Assessing The Climate Impacts Of U.S. Trade Agreements,
2017
Georgetown University Law Center
Assessing The Climate Impacts Of U.S. Trade Agreements, Matthew C. Porterfield, Kevin P. Gallagher, Judith Claire Schachter
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
Meeting the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement will require the United States and other major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to integrate climate change considerations into all relevant areas of economic policy. The United States, however, has conspicuously failed to do so with regard to international trade negotiations. International trade agreements tend to increase GHG emissions due to the economic effects of trade liberalization, including increases in the scale of economic activity and changes in the composition of the affected economies. Trade agreements can also affect climate change in less quantifiable but potentially more significant ways by restricting the ability …
Technology-Based? Cost Factoring In U.S. Environmental Standards,
2017
Penn State University
Technology-Based? Cost Factoring In U.S. Environmental Standards, Jamison E. Colburn
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
Environmental controls in the United States are often said to be “technology-based” because the polluter’s duties are determined by the available technology for controlling that pollution rather than by the social costs and benefits of doing so. Indeed, this is much of what distinguishes U.S. environmental law post-1970 from that which preceded it. But technology-based standards have in fact weighed the costs of controlling pollution in unique, often obscure ways, yielding an analysis that defies standardization and basic notions of transparency. Often lumped under an umbrella heading called “feasibility” analysis and justified on the grounds that it avoids many of …
Lamarck Revisited: The Implications Of Epigenetics For Environmental Law,
2017
Vanderbilt University Law School
Lamarck Revisited: The Implications Of Epigenetics For Environmental Law, Michael P. Vandenbergh, David J. Vandenbergh, John G. Vandenbergh
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
For generations, a bedrock concept of biology was that genetic mutations are necessary to pass traits from one generation to the next, but new developments in genetics are challenging this fundamental assumption. A growing body of scientific evidence demonstrates that chemical alteration of the way a gene functions, whether through exposure to chemicals, foods or even traumatic experiences, may not only affect the exposed individual, but also the individual’s offspring for two generations or more. This interaction between genes and the environment, known as epigenetics, has revolutionized the understanding of how genes are expressed within an individual and how they …
Connect The Dots: Patents And Interdisciplinarity,
2017
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Connect The Dots: Patents And Interdisciplinarity, Michal Shur-Ofry
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article unravels a troubling paradox in the ecosystem of innovation. Interdisciplinarity is widely recognized as a source of valuable innovation and a trigger for technological breakthroughs. Yet, patent law, a principal legal tool for promoting innovation, fails to acknowledge it in an explicit, consistent manner. Moreover, although the scientific understanding of the significance of interdisciplinarity for innovation increasingly relies on big data analyses of patent databases, patent law practically ignores patent data as a source of information about interdisciplinary innovation. This Article argues that patent law should connect the dots—explicitly recognize interdisciplinarity as a positive indication when deciding whether …
The Future Of Law Conference 2017: Charting The Converging Paths Of Law And Technology,
2017
Singapore Management University
The Future Of Law Conference 2017: Charting The Converging Paths Of Law And Technology, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh, Amelia Chew
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Jointly organised by the Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia at the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Law and Osborne Clarke, the inaugural Future of Law Conference that took place from 26 to 27 October 2017 brought together leading academics and practitioners from around the world to tackle issues at the intersection of law and technology. This article provides but a snippet of the insights discussed at the conference.
Eyes In The Sky, Concerns On The Ground,
2017
Singapore Management University
Eyes In The Sky, Concerns On The Ground, Siyuan Chen, Zi En Chow
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In the last few years, drones have literally taken flight in our skies, over our parks, our beaches –and even over our homes. Aerial imaging enthusiasts are thrilled about their impact, while thosewho have privacy concerns may have some reservations.But while consumer-level drones do not make the best spies – they’re noisy, conspicuous, have ashort battery-life, are vulnerable to jamming and have limited telephoto capability – this maychange over time. With that in mind, we need to consider whether the existing causes of actionprovide any relief in law and, if they do not, how governments can regulate drones in a …
Improving Access To Justice In State Courts With Platform Technology,
2017
University of Michigan Law School
Improving Access To Justice In State Courts With Platform Technology, J. J. Prescott
Articles
Access to justice often equates to access to state courts, and for millions of Americans, using state courts to resolve their disputes—often with the government—is a real challenge. Reforms are regularly proposed in the hopes of improving the situation (e.g., better legal aid), but until recently a significant part of the problem has been structural. Using state courts today for all but the simplest of legal transactions entails at the very least traveling to a courthouse and meeting with a decision maker in person and in a one-on-one setting. Even minimally effective access, therefore, requires time, transportation, and very often …
Decomposing The “Tacit Knowledge Problem:” Codification Of Knowledge And Access In Crispr Gene-Editing,
2017
Boston University School of Law
Decomposing The “Tacit Knowledge Problem:” Codification Of Knowledge And Access In Crispr Gene-Editing, Neil Thompson, Samantha Zyontz
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Contracts Ex Machina,
2017
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Contracts Ex Machina, Kevin Werbach, Nicolas Cornell
Articles
Smart contracts are self-executing digital transactions using decentralized cryptographic mechanisms for enforcement. They were theorized more than twenty years ago, but the recent development of Bitcoin and blockchain technologies has rekindled excitement about their potential among technologists and industry. Startup companies and major enterprises alike are now developing smart contract solutions for an array of markets, purporting to offer a digital bypass around traditional contract law. For legal scholars, smart contracts pose a significant question: Do smart contracts offer a superior solution to the problems that contract law addresses? In this article, we aim to understand both the potential and …
3d Bioprinting Patentable Subject Matter Boundaries,
2017
Seattle University School of Law
3d Bioprinting Patentable Subject Matter Boundaries, Tabrez Y. Ebrahim
Seattle University Law Review
3D bioprinting combines emerging 3D printing technologies with synthetic biology. The promise of 3D bioprinting technology is to fabricate organs for transplantation, treat burn victims with in vivo skin repair, and create wearable microbiomes. 3D bioprinting can successively build, repair, or reproduce living human cells. This capability challenges eligible subject matter doctrine in U.S. patent law because the law has no brightline standard for patent eligibility for nature-based products. As 3D bioprinting technologies mature, U.S. patent law will need to respond to situations where living and nonliving worlds merge. This Article proposes a “Mixed-Scanned-Transformed” standard to supplement U.S. patent law’s …
The Death Of Rules And Standards,
2017
University of Chicago
The Death Of Rules And Standards, Anthony J. Casey, Anthony Niblett
Indiana Law Journal
Scholars have examined the lawmakers’ choice between rules and standards for decades. This Article, however, explores the possibility of a new form of law that renders that choice unnecessary. Advances in technology (such as big data and artificial intelligence) will give rise to this new form—the microdirective—which will provide the benefits of both rules and standards without the costs of either. Lawmakers will be able to use predictive and communication technologies to enact complex legislative goals that are translated by machines into a vast catalog of simple commands for all possible scenarios. When an individual citizen faces a legal choice, …
User-Friendly Taxpaying,
2017
UNC School of Law
User-Friendly Taxpaying, Kathleen Delaney Thomas
Indiana Law Journal
Technology is revolutionizing our lives. With the touch of a button or a simple voice command, we can instantly order groceries, get directions, or find the nearest sushi restaurant. Sensibly, the private sector has capitalized on these recent innovations to drive up profits. To sell more laundry detergent, Amazon now enables consumers to order refills by simply pressing the “dash button” mounted above their laundry machines. Starbucks lures more customers by allowing them to pre-order online and have their drink waiting when they arrive at the store. The theory behind this approach is simple: if you want someone to use …
"I'Ve Got My Mind Made Up": How Judicial Teleology In Cases Involving Biologically Based Evidence Violates Therapeutic Jurisprudence,
2017
New York Law School
"I'Ve Got My Mind Made Up": How Judicial Teleology In Cases Involving Biologically Based Evidence Violates Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Michael L. Perlin
Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice
The article critiques the teleological reasoning employed by judges in cases involving biologically-based evidence, particularly in mental disability law. It argues that judges often prioritize pre-determined outcomes over evidence, leading to decisions that neglect valid scientific data and violate the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence.
Human Torts,
2017
New England Law, Boston
Human Torts, Lisa J. Laplante
Cardozo Law Review
Human Torts is the first article to describe how ordinary municipal tort lawsuits in the United States provide essential remedies for human rights abuses. Despite the rising level of hate crimes, bullying, corporate malfeasance, and other private acts that result in great harm and can lead to civil litigation, American scholars have never explored how everyday tort claims grounded in purely domestic common law doctrine between private, non-state actors are in fact human rights claims even if never pleaded as such in U.S. courts. Framing tort litigation as a form of human rights protection may appear to be a novel …
Brief Of Public Knowledge, The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Engine Advocacy, And The R Street Institute As Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondents,
2017
American University Washington College of Law
Brief Of Public Knowledge, The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Engine Advocacy, And The R Street Institute As Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondents, Charles Duan
Amicus Briefs & Court Filings
Where Congress places conditions upon the patent grant in furtherance of the public interest in individual liberty, Congress acts at the apex of its powers under the Constitution. Inter partes review is a legislative condition on the patent grant, designed for an innovative modern world, specifically crafted to dispose of erroneously issued patents that burden the public. It is the traditional place of Congress to make these balanced political judgments, and Article III poses no barrier to Congress executing its Article I obligation to protect the public by limiting patents.
Piracy On Peer-To-Peer File Sharing Networks: Why A Streamlined Online Dispute Resolution System Should Not Be Forgotten In The Shadow Of A Federal Small Claims Tribunal,
2017
Pepperdine University
Piracy On Peer-To-Peer File Sharing Networks: Why A Streamlined Online Dispute Resolution System Should Not Be Forgotten In The Shadow Of A Federal Small Claims Tribunal, Naomi Gemmell
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
This Article proposes application of an ADR system for resolving online copyright disputes related to P2P file sharing. Section II provides an overview of P2P file sharing networks and associated copyright infringement. Section III explores current approaches that fall short in resolving P2P copyright disputes, namely the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, litigation, and private agreements. Section IV examines the two primary proposed solutions to online copyright disputes: alternative dispute resolution and federal small claims. Section V recommends that a streamlined online dispute resolution system is necessary (even if a federal small claims tribunal is adopted), and concludes.
Use Of Mediation To Recover Rights To Our Genes,
2017
Pepperdine University
Use Of Mediation To Recover Rights To Our Genes, Rachel Albert
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Lichtenberger And The Three Bears: Getting The Private Search Exception And Modern Digital Storage "Just Right",
2017
Texas A&M University School of Law
Lichtenberger And The Three Bears: Getting The Private Search Exception And Modern Digital Storage "Just Right", Samuel Crecelius
Texas A&M Law Review
Finding a happy medium is hard. Often, it is a challenge to find a workable balance between two unworkable extremes. Known as the “Goldilocks Principle,” this phenomenon has been observed in fields as diverse as developmental psychology and astrobiology. As Goldilocks found in the Three Bears’ house, “just right” may not come on the first attempt. We may have to explore the extremes of the spectrum—“too hot” and “too cold”—before we can settle on “just right. Goldilocks also discovered that this process is all the more difficult in a new environment—like the Three Bears’ house. Goldilocks persevered, however, until she …
Adapting To The Changing World Of Biotechnology: Syngenta Ag Mir162 Corn Litigation As Regulation By Litigation,
2017
Texas A&M University School of Law
Adapting To The Changing World Of Biotechnology: Syngenta Ag Mir162 Corn Litigation As Regulation By Litigation, Paul Goeringer
Texas A&M Law Review
Agriculture has relied on plant breeding to improve genetics since the first domestication of agricultural plants 10,000 years ago. More recently, Gregor Mendel and his hybridization experiments on peas led to what we know as modern genetics. The rise in recombinantDNA technology has opened up many possibilities in plant breeding, including Roundup Ready technology and crop varieties designed to resist a number of pests. At the same time, governments and the private sector have sought to institute regulations for handling the releases of new biotechnology to ensure the technologies will have limited environmental impacts and provide safe foods to the …
Recognizing Challenges And Opportunities In The Quest To End Hunger,
2017
Texas A&M University School of Law
Recognizing Challenges And Opportunities In The Quest To End Hunger, Jennifer Williams Zwagerman
Texas A&M Law Review
As an attorney and professor that does not focus on intellectual property law, I was a bit apprehensive about providing a keynote address for a Symposium focusing on “Agriculture, Intellectual Property, and Feeding the World in the 21st Century.” As I thought about this topic, knowing that there were other speakers who would focus more on the IP issues and technical aspects of various topics, I kept coming back to the importance of technology as we worktowards the goal of feeding the world, and the many ways in which innovation plays a role in meeting that goal. It also brought …
