Science and Technology Law Commons^™

Keeping Power In Charge: Federal Hydropower And The Downstream Environment, Reed D. Benson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Language Matters: Environmental Controversy And The Quest For Common Ground, Scott Slovic

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Center For Biological Diversity V. Zinke, Ryan Hickey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The oft-cited “arbitrary and capricious” standard revived the Center for Biological Diversity’s most recent legal challenge in its decades-long quest to see arctic grayling listed under the Endangered Species Act. While this Ninth Circuit decision did not grant grayling ESA protections, it did require the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its 2014 finding that listing grayling as threatened or endangered was unwarranted. In doing so, the court found “range,” as used in the ESA, vague while endorsing the FWS’s 2014 clarification of that term. Finally, this holding identified specific shortcomings of the challenged FWS finding, highlighting how …

Custom-Edited Dna: Legal Limits On The Patentability Of Crispr-Cas9'S Therapeutic Applications, Noah C. Chauvin

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Adapting Bartnicki V. Vopper To A Changing Tech Landscape: Rebalancing Free Speech And Privacy In The Smartphone Age, Andrew E. Levitt

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Friends Of Animals V. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, Bradley E. Tinker

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Friends of Animals v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, the Ninth Circuit held that the plain language of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act allows for the removal of one species of bird to benefit another species. Friends of Animals argued that the Service’s experiment permitting the taking of one species––the barred owl––to advance the conservation of a different species––the northern spotted owl––violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The court, however, found that the Act delegates broad implementing discretion to the Secretary of the Interior, and neither the Act nor the underlying international conventions limit the taking of …

The Blockchain Explained, Or How To Make Lots Of Money In Cryptocurrency, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

The School of Law's Information Technology Librarian summarizes blockchain, the current impact is having on business, finance and e-commerce, and the potential implications for our not so distant future as it pertains to the law.

Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility V. United States Epa, F. Aaron Rains

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Prior to 2016, the EPA acknowledged that human activities significantly contribute to climate change. However, on March 9, 2017, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that significant debate regarding the issue remained in the scientific community. In response to these statements, a nonprofit organization filed a FOIA request with the EPA seeking any documents or records Pruitt may have used when formulating his statements or substantiating his position. The EPA refused to comply with the request, citing undue burden and improper interrogation and this action followed. Upon review, the District Court for the District of Columbia found the plaintiff’s FOIA request …

Universities: The Fallen Angels Of Bayh-Dole?, Rebecca S. Eisenberg, Robert Cook-Deegan

Articles

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 established a new default rule that allowed nonprofit organizations and small businesses to own, as a routine matter, patents on inventions resulting from research sponsored by the federal government. Although universities helped get the Bayh-Dole Act through Congress, the primary goal, as reflected in the recitals at the beginning of the new statute, was not to benefit universities but to promote the commercial development and utilization of federally funded inventions. In the years since the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act, universities seem to have lost sight of this distinction. Their behavior as patent seekers, patent …

Smart Devices In Criminal Investigations: How Section 8 Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms Can Better Protect Privacy In The Search Of Technology And Seizure Of Information, Lee-Ann Conrod

LLM Theses

This thesis examines the jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) on informational privacy under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as it relates to searches of technology in the context of criminal investigations. The development and use of technology in criminal investigations will be detailed along with an overview of the current state of the law in this area. Challenges with the interpretation of section 8 demonstrate a prevalent uncertainty. This thesis proposes a new approach for the SCC to apply to cases where technology intersects with section 8 of the Charter. The proposal …

Everyone Wants To See The Entire History Of You, Caesar Kalinowski Iv

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Starting with heavy, immobile cameras and progressing to immediately shareable, discreet cellphone videos, the last century has expanded our ability to record ourselves and others—whenever and wherever—to formerly unfathomable heights. Black Mirror, a technology-based, sci-fi miniseries now produced by digital entertainment giant, Netflix, tracks this trajectory to its logical end in “The Entire History of You.” In this not-so-distant, sci-fi future where Google Glass is replaced by an “Augmented Reality Contact Lens and Grain,” everything we see and hear is immediately recorded and uploaded. Effectively, we no longer need memories to recall the past. But as with all new technologies, …

Blame It On The Machine: A Socio-Legal Analysis Of Liability In An Ai World, Michael Callier, Harly Callier

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

As technology continues to evolve, interactions between humans and artificial intelligence (“AI”) will skyrocket. It is important to understand the impact AI can have on society, as well as the potential harm and subsequent liability that could result, and to develop best practices designed to address them. The U.S. needs a comprehensive framework to govern the design, creation, use and risks associated with AI. At the time of this writing, no such framework has been implemented. This article takes a socio-legal, interdisciplinary approach to explore ideas on socio-ethical concerns and theories of liability related to AI, and applies a sociological …

Coinsensus: The Need For Uniform National Virtual Currency Regulations, Anisha Reddy

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Google search volume for bitcoin and bitcoin-related keywords increased by as much as 1000 percent in 2017 from previous years. This increased interest comes hand-in-hand with increased regulatory and legislative scrutiny. Currently, there is disparate regulation for virtual currencies across national and state borders alike. States’ promulgation of various and incongruous virtual currency regulations have forced service providers to withdraw from different states within the country. However, transactions are not contained within state lines, and disparate state-by-state regulation is impracticable.

The Uniform Law Commission recognized the need for uniform guidance for those entering the North American market and drafted the …

Proposed Rules To Determine The Legal Use Of Autonomous And Semi-Autonomous Platforms In Domestic U.S. Law Enforcement, Michael Sinclair

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

We need some rules. “Or there will be . . . trouble.”

Cybersecurity Of Autonomous Systems In The Transportation Sector: An Examination Of Regulatory And Private Law Approaches With Recommendations For Needed Reforms, Jeanne C. Suchodolski

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

The past twenty-five years gave rise to increasing levels of automation within the transportation sector. From initial subsystems, like vessel satellite tracking and automobile chassis control, automation continues apace. The future promises fully autonomous devices such as unmanned aerial systems (“UAS”) and self-driving cars (“UAV”). These autonomous and automatic systems and devices (“AASD”) provide safety, efficiency, and productivity benefits. Yet AASD operate under continual threat of cyber-attack. ¶ Compromised AASD can produce dire consequences in the transportation sector. The possible consequences extend far beyond financial harms to severe bodily injury or even death. Given both the prevalence of cyber threats …

Emoji: The Other Tech Monopoly, Edward T. Brawley

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brief For The R Street Institute And Engine Advocacy As Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondents, Charles Duan

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Under 35 U.S.C. § 102, an inventor may not obtain a patent on an invention that has been “on sale” for more than a year. The question is whether, from this so-called on-sale bar, certain classes of sales should be exempted— sales under a confidentiality agreement, in Petitioner’s view; and sales to those other than the ultimate customers, according to the government.

Swimming Upstream: The Need To Resolve Inconsistency In The Fda's Fishy Regulatory Scheme, Kelsie Kelly

Journal of Law and Policy

The citizens of the United States rely on the federal government to maintain the safety of their food through effective regulation. As the technology used to develop food has advanced, the outermost limits of the current regulatory framework are being tested. The result has been a circuitous and ineffective attempt to regulate transgenic organisms, intended for human consumption, using multiple agencies and a patchwork of laws. The ability to incorporate DNA from nearly any organism into the genome of another provides immense potential for innovative new food products, but may also allow for unintended health and environmental consequences. Proper regulation …

The Modern Public Square: Digital Viewpoint Discrimination In The Age Of @Realdonaldtrump, Jonathan Groffinan

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that official social media accounts used by political figures for public engagement should be classified as designated public forums, ensuring First Amendment protections against viewpoint discrimination. It contends that blocking users based on their viewpoints violates constitutional rights, as such accounts serve as modern public squares essential for free speech and open discourse.

Missing The Point(S): "Raise-Ing" A Bias Against Extraordinary Talent In The Arts, Ting Ting Lu

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Clear And Present Danger: The Need For Regulated Accountability For Online Service Providers To Preserve And Promote Free Speech, Notice, And Due Process, Benjamin H. Winters

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Crispr Future For Gene-Editing Regulation: A Proposal For An Updated Biotechnology Regulatory System In An Era Of Human Genomic Editing, Tracey Tomlinson

Fordham Law Review

Recent developments in gene-editing technology have enabled scientists to manipulate the human genome in unprecedented ways. One technology in particular, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Pallindromic Repeat (CRISPR), has made gene editing more precise and cost-effective than ever before. Indeed, scientists have already shown that CRISPR can eliminate genes linked to life-threatening diseases from an individual’s genetic makeup and, when used on human embryos, CRISPR has the potential to permanently eliminate hereditary diseases from the human genome in its entirety. These developments have brought great hope to individuals and their families, who suffer from genetically linked diseases. But there is a …

Legal Operations: Getting More From In-House Legal Departments And Their Outside Counsel, Christian Veith, Nora Tophof, Tessia Tober, Meinhard Weizmann, Markus Hartung, Dirk Hartung

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Legal departments today face multiple daunting challenges—including rising volumes and complexity of legal work and pressure to reduce costs. To manage these challenges, more organizations are establishing legal operations teams. Understanding what legal operations does—and how—can help legal de-partments to efficiently deliver measurable business results and their counsel tobetter serve their clients.What Does Legal Operations Do? Five Strategic Activities Analysis of legal operations frameworks—as defined by the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium and the Association of Corporate Counsel—in this study indicates that the best legal operations teams excel at five strategic activities: (1) vendor, (2) risk, (3) knowledge, (4) finance/budgeting, and …

Supreme Court Of Canada On The Appropriateness And Scope Of A Global Website Takedown Order, Jennifer C. Daskal

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In Google v. Equustek, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered Google to delist all websites used by Datalink, a company that stole trade secrets from Equustek, a Canada-based information technology company. Google had agreed to do so in part, but with respect to searches that originated from google.ca only, the default browser for those in Canada. Equustek however, argued the takedowns needed to be global in order to be effective. It thus sought an injunction ordering Google to delist the allegedly infringing websites from all of Google's search engines whether accessed from google.ca, google.com, or any other entry point. Google …

A Fish Out Of Water: Why The Gao's Approach To Finding Agency Propaganda Is Inadequate In The Social Media Age, Jennifer Pierce

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rights In A Cloud Of Dust: The Value And Qualities Of Farm Data And How Its Property Rights Should Be Viewed Moving Forward, Zachary R. Trail

Arkansas Law Review

Historically, technology growth has been slower in agriculture than other industries. However, a rising demand for food and an increase in efficient farm practices has changed this, leading to a rise in precision farming technologies. Now, entities that provide services or information to farmers need precision farming technologies to compete, and more farmers are adopting precision farming technologies. These technologies help farmers, but questions still remain about ownership rights in the data that farmers create.

Moving Beyond The Wto: A Proposal To Adjudicate Gmo Disputes In An International Environmental Court, Marguerite A. Hutchinson

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article begins with a brief summary of the scientific basis of creating GMOs and its historic precursors. The second section provides an overview of risks to humans and the environment. The third part of this Article analyzes the arguments put forward by both the United States and the E.U., which have defined the conflict between blocs of countries pushing GMOs abroad and those who persistently reject them. The fourth section evaluates the respective regulatory schemes imposed on GMOs by the United States and Europe, domestically and by international treaty. The success of these systems is evaluated in the fifth …

Keynote Address, Ryan Calo

Seattle University Law Review

Transcript of the keynote address at the 2018 Seattle University School of Law symposium “Singularity: AI and the Law.” The keynote address is presented by Ryan Calo and discusses the current status of artificial intelligence learning, and how this current status is moving toward robotic singularity.

Robotic Speakers And Human Listeners, Helen Norton

Seattle University Law Review

This article discusses protected First Amendment speech and how this protection should be applied to robotic speech. Robotic speech is that created by automated means, currently “bots” but the producers of automated speech are evolving. The article further differentiates between rights of the producers of this speech and listeners or consumers of the speech, and the impact of First Amendment protections on each group.

Panel 2: Accountability For The Actions Of Robots, Ryan Calo, Howard Jay Chizeck, Elizabeth Joh, Blake Hannaford

Seattle University Law Review

Transcript of the panel discussion at the 2018 Seattle University School of Law symposium “Singularity: AI and the Law” discussing human control and Artificial Intellegence learning. The panel participants are Ryan Calo, Howard Jay Chizeck, Elizabeth Joh, and Blake Hannaford.