Science and Technology Law Commons^™

The Direct Purchaser Requirement In Clayton Act Private Litigation: The Case Of Apple Inc. V. Pepper , Konstantin G. Vertsman

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

More than fifty years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Hanover Shoe, Inc. v. United Shoe Machinery Corp. established the direct purchaser rule, the Supreme Court was provided with an opportunity in Apple Inc. v. Pepper to reevaluate and update the proximate cause standing requirement for litigation under § 4 of the Clayton Act. In the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision, the majority opinion established a rule that consumers who purchase directly from a monopolist satisfy the direct purchaser standing requirement notwithstanding the internal business structure of the monopolist. This interpretation of the direct purchaser rule, along with the recent reformulation …

The Immediacy Of Genome Editing And Mitochondrial Replacement, Raymond C. O'Brien

Scholarly Articles

After human DNA was first defined in 1953, the parallel science of assisted reproductive technology achieved a successful human birth through in vitro fertilization in 1978. Science then went on to facilitate gestational surrogacy, banking human reproductive materials, such as embryos, and greater opportunities for couples and individuals to become parents. Fertility clinics were established throughout the world to help persons and couples achieve parenthood, contributing to a steady increase in babies born through assisted reproductive means. Gradually, both federal and state laws in the United States were enacted to collect data from the fertility clinics, mandate insurance coverage of …

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Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

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Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

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Smart Baby Monitors: The Modern Nanny Or A Home Invader, Sarah Ensenat

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Smart baby monitors exist to help parents protect and watch over their children. The smart baby monitors act as a second set of eyes when parents cannot be in the same room as their children. Low-tech hackers take advantage of gaps in the security of smart baby monitors. A hacker violates a consumer’s privacy by gaining access to private information, viewing the home and its occupants, and even speaking to children through the monitor.

This comment advocates for stricter security legislation for smart baby monitors. Without new legislation, manufacturers of smart baby monitors do not apply or invest in the …

Privacy Vs. Protection: Why Tracking Mobile-Device Location Data Without A Warrant Requires A Fourth Amendment Exception, Andrew Stover

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Providing Protection To Programmers' Works: Disregard The Merger Doctrine And Adopt The Application Approach, Akshay Jain

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

In today’s technological landscape, computer programs are one of the most highly complex and popular inventions. However, they still receive little or sometimes no legal protection. As a consequence, programmers are reluctant to create new programs, discouraging innovation and preventing the public to benefit from using these inventions. If the court does afford them copyright protection, they may still not receive legal damages for copyright infringement because the court would not consider their program registered under the Copyright Act of 1976.

This Comment argues for greater copyright protection for programs by disregarding the merger doctrine, which does not provide protection …

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Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

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Assessing Assisted Reproductive Technology, Raymond C. O'Brien

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Technological innovation possesses both opportunity and challenge. Because assisted reproductive technology (ART) involves sexual intimacy, parenthood, personhood, gender identity, privacy, legacy, and a plethora of religious, historical, sociological, and ethical underpinnings, the challenges presented in such technological innovation are substantial. Nonetheless, the opportunities are significant and progressive. Because of in vitro fertilization, gestational and genetic surrogacy, posthumous conception, and mitochondrial replacement therapy, humans now have the opportunity to overcome infertility, gender obstacles to parentage, dynastic limitations, and diseases that have long plagued mothers and infants. However, challenges include the exploitation of surrogates, unequal access to ART services, possibilities of cloning …

Privacy Of Information And Dna Testing Kits, Shanna Raye Mason

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

In modern times, consumers desire for more control over their own health and healthcare. With this growing interest of control, direct to consumer DNA testing kits have never been more popular. However, many consumers are unaware of the potential privacy concerns associated with such use. This comment examines the popularity and privacy risks that are likely unknown to the individual consumer. This comment also addresses the shortcomings of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as well as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) in regard to protecting individual’s genetic information from misuse. This comment …

Masthead, Editor In Chief

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Tortoise And The Hare Of International Data Privacy Law: Can The United States Catch Up To Rising Global Standards?, Matthew Humerick

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Technological developments spur the development of big data on a global scale. The breadth of data companies collect, maintain, process, and transmit affects nearly every country and organization around the world. Inherent to big data are issues of data protection and transfers to third countries. While many jurisdictions emphasize the importance of protecting consumer data, such as the European Union, others, like the United States, do not. To circumvent this issue, the United States and European Union contracted around data privacy standard discrepancies through the Safe Harbor Agreement, which eased cross-border data transfers. However, the Court of Justice of the …

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Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Changing Governance Models By Applying Blockchain Computing, Steve Young

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Enforcing Constitutional Rights Through Computer Code, Steve Young

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Lawmaking and enforcement has advanced since Hammurabi first wrote out his legal code thousands of years ago. Today, the American legal system relies on legislatively-enacted federal, state, county, and municipal legal codes, agency-created regulations, the judge-made common law, and various law enforcement entities. This can be a confusing and complex system of rules and their explanations with varying degrees of enforcement. Blockchain technology is an automatic and efficient alternative to written codes that must be humanly-enforced. There has been limited scholarly interest in the implications of a legal application of blockchain technology to a political system but there have been …

Say What You Want: How Unfettered Freedom Of Speech On The Internet Creates No Recourse For Those Victimized, Wes Gerrie

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

In today’s society, virtually everyone relies on online posts in order to make decisions—from what products to purchase to what restaurants to visit. The introduction and increase of online communication has made posting reviews online a simpler, easier, and more efficient process. However, the increase of online communication has threatened the delicate balance between free speech and harmful speech.

A tangled web of recent case law and federal law exists which aggressively protects the free speech of online reviewers. The law has carved out immunity for the website operators that host an online reviewer’s comments, which in turn makes an …

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Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

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Market Transparency: How Congress Can Reform Post-Secondary Student Data To Expand Consumer Choice, Benefit Institutions, And Make Higher Education More Transparent, William Holloway

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

The federal higher education data system is broken and in need of reform. The Office of Federal Student Aid at the Department of Education has over $1.136 trillion in net liabilities on its balance sheets, most of which consist of federal loans which enable students to access higher education. Despite this large investment, the federal government does not have a coherent way to provide students, parents, institutions, or policy makers with transparent data on student completion, retention, loan repayment, and post-college success, due to federal policies that prevent data from being collected at the student-level. The resulting system is burdensome …

Deepfake Videos: When Seeing Isn't Believing, Holly Kathleen Hall

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Videos, known as deepfakes, use readily available software to create a work that shows people saying and doing things they may never have uttered or engaged in. The technology making the videos appear very authentic is advancing at such a rate that people may not be able to detect if the videos are fact or fiction. Given the hasty acceptance of other forms of fake news in society, deepfake videos have the ability to affect the nature of information the public receives about candidates and policies. This study examines the potential use of deepfake videos in the democratic process, analyzes …

Dating Dangerously: Risks Lurking Within Mobile Dating Apps, Alyssa Murphy

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

In modern society, cell phones have become a virtual extension of most Americans. Advances in cell phone technology have given rise to the popularity of mobile dating applications (“apps”), which are capable of allowing users to date and meet potential partners without leaving the comfort of their own homes. The convenience and allure of mobile dating apps has led to a staggering increase in the number of crimes orchestrated against other users of the apps. Such crimes often include solicitation, stalking, murder, and human trafficking. Unsuspecting and trusting users fall victim to these crimes due to the false sense of …

Ng9-1-1, Cybersecurity, And Contributions To The Model Framework For A Secure National Infrastructure, Andrew Jackson Coley

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

9-1-1 call networks form the foundation of emergency communications infrastructure. However, a lack of funding and taking such networks for granted has led to a gradual yet predictable outdating of this critical infrastructure. Fortunately, recent efforts have acknowledged as such, and dedicated public safety officials have worked to update 9-1-1 systems to Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1).
NG9-1-1 is an IP-based network with 21^stcentury technology capable of handling increased call volume, more resilient networks, and providing significantly more data to first responders, among litany of other advancements. With this much needed advancement comes the responsibilities of ensuring a secure …

Alexa, Who Owns My Pillow Talk? Contracting, Collaterizing, And Monetizing Consumer Privacy Through Voice-Captured Personal Data, Anne Logsdon Smith

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

With over one-fourth of households in the U.S. alone now using voice-activated digital assistant devices such as Amazon’s Echo (better known as “Alexa”) and Google’s Home, companies are recording and transmitting record volumes of voice data from the privacy of people’s homes to servers across the globe. These devices capture conversations about everything from online shopping to food preferences to entertainment recommendations to bedtime stories, and even phone and appliance use. With “Big Data” and business analytics expected to be a $203 billion-plus industry by 2020, companies are racing to acquire and leverage consumer data by selling it, licensing it, …

The Indecency And Injustice Of Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act, Mary Graw Leary

Scholarly Articles

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a 1996 law wholly inadequate to address 21^st Century problems. The most egregious example of this is online sex trafficking, which was allowed not only to exist, but also to thrive due, in large part, to §230. This Article examines the development of the jurisprudence regarding online advertising of sex-trafficking victims and juxtaposes the forces that created § 230 with those preventing its timely amendment. This Article argues that, although § 230 was never intended to create a regime of absolute immunity for defendant websites, a perverse interpretation of the non-sex …

Touch Dna And Chemical Analysis Of Skin Trace Evidence: Protecting Privacy While Advancing Investigations, Mary Graw Leary

Scholarly Articles

Forensic science transforms criminal investigations by resolving previously unsolvable cases and bringing an increased sense of justice to communities. This application of scientific disciplines to legal questions aids investigators in solving crimes. While many sciences can be utilized—such as physics (pattern evidence), chemistry (toxicology), or biology (cause of death), to name a few—two aspects of scientific advancement have played an outsized role in responding to crime. Trace evidence analysis—specifically, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis—is an essential component to an effective and accurate criminal justice system. DNA evidence has emerged as a powerful tool to identify perpetrators of unspeakable crimes and to …

Is Your Health Data Really Private? The Need To Update Hipaa Regulations To Incorporate Third-Party And Non-Covered Entities, Latena Hazard

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

This note argues that the current framework that governs health care applications and consumer privacy is slacking and outlines strategies to ensure protection against third party accessibility of information that consumers deem private.

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Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

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Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

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Section 337 Of The Tariff Act Of 1930 And Its Impacts On China, Yiqing Yin

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (“Section 337”) is one of the statutes that prohibit unfair trade or unfair competition in importation, and it aims at protecting intellectual property at the United States borders. Because of the international impacts of Section 337 and the injunctive nature of its remedies, the application of the statute has profound impacts on the trade between U.S. and other countries.

China is a country that has enormous trade with the U.S and imports large amounts of goods to the U.S. each year. Moreover, the weak intellectual property protection in China has been a serious …

Examining The Legalization Of Daily Fantasy Sports, Mark Dourmashkin

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Protecting Privacy In The Era Of Smart Toys: Does Hello Barbie Have A Duty To Report, Corinne Moini

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.