining it the title of the mostsued mascot in sports.² Nonetheless, the Phanatic is a cherished …

“Improve Your Privileges While They Stay”: A Guide To Improve The Privileges Of U.S. Citizenship For Everybody, Joshua J. Schroeder

Touro Law Review

In 1767, the young Phillis Wheatley wrote from her position of slavery in the Wheatley home of Boston to “ye sons of Science” at Harvard College, telling them to “improve your privileges while they stay.” She beheld the startling privileges of learning and discovery bestowed upon an elite group of young, rich white men in Boston and celebrated their privileges. Neither did she scorn those whose luck had placed a bounty of privilege upon their laps, for she likely planned to share in that bounty herself, one day. When she was only 13 or 14, Wheatley sublimely encouraged grown men …

Got To Give It Up: Why United States Courts Should Stop Hearing Music Copyright Infringement Cases And Allow Experts To Determine "Substantial Similarity", Alexander J. Loverich Bernard

Duquesne Law Review

Mark Twain wrote in 1903, "[w]henever a copyright law is to be made or altered, then the idiots assemble."¹ The expansion of copyright protection has made copyright law the most important legal regulation in the field of entertainment law.² As a result of stricter regulation through judicial verdicts, music copyright disputes have left inequitable resolutions for artists of all backgrounds.³ This Article suggests a twofold, alternative approach to litigation in resolving music copyright infringement disputes: (1) the use of Expert Determination (ED) through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to evaluate "substantial similarity" at the trial level, …

Artificial Intelligence Models May Not Have Owners, Devin Owens

Akron Law Student Publications

While new artificial intelligence models see unprecedented investment, serious questions exist about the ownership of the models themselves under existing intellectual property structures. AI models, as compilations of information created largely autonomously by algorithms from sets of training data, may not be suited for the subject matter and inventorship/authorship requirements of traditional patent and copyright protection. The literature assumes that trade secrecy will protect AI models, which are largely kept secret on remote servers away from direct inspection by users, but model extraction attack methods known since 2016 are effective in copying any AI model that can be queried. This …

Spilling The Beans On Trade Dress: Whether Trade Dress Protection Gives Rise To Liability Under A Section 32 Claim On Trademark Infringement, Dahna S. Kazemyan

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Compensation: A Novel Licensing Platform For Digital Content Poses Unique Compromise For Artists And Generative Ai Developers, Liberty R. Smith

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Access To Justice For Black Inventors, Jordana R. Goodman, Khamal Patterson

Vanderbilt Law Review

To receive a patent, an inventor must meet certain inventive and procedural standards. Their invention must be novel, nonobvious, and written in such a way that any person skilled in the inventive subject can make and use the invention without undue experimentation. This process is far from objective.

An inventor is not always communicating within their own social circle. An inventor is required to communicate their invention so that a patent examiner believes a person having ordinary skill in the art ("PHOSITA") would recognize the invention as nonobvious. Moreover, a fictitious skilled person must be able to make and use …

A History Of Corporate Law Federalism In The Twentieth Century, William W. Bratton

Seattle University Law Review

This Article describes the emergence of corporate law federalism across a long twentieth century. The period begins with New Jersey’s successful initiation of charter competition in 1888 and ends with the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. The federalism in question describes the interrelation of state and federal regulation of corporate internal affairs. This Article takes a positive approach, pursuing no normative bottom line. It makes six observations: (1) the federalism describes a division of subject matter, with internal affairs regulated by the states and securities issuance and trading regulated by the federal government; (2) the federalism is an …

Copyright For Imitations: Looking At The Registered Design Book Of William Stirling & Sons, Isabel Monseau

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The design and production of printed cotton in the United Kingdom underwent great changes through the nineteenth century. However as the industry grew, many manufacturers became concerned about a perceived decline in the quality of textile design. An attempt made to regulate this industry, the Copyright of Design Act of 1842, proposed to improve the quality of British production by enabling designers and proprietors to register their textile designs and thus prohibit other firms from pirating those original designs.

Yet imitations were crucial to the development and success of Britain’s cotton printing industry. By the 1870s, up to 60% of …

Algorithmic Financial Regulation: Limits Of Computing Complex Adaptive Systems, Shuping Li

American University Business Law Review

This article examines the potential of and limits to the use of machine learning for financial regulation. Ideally, if we could fully understand the financial system and agree on long- and short-term regulatory goals, we would be able to write code that carries out the computation that extracts proper representations from the data and makes correct regulatory decisions. We cannot do this yet because of limited sources of data, the bias brought by human beings and algorithmic models, and the difficulty of improving uninterpretable models. Furthermore, since law is a combination of merits and facts, there are difficulties in establishing …

Constructing Solutions: Addressing Liability And Ownership Risks Associated With Business Information Modeling, Connor Sheehy

American University Business Law Review

This Comment will first discuss the background of BIM, including its technological characteristics and implementation into a complex construction project, as well as the potential benefits that incentivize parties to utilize BIM in a project. Next, this Comment will discuss the legal risks and uncertainty associated with BIM, particularly regarding ownership and liability. Specifically, this Comment will focus on ownership of the intellectual property and designs within an overall model and will contrast liability in traditional construction projects with liability in a construction project utilizing BIM. Lastly, this Comment will discuss potential solutions to these risks and uncertainties. The analysis …