Science and Technology Law Commons^™

Table Of Contents

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

No abstract provided.

Market Reaction To Business Method Patents: An Empirical Analysis, Charles Holoubek, Timothy M. Shaughnessy

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Patents on methods of conducting business have received abundant press since the recent decisions in State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. and AT&T Corp. v. Excel Communications, Inc. Indeed, the number of patent applications categorized as Business Method Patents ("BMPs") increased from 165 in 1995 to over 7,800 in 2000, more than a 47-fold jump in just five years. In light of State Street's wide-reaching ramifications, both the court's legal reasoning for and the policy implications of allowing the United States Patent and Trade Office ("USPTO") to extend patent rights to business methods …

Contributory And Vicarious Copyright Infringement As Applied To Auctions, Flea Markets, And Swap Meets: How Fonovisa And Napster Have Set The Standard, Laura E. Hancock

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines a flea market as an "open-air market for secondhand articles and antiques." Although its origin is nearly impossible to trace, it is commonly believed that the flea market first appeared during the 1960s, in Paris, France. The term itself is translated from the French phrase, marchi aux puces.

Generally, a flea market has been described as a venue renting "space to anyone [offering for sale to the public] merchandise, products, items, services and all other legal needs of the buying public." Individuals renting space and selling within these venues are known as vendors. Flea markets are truly …

Site-Specific Art Parks On Moral Ground: Distilling Old Whine In New Battles Over The Visual Artists Rights Act, Carrie Jones

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Having passed by unanimous vote at the Second Continental Congress, the new Constitution duly declared that "Congress shall have the power [t]o promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors rt]he exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Pursuant to that power, Congress enacted the Nation's first copyright law in 1790, intending to promote the artistic progress through a grant of exclusive monopoly for a limited time to the authors of new works. Since then, the United States has successfully urged invention and creation through the full commitment to a comprehensive …

The Chinese Approach To Electronic Transactions Legislation, Zhang Chu, Lingfei Lei

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun, and this may be equally true when it comes to electronic transactions. In the electronic world, agreements are still embodied in contracts, contracts are still entered into when two parties reach an enforceable agreement on terms, and objective evidence still determines whether an agreement has been reached. Fraud and piracy are no less illegal because they happen online. In other words, laws governing the physical world are also relevant in the virtual world. Nevertheless, despite all the similarities, there may still be some differences in form, and there are …

You Can't Say That!: Enjoining Publication Of Trade Secrets Despite The First Amendment, Brooks W. Taylor

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Enjoining publication of trade secrets is certainly restraint of speech, but is it invalid under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution? Different courts have answered that question in different ways. Some courts have applied strict scrutiny and found preliminary injunctions against the publication of trade secrets to be unconstitutional prior restraint of free speech. Most recently, the California Supreme Court, applying intermediate scrutiny, found such an injunction against the re-publication of computer code on the Internet to be a content-neutral restraint not barred by the prior restraint doctrine.

For a number of reasons, corporations are relying increasingly on …

The Illegal Art Exhibit: Art Or Exploitation? A Look At The Fair Use Doctrine In Relation To Corporate Degenerate Art, Kimball Tyson

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

A gas mask in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head; fake stamps with photographs of Viagra and Prozac pills that actually duped the postal system; Pez candy dispensers with dispenser heads of dead rappers such as Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur, and Eazy-E; a recreation of a portrait of Mao using U.S. currency; the use of the Beatle's Meet the Beatles LP cover by a musical group entitled the Residents; a series of violent, disturbing drawings featuring famous cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Barney from the Flintstones, and Bert from Bert and Ernie being hung from nooses or sprawled …

The Future Of Copyright, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Review of Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity by Lawrence Lessig (2004).

Sometimes technological change is so profound that it rocks the foundations of an entire body of law. Peer-to-peer (P2P) filesharing systems--Napster, Gnutella, KaZaA, Grokster, and Freenet3--are mere symptoms of a set of technological innovations that have set in motion an ongoing process of fundamental changes in the nature of copyright law. The video tape recorder begat the Sony substantial noninfringing use defense. The digital cassette recorder begat the Audio Home Recording Act. The internet begat the Digital …

Protecting The Future: A Strategy For Creating Laws Not Constrained By Technological Obsolescence, Jay Campbell

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will examine the obsolescence of laws through the lens of recent cases relating to "wiretapping laws" and propose the creation of laws that protect certain rights independent of technology. Recently, a number of courts have held that laws created in the mid-1980's to protect communications do not apply to Internet-related communications, reasoning that the method of transmission falls outside the language of the statutes. As a result, e-mail and other forms of Internet-based communications are treated differently from older forms of communication such as telephone conversations. This note will propose a broad legislative solution with the aim of …

Maximizing Scientific Integrity In Environmental Regulations: The Need For Congress To Provide Guidance When Scientific Methods Are Inadequate Or When Data Is Inconclusive, Mariyetta Meyers

Animal Law Review

A “best science available” directive appears in a variety of environmental law statutes. Although seemingly clear, this directive has created an abundance of litigation with various plaintiffs challenging agency decisions under the Administrative Procedure Act’s (APA) arbitrary and capricious standard of review. The courts’ review of the agency decisions based on such science largely depends on the various ways in which the “best science available” directive is written in the particular statute. That is, the more specific the congressional mandate, the less latitude the agency has in implementing congressional will; the broader the statutory language, the more breathing space the …

Proprietary Rights And Collective Action: The Case Of Biotechnology Research With Low Commercial Value, Arti K. Rai

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Preparing The Groundwork For A Responsible Debate On Stem Cell Research And Human Cloning, O. Carter Snead

Journal Articles

The debate over both cloning and stem cell research has been intense and polarizing. It played a significant role in the recently completed presidential campaign, mentioned by both candidates on the stump, at both parties' conventions, and was even taken up directly during one of the presidential debates. The topic has been discussed and debated almost continuously by the members of the legal, scientific, medical, and public policy commentariat. I believe that it is a heartening tribute to our national polity that such a complex moral, ethical, and scientific issue has become a central focus of our political discourse. But, …

A New Framework: Post-Kyoto Energy And Environmental Security, Lakshman D. Guruswamy

Publications

In this article Professor Guruswamy advances an argument for new energy agreements that address the immense global environmental challenge presented by the increasing global energy demands of both the developed and developing world. Arguing that new energy accords are needed to meet this challenge, he identifies and describes the decidedly interdisciplinary knowledge base and analytics required to negotiate such international instruments. The construction of these knowledge bases call for scientific, engineering, technological, legal, social, economic and behavioral expertise. Professor Guruswamy identifies pragmatic steps--including a targeted research agenda--that will contribute to such an undertaking and begin the arduous process of addressing …

Sustainable Energy: A Preliminary Framework, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Energy, Environment & Sustainable Development, Lakshman D. Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of The Check Clearing For The 21st Century Act, Mark E. Budnitz

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

Legal Protection Of Technological Measures Protecting Works Of Authorship: International Obligations And The Us Experience, Jane C. Ginsburg

Faculty Scholarship

The ongoing transposition of the EU Information Society Directive's requirement that member States adopt of legal prohibitions of the circumvention of technological protections of works of authorship occasions this review of international obligations and their implementation in the US. This article addresses the scope of international obligations the WIPO Copyright Treaties impose on member States to protect against circumvention, as well as the US experience with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's prohibitions on circumvention of access and copy controls. It examines the text of the statute, codified at sec. 1201 of the 1976 Copyright Act, the five years of judicial …

Developmental Incompetence, Due Process, And Juvenile Justice Policy, Elizabeth S. Scott, Thomas Grisso

Faculty Scholarship

In 2003, the Florida District Court of Appeal reversed the murder conviction and life sentence imposed on Lionel Tate, who was twelve years old when he killed his six-year-old neighbor. Since Lionel was reported to be the youngest person in modern times to be sent to prison for life, the case had generated considerable debate, and the decision was appealed on several grounds. What persuaded the appellate court that the conviction could not stand, however, was the trial court's rejection of a petition by Lionel's attorney for an evaluation of his client's competence to assist counsel and to make a …