Internet Law Commons^™

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 …

Why Are Competitor's Advertising Links Displayed When I Google My Product? An Analysis Of Internet Search Engine Liability For Trademark Infringement, 5 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 431 (2006), Isaiah A. Fishman

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Traditional federal trademark law is being challenged in the current case of Google v. AmericanBlind. When internet issues clash with trademark infringement, courts are often faced with the dangerous task of either refusing to stretch not specifically internet tailored trademark law to grant remedy to a perceived wrong or refusing to grant remedy because of the chilling effect the remedy may have on traditional trademark. By analyzing the history of trademark law in relation with internet issues, focusing on domain name cases, pop-up advertising cases, and search engine cases, it becomes clear that specific congressional action is the most viable …

Intellectual Property Rights In The Internet Era: The New Frontier, 5 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 589 (2006), Lulin Gao

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

With the rapid development of information and Internet technologies, how to protect intellectual property (IP) rights in the Internet era became a new frontier for IP practitioners and scholars internationally. This article highlights some important IP protection issues related to copyright, patent, trademark, and domain names, as well as the impact of technological advances on IP protection in the Internet era. The author believes that in order to solve these new emerging issues, the most important principle is keeping the balance between different sides with stakes in the IP right. Finally, international cooperation must be enhanced with more technical assistance …

The Wipo "Internet Treaties" The United States As The Driver: The United States As The Main Source Of Obstruction — As Seen By An Anti-Revolutionary Central European, 6 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 17 (2006), Mihály Ficsor

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The copyright policy of the United States developed from initial isolationism, through the 1891 Chase Act, various bilateral and inter-American agreements and the establishment of the Universal Copyright Convention, to active participation in the international copyright cooperation. This development was completed by the United States’ accession to the Berne Convention in 1988. Since then, the United States has played a leading role in this field, which was manifested both during the negotiations of the 1994 TRIPS Agreement and the preparatory work of the two 1996 WIPO “Internet Treaties”, the WCT and the WPPT. These WIPO Treaties, the preparation and adoption …

Propertization, Contract, Competition, And Communication: Law's Struggle To Adapt To The Transformative Powers Of The Internet, David R. Barnhizer

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Symposium focuses in part on the ideas of Margaret Radin as a point of departure for the various contributions. A key part of the analysis includes the process she calls propertization in the context of intellectual property rules and the Internet. The approach taken in this introductory essay is twofold. The first part presents some key points raised by the Symposium contributors. Of course, that overview is necessarily incomplete, because the contributions represent a rich group of analyses about vital concerns relating to how our legal system should respond to the challenge of the Internet and information systems through …

Propertization, Contract, Competition, And Communication: Law's Struggle To Adapt To The Transformative Powers Of The Internet, David Barnhizer

Cleveland State Law Review

This Symposium focuses in part on the ideas of Margaret Jane Radin as a point of departure for the various contributions. A key part of the analysis includes the process she calls propertization in the context of intellectual property rules and the Internet. The approach taken in this introductory essay is twofold. The first part presents some key points raised by the Symposium contributors. Of course, that overview is necessarily incomplete, because the contributions represent a rich group of analyses about vital concerns relating to how our legal system should respond to the challenge of the Internet and information systems …

Metaphor, Objects, And Commodities, George H. Taylor, Michael J. Madison

Cleveland State Law Review

As its two main Parts will evidence, this Comment remains the product of two distinct if overlapping voices. Part II returns to the conceptual origins of Radin's theory in her general critique of objectification and commodification. It asks whether a more positive concept of objectification can be recovered that is distinguishable from reification, the latter seeming to be the more appropriate locus of Radin's criticism. Part III's response to Radin is similar, but it tries to exemplify both our appreciation of and our differences from her work through more detailed analysis of intellectual property law and theory.

Diverging Perspectives On Electronic Contracting In The U.S. And Eu, Jane K. Winn, Brian H. Bix

Cleveland State Law Review

Margaret Jane Radin's paper discusses the ways modern technologies have prompted new thinking within and about property, and the way the legal response has failed to take sufficiently into account the countervailing considerations that have shaped earlier Property Law developments. Some new technologies have also caused intellectual and practical struggles within Contract Law. This paper will consider some of the developments of Contract Law related to these changes, in particular the transactions relating to the sale, leasing or free use of computer software and the purchase of computers. Part I of this paper introduces the topic and offers an overview …

Monism, Nominalism, And Public-Private In The Work Of Margaret Jane Radin, Christopher L. Sagers

Cleveland State Law Review

This essay begins by situating the distinction in history generally and in American legal thought. Its historical aspect seems important because it suggests that the distinction is not predetermined—it is historically and culturally contingent. That fact has been largely ignored in the American legal academy, and among most of the judiciary it is all but outright socialist treachery to suggest it.

The essay moves on to consider Radin's work itself. The prominence of the distinction is relatively obvious in some of her work on technological marketing and design issues, but I will suggest that in fact it runs quietly just …

Review Of Legal Issues In Electronic Commerce, 2nd Edition (Concord, Ontario: Captus Press, 2005), Chidi Oguamanam

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This collection of materials is part of the Canadian Legal Studies Series. According to the publishers, the objective of the Series is to offer ‘‘a wealth of carefully selected, and up-to-date examinations of Canadian legal issues’’. The first of such collections under the same title appeared in 2002. According to Takach, one of the dynamics of computer, and indeed information technology, law is rapid change in technology trends. Thus, after two years, technological developments and corresponding legal responses on the subject of electronic commerce warrant a new edition of materials of this nature.

State Regulation Of Unsolicited Bulk Commercial E-Mail And The Dormant Commerce Clause, Jeffrey D. Zentner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will analyze the implications of the dormant Commerce Clause as applied to Virginia's stringent anti-spam law, under which two spammers have already been convicted of felony spamming. Part I will lay out the background of anti-spam legislation, case law involving other state statutes, and a brief history of United States Supreme Court dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence. Part II will examine the validity of state spam regulation under the Federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and current dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence, using Virginia's anti-spam law as an example. Finally, Part III will examine the shortcomings of the CAN-SPAM Act and …

Relative Access To Corrective Speech: A New Test For Requiring Actual Malice, Aaron Perzanowski

Articles

This Article reexamines the First Amendment protections provided by the public figure doctrine. It suggests that the doctrine is rooted in a set of out-dated assumptions regarding the media landscape and, as a result, has failed to adapt in a manner that accounts for our changing communications environment.

The public figure doctrine, which imposes the more rigorous actual malice standard of fault on defamation plaintiffs who enjoy greater access to mass media, was constructed in an era defined by one-to-many communications media. Newspapers, broadcasters, and traditional publishers exhausted the Court's understanding of the means of communicating with mass audiences. As …

The Impact Of The Proposed Federal E-Discovery Rules, Thomas Y. Allman

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Because of a conviction that e-discovery presents unique issues requiring uniform national rules, the Judicial Conference of the United States (“Judicial Conference”) has recommended and the Supreme Court has approved a number of amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Proposed Rules”), which are scheduled to go into effect at the end of 2006.

Shifting Burdens And Concealing Electronic Evidence: Discovery In The Digital Era, Rebecca Rockwood

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In the twenty-first century, persons involved in the legal profession will be forced to confront technological issues. Computers and technology have pervaded every aspect of society, and the legal system is no exception. The discovery process is a dramatic example of how lawyers and courts strain to keep up with technological advances. Traditional discovery practices have been severely overhauled as electronic information becomes increasingly prevalent. What was once a simple discovery request can now become an overwhelming task, as defendants must wade through a plethora of electronic documents in an attempt to comply with the court’s discovery orders.

Legal, Factual And Other Internet Sites For Attorneys And Others, Timothy L. Coggins

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

This listing of Internet sites for legal, factual, and other research presents a variety of sources for attorneys, law students, librarians, and others who use the Web. Initially developed for an Advanced Legal Research course and a continuing education session for legal assistants, the listing includes sites for primary authorities, both federal and state, as well as URLs for other types of information such as names of possible expert witnesses and biographical and background information (including social security numbers in some instances) about individuals.

Teaching A Man To Fish: Why National Legislation Anchored In Notice And Consent Provisions Is The Most Effective Solution To The Spyware Problem, M. Angela Buenaventura

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The term “spyware” encompasses a wide range of software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer. Spyware slows down computers and forces computer users to expend resources on repair and installation of protective software. Consumers also face the danger that personal information gathered through spyware will be misused. Thus, most people agree that spyware is an annoying and costly problem. However, there is no consensus on the best way to solve the spyware problem. This article examines the methods currently being used to battle spyware, as well as proposed national spyware legislation. The article outlines the various …

Bigger Phish To Fry: Californias Anti- Phishing Statute And Its Potential Imposition Of Secondary Liability On Internet Service Providers, Camille Calman

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The incidence of phishing, a form of internet fraud, has increased dramatically since 2003. Identity thieves searching for vulnerabilities in internet security have realized that customers are the weak link. Using mass e-mailings and websites purporting to be those of well-known and trusted corporations, “phishers” trick customers into revealing personal and financial information.

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Jon S. Player

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present its second issue of the 2006–2007 academic school year. The Journal staff has worked diligently during the first half of the year to produce an exceptional issue.

E-Commerce: Legal Issues Of The Online Retailer In Virginia, Jonathan D. Frieden, Sean Patrick Roche

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The popularity and growth of online retailing, now in its tenth year, has shattered experts’ expectations. “Online sales in the United States grew twenty-four percent last year, to about $90 billion, and online retailing now accounts for nearly five percent of all retail sales.”

Faulkner V. National Geographic’S Effect On Author's Rights In Electronic Transfer, Allison Hundstad

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Technological advances have triggered constant evolution in copyright law. As the Internet and computers have allowed images and written works to be available with the click of a button, Congress and the courts have been faced with the task of reshaping copyright law in order to determine the digital rights of material that already has copyright protection in its print form, with the goal of reducing the uncertainty surrounding the ownership of the right to reproduce these materials in a digital format.

Co-Blogging Law, Eric Goldman

Faculty Publications

Abstract: Bloggers often work collaboratively with other bloggers, a phenomenon I call "co-blogging. " The decision to co-blog may seem casual, but it can have significant and unexpected legal consequences forthe co-bloggers. This essay looks at some of these consequences under partnership law, employment law, and copyright law and explains how each of these legal doctrines can lead to counterintuitive results. The essay then discusses some recommendations to mitigate the harshness of these results.

Regulating Access To Databases Through Antitrust Law, Daryl Lim

Faculty Scholarly Works

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 …

A Winner Is Who? Fair Use And The Online Distribution Of Manga And Video Game Fan Translations, Jaime E. Muscar

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note examines the legality of fan translations of Japanese comic books, known as manga, and video games distributed over the Internet, with special consideration given to the application of the fair use doctrine. Technology related to the distribution of media online grows exponentially compared to the law governing this technology. Although much recent litigation has limited the online distribution of traditional media, both copyright holders and courts have largely ignored a fringe segment of this distribution. This fringe includes manga and video games. Manga can be easily shared online by scanning images, and video games are now frequently converted …

Waiving The Privilege In A Storm Of Data: An Argument For Uniformity And Rationality In Dealing With The Inadvertent Production Of Privileged Materials In The Age Of Electronically Stored Information, Dennis R. Kiker

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

At the point where one of the most venerable principles of common law and the reality of modern information management collide, even the most diligent attorneys may become victims of the resulting fallout.

Pervasively Distributed Copyright Enforcement, Julie E. Cohen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In an effort to control flows of unauthorized information, the major copyright industries are pursuing a range of strategies designed to distribute copyright enforcement functions across a wide range of actors and to embed these functions within communications networks, protocols, and devices. Some of these strategies have received considerable academic and public scrutiny, but much less attention has been paid to the ways in which all of them overlap and intersect with one another. This article offers a framework for theorizing this process. The distributed extension of intellectual property enforcement into private spaces and throughout communications networks can be understood …

Seeking Privacy: Examining A Role For The Fiduciary In Protecting Personal Information, Marcey L. Grigsby

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can Your Privacy Be Protected In An Internet Age?, Suzanne Blaz

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Electronic Record Sharing, Barbara A. Bintliff, Georgia Briscoe

Publications

No abstract provided.

E-Prescribing In A Changing Legal Environment, Jeff Todd

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Perhaps nothing permeates modern American society as much as prescription drugs. Evidence of this exists not just in television and magazine ads extolling the promises of Viagra and Nexium, but also in a few statistics. First, forty-six percent of Americans use at least one prescription drug daily. Further, in 2001, 3.1 billion prescriptions were issued in the United States at a cost of $132 billion. That amount is projected to increase to $414 billion by 2014.3 Such numbers explain the intensity of the recent political and legal debates surrounding prescription drugs, such as the importation of American pharmaceuticals from Canada …

On International Trademark And The Internet: The Lanham Act’S Long Arms, Joshua Clowers

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Trademarks tie a face to a product. The face is often a name or symbol, but it can also be something like a sound, a smell or even a “look.” They exist for the benefit of both the trademark owner/producer and the consumer. The purpose of a trademark, traditionally, has been to protect against the confusion of consumers when selecting products or services. Yet, a trademark’s functionality is not limited to preventing confusion. Other uses include both preserving the goodwill of the consumer for the mark owner and preventing the “diversion of trade through commercial misrepresentations.”