Science and Technology Law Commons^™

Making Virtual Things, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

William & Mary Law Review

People value virtual things—such as NFTs—because such assets trigger and satisfy deep-seated narratives of property and ownership. The cause of the recent series of failures to regulate virtual assets, and the resulting crashes, has been a failure to take seriously the ways people perceive and use the assets. Current legal frameworks fail to support buyers’ and users’ expectations of ownership in virtual things they purchase.

Making virtual things is a matter of social construction of value. Virtual things, like real-world things, have value because a community values them for a purpose. It therefore makes no sense to discount how and …

The Microsoft Litigation’S Lessons For United States V. Google, John E. Lopatka, William H. Page

University of Miami Law Review

The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and three overlapping groups of states have filed federal antitrust cases alleging Google has monopolized internet search, search advertising, internet advertising technologies, and app distribution on Android phones. In this Article, we focus on the DOJ’s claims that Google has used contracts with tech firms that distribute Google’s search services in order to exclude rival search providers and thus to monopolize the markets for search and search advertising—the two sides of Google’s search platform. The primary mechanisms of exclusion, according to the DOJ, are the many contracts Google has used to secure its …

The Freedom Of Influencing, Hannibal Travis

University of Miami Law Review

Social media stars and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Act are clashing. Influencer marketing is a preferred way for entertainers, pundits, and everyday people to monetize their audiences and popularity. Manufacturers, service providers, retailers, and advertising agencies leverage influencers to reach into millions or even billions of consumer devices, capturing minutes or seconds of the market’s fleeting attention. FTC enforcement actions and private lawsuits have targeted influencers for failing to disclose the nature of a sponsorship relationship with a manufacturer, marketer, or service provider. Such a failure to disclose payments prominently is very common in Hollywood films and on radio …

Standing Up To Hackers: Article Iii Standing For Victims Of Data Breaches, Kendall Coffey

University of Miami Law Review

Despite the increasing amount of data breaches, there is no liability for parties who do not adequately protect victim’s information. In federal court, plaintiffs must show that their injury was concrete, particularized, and imminent. But, when plaintiffs’ information has been stolen, but not yet criminally used, they may be unable to establish a right to relief. Victims face challenges when seeking damage for this future harm, because despite their destroyed privacy, they may not have evidence of a perpetrator’s actual misuse of purloined data. This Article analyzes multiple court decisions, generally in the setting of class-actions, and discusses outcomes of …

Freezing Innovation: How The Platform Competition And Opportunity Act Will Freeze Funds In The Tech Start-Up Market, Brandon Wong

Pepperdine Law Review

The rise of technological giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook motivated the House Judiciary Committee to pass a slew of new antitrust legislation bills to curb these companies’ considerable market power. The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act proposes to significantly cut a dominant online platform’s ability to continue growing by deeming certain acquisitions presumptively unlawful. The Act shifts the burden to the acquiring company to prove the proposed transaction would not be anticompetitive by eliminating a potential competitor. In an effort to protect competition, the Act has good intentions to protect start-up companies that are fearful of being acquired …

To “Opt Out” Go To Court: How The Public Nuisance Doctrine Can Solve The Robotext Circuit Split And Support Plaintiffs, Talia L. Balakirsky

Brooklyn Law Review

Text messaging is now one of the predominant modes of communication. Because of this popularity, businesses and fraudsters alike are now consistently communicating with and targeting consumers by text, leading to an uncountable amount of unsolicited text messages. Courts across the country are grappling with how to remedy a wide range of injuries resulting from these messages. As outlined in Article III of the Constitution and later clarified by the Supreme Court in Spokeo v. Robins, to bring a case in federal court, plaintiffs must assert standing. With unsolicited text messages impacting millions of Americans, adequately asserting standing proves to …

The Consensus Rule: Lessons From The Regulatory World, Wendy Wagner

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Embracing Deference, Edward K. Cheng, Elodie O. Currier, Payton B. Hampton

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The "Crisis Of Expertise" Reaches The Courtroom: An Introduction To The Symposium On, And A Response To, Edward Cheng's Consensus Rule, David S. Caudill

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Owls: Some Difficulties In Judging Scientific Consensus, Harry Collins

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Consensus Rule: Judges, Jurors, And Admissibility Hearings, Robert Evans

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Adversity Of Adversarialism: How The Consensus Rule Reproduces The Expert Paradox, Martin Weinel

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Who Is Manning The Ship? The Environmental And Legal Questions Facing The Emerging Commercial Space Tourism Market, Alec Fante

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Intersection Of U.S. Patents And Space Law – How Infringement Exists Among The Stars, Perez, Erik I.

Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal

With the recent proliferation of the commercialization of space, private entities are beginning to race towards the sky. Increased use of privatized money in space has greatly increased the probability of intellectual property used outside the bounds of the United States on the terrestrial Earth. Current literature has analyzed certain aspects of international space treaties but very few have proposed solutions to combatting space travel. Current literature has not proposed any solutions to the current evolution and explosion of space travel. This paper reviews the past historical analysis from previous authors, looks forward to the proliferation of privatized space travel, …

Comment: The United Nations And Robot Rights, Heather Alexander

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This comment predicts that robot rights under the law are likely to become a reality in the next fifty years, possibly in multiple countries, as governments pass laws granting rights to robots, including civil rights like voting. This comment calls on the United Nations (‘‘UN”) to be pro-active in guiding the emergence of robot rights by convening a working group on robot rights to better guide member states through what will be a time of momentous change.

Why are robots likely to soon gain rights in some UN member states? There have been huge advances in AI that can pass …

Regulating Uncertain States: A Risk-Based Policy Agenda For Quantum Technologies, Tina Dekker, Florian Martin-Bariteau

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Many countries are taking a national approach to developing quantum strategies with a strong focus on innovation. However, societal, ethical, legal, and policy considerations should not be an afterthought that is pushed aside by the drive for innovation. A responsible, global approach to quantum technologies that considers the legal, ethical, and societal dimensions of quantum technologies is necessary to avoid exacerbating existing global inequalities. Quantum technologies are expected to disrupt other transformative technologies whose legal landscape is still under development (e.g., artificial intelligence [‘‘AI”], blockchain, etc.). The shortcomings of global policies regarding AI and the digital context teach lessons that …

Something Doesn’T Add Up: Solving Dna Forensic Science Statistical Fallacies In Trial Testimony, Kendall Brooke Kilberger

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

While the limitations of traditional forensic sciences are generally recognized, the presentation of DNA forensic science statistical testimony has widely evaded criticism. This lack of oversight has allowed four DNA forensic science statistical fallacies to plague the legal system: providing statistics without empirical support, the individualization fallacy, the prosecutor’s fallacy, and the defense attorney’s fallacy. These fallacies pose a significant risk to the preservation of justice, as erroneous DNA forensic science statistical testimony plays a critical role in wrongfully convicting innocent defendants.

This Note suggests administering standard jury instructions every time DNA forensic science statistical testimony is presented during trial. …

Crowdsourcing Justice, Matthew Dylag

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Social media has become ubiquitous in the daily lives of Canadians. Beyond connecting with friends and family, people also turn to social media to find information and seek advice on any number of topics, be it home cooking, workout routines, or automobile purchases. Indeed, social media is a flexible vehicle that can be leveraged for communication on almost any topic. It is not surprising, therefore, that individuals are also turning to social media to help resolve their legal problems. Even a cursory examination of social media will reveal that it is not uncommon for individuals who are experiencing legal difficulties …

From Cartier To Codification: Website-Blocking Injunctions And Third-Party Internet Service Provider Respondents, Dan Mackwood

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In recent years, the proliferation of commercial-scale copyright infringement through unauthorized online content streaming has created persisting legal hurdles for Canadian rights holders seeking redress. John Doe defendants in online copyright disputes can easily preserve their anonymity and operate their infringing enterprises from unknown locations, undeterred by injunctions issued against them directly. These anonymized administrators of illicit streaming platforms offer users unauthorized access to content for a lower cost than or as a free alternative to the access provided by the legitimate rights holder. This form of copyright infringement has reportedly resulted in up to hundreds of thousands of lost …

The Disembodied First Amendment, Nathan Cortez, William M. Sage

Faculty Scholarship

First Amendment doctrine is becoming disembodied—increasingly detached from human speakers and listeners. Corporations claim that their speech rights limit government regulation of everything from product labeling to marketing to ordinary business licensing. Courts extend protections to commercial speech that ordinarily extended only to core political and religious speech. And now, we are told, automated information generated for cryptocurrencies, robocalling, and social media bots are also protected speech under the Constitution. Where does it end? It begins, no doubt, with corporate and commercial speech. We show, however, that heightened protection for corporate and commercial speech is built on several “artifices” - …