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DIGITAL SAMPLING OF MUSIC AND COPYRIGHTS: IS IT INFRINGEMENT, FAIR USE, OR SHOULD WE JUST FLIP A COIN?

Posted in All Articles, Copyright, Featured | Posted by admin

D.J. Girl Talk is one of the budding artists in the music industry today, and his instrument is a laptop. D.J. Girl Talk (hereinafter also referred to as “Girl Talk”), whose real name is Gregg Gillis, “samples,” or uses short clips, from other artists’ songs to create popular dance music. Girl Talk’s songs combine old, [...]

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File Sharing: A Tool for Innovation, or a Criminal Instrument?

Posted in Computing, Copyright, Featured, Uncategorized | Posted by admin

The dawn of peer-to-peer networks and the subsequent rise of file sharing over the Internet have proved to be a considerable threat to the revenues of the Recording Industry Association of America (“RIAA”) and the international music community.  While early music downloading across peer-to-peer networks on the Internet was largely limited “to college students with [...]

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AVOID THE RAINY DAY: SURVEY OF U.S. CLOUD COMPUTING CASELAW

AVOID THE RAINY DAY: SURVEY OF U.S. CLOUD COMPUTING CASELAW

Cloud computing, a computer networking model that gives users on-demand access to shared software applications and data storage, [1] is becoming increasingly popular among businesses and individuals. For example, if you use Google’s Gmail [2] for your email and calendaring, or Snapfish [3] for your online photo sharing and storage; or if your business remotely [...]

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ON FEDERAL PREEMPTION OF CONTRACTUAL FIRST SALE WAIVERS

Posted in All Articles, Copyright, Featured | Posted by admin
ON FEDERAL PREEMPTION OF CONTRACTUAL FIRST SALE WAIVERS

History has venerated the free transfer of tangible property, and this is partly why students of copyright law can purchase their textbooks “used” at discount prices. [1] If 2L Dave buys Professor William Patry’s copyright treatise at the bookstore, Dave acquires title to the book and can freely transfer it to thrifty 1L Sara the [...]

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A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO DECEIVE?: THE FIRST AMENDMENT IMPLICATIONS OF REGULATING PAY PER CLICK

Posted in All Articles, Copyright, Featured, Trademark | Posted by admin
A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO DECEIVE?: THE FIRST AMENDMENT IMPLICATIONS OF REGULATING PAY PER CLICK

Mainstream search engines derive their principal source of revenue from advertising. [1] Pay Per Click Advertising (hereinafter “Paid Placement”) is one of the most widely utilized advertising practices, offering content providers the opportunity to create short textual advertisements hyperlinked to their website. [2] Providers bid on keywords associated with their advertisement, [3] and when a [...]

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PATENT LITIGATION: WHAT ABOUT QUALIFICATION STANDARDS FOR COURT APPOINTED EXPERTS?

Posted in All Articles, Featured, Patent | Posted by admin
PATENT LITIGATION: WHAT ABOUT QUALIFICATION STANDARDS FOR COURT APPOINTED EXPERTS?

Abstract–“The descriptions in patents are not addressed to the public generally, to lawyers or to judges, but, as [35 U.S.C.] section 112 states, to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains ***.” [1] This leads to a tenet of patent law, that the meaning of patents and claim terms must be construed [...]

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PROVERIS v. INNOVASYSTEMS: REDEFINING A PATENTED INVENTION UNDER § 271(E)(1): An Examination of the Federal Circuit’s Narrowing of the § 271(e)(1) “Safe Harbor” Exemption

Posted in All Articles, Featured, Patent | Posted by admin
PROVERIS v. INNOVASYSTEMS: REDEFINING A PATENTED INVENTION UNDER § 271(E)(1): An Examination of the Federal Circuit's Narrowing of the § 271(e)(1) “Safe Harbor” Exemption

The Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) regulation of drugs and medical devices impacts the everyday lives of Americans in both noticeable and inconspicuous ways. [1] For example, a recall of contaminated food or adulterated pharmaceuticals illustrates how the FDA noticeably affects impacts our everyday lives. [2] Additionally, unobservable consequences springing from the overlap between FDA [...]

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THE PRESIDENTIAL RIGHT OF PUBLICITY

THE PRESIDENTIAL RIGHT OF PUBLICITY

Although the right of publicity has historically been a cause of action invoked by celebrities to protect themselves from an extensive range of conduct, the question remains whether non-traditional celebrities deserve the same rights. [2] Can President Obama protect against the unauthorized use of his image since he has arguably attained celebrity-like status? I believe [...]

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THE BIOLOGICS PRICE COMPETITION AND INNOVATION ACT: INNOVATION MUST COME BEFORE PRICE COMPETITION

Posted in All Articles, Patent | Posted by admin
THE BIOLOGICS PRICE COMPETITION AND INNOVATION ACT: INNOVATION MUST COME BEFORE PRICE COMPETITION

Unlike traditional pharmaceutical drugs, which are small molecule compounds synthesized by chemists, biologics are typically large molecules that are produced in living things. [1] [2] Breakthroughs in the life sciences over the last two decades have led to new biologically derived treatments for debilitating diseases including autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, degenerative diseases, blood disorders, and [...]

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“INDECENT” DECEPTION: THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT § 230 IN BALANCING CONSUMER AND MARKETER INTERESTS ONLINE

Posted in All Articles, Computing | Posted by admin
“INDECENT” DECEPTION: THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT § 230 IN BALANCING CONSUMER AND MARKETER INTERESTS ONLINE

“[T]he Internet represents a brave new world of free speech … [it] is fundamentally different from traditional forms of mass communication in at least three important respects. First, the Internet is capable of maintaining an unlimited number of information sources …, Second, the Internet has no “gatekeepers”–no publishers or editors controlling the distribution of information [...]

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THE UNLITIGATED CASE: A STUDY OF THE LEGALITY OF GUITAR TABLATURES

Posted in All Articles, Computing, Copyright | Posted by admin
THE UNLITIGATED CASE: A STUDY OF THE LEGALITY OF GUITAR TABLATURES

Abstract–Guitar tablature Web sites have been the subject of recent cease-and-desist letters, forcing most to shut down. Litigation has been side-stepped with the arrival of new creative means to continue operation. The case that may have gone to court is discussed here, ranging from the appropriate legal claims of copyright infringement to the fair-use-defense arguments [...]

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ROUNDING UP PLANT PATENTS & OTHER GROWING PATENT CONCERNS A COMMENT ON MONSANTO v. SCHMEISER

Posted in All Articles, Patent | Posted by admin
ROUNDING UP PLANT PATENTS & OTHER GROWING PATENT CONCERNS A COMMENT ON MONSANTO v. SCHMEISER

On the heels of their ubiquitous and controversial decision in Harvard College v. Canada (Commissioner of Patents) (the so-called ‘Harvard Mouse’ case), [1] the Canadian Courts were soon asked to re-consider the issues surrounding the patentability of biotechnological inventions in Monsanto v. Schmeiser. [2] Unlike Harvard Mouse, this matter was an infringement action. At the [...]

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CAN AN INTERNET REFERENCE BE A “PRINTED PUBLICATION”?

Posted in All Articles, Computing, Patent | Posted by admin
CAN AN INTERNET REFERENCE BE A “PRINTED PUBLICATION”?

Much of the information to the public is provided by the Internet today. The Internet has also become increasingly popular among researchers who now turn to it for articles, journals, and online databases. [2] Therefore, the question of whether an Internet reference is a “printed publication” is critical for today’s inventors, patent attorneys, and judges. [...]

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UTILITY MODELS AND THEIR COMPARISON WITH PATENTS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE US INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW SYSTEM

Posted in All Articles, Patent | Posted by admin
UTILITY MODELS AND THEIR COMPARISON WITH PATENTS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE US INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW SYSTEM

Abstract–European Patent Office (EPO) practice, guided by the European Patent Convention (EPC) is in many aspects very similar to Europe’s national patent practice, such as the German patent law. In this article, the US practitioner is briefly reminded of some of the considerable differences between US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent prosecution practice and [...]

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THE EDGE OF ETHICS IN IPARADIGMS

Posted in All Articles, Computing | Posted by admin
THE EDGE OF ETHICS IN IPARADIGMS

Abstract–In an attempt to stem a perceived rise in student plagiarism, educational institutions are increasingly turning to anti-plagiarism technologies. The use of these technological means to police student writings has been controversial, socially, politically, and legally. This article discusses the outcome of A.V. et al. v. iParadigms, to date the most important opinion on the [...]

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INTERPRETING CHAMBERLAIN’S “REASONABLE RELATION” BETWEEN ACCESS AND INFRINGEMENT IN THE DIGITAL MILL

Posted in All Articles, Copyright | Posted by admin
INTERPRETING CHAMBERLAIN'S “REASONABLE RELATION” BETWEEN ACCESS AND INFRINGEMENT IN THE DIGITAL MILL

Seven years have passed since Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the statute which makes circumventing technological barriers to copyrighted works illegal. [1] In the meantime, the DMCA has been widely criticized, and, within the last two years, undergone a major change in interpretation by the Federal Circuit in Chamberlain Group, Inc. v. [...]

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SHOPPING FOR EXPEDIENT, INEXPENSIVE & PREDICTABLE PATENT LITIGATION

Posted in All Articles, Patent | Posted by admin
SHOPPING FOR EXPEDIENT, INEXPENSIVE & PREDICTABLE PATENT LITIGATION

Intellectual property has experienced an explosion in recent decades as the value of American corporations has become increasingly reliant on intangible assets. [1] This explosion is reflected in the massive increase in patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) [2] and the corresponding spike in patent litigation. [3] Moreover, patent litigation [...]

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SECOND LIFE STRIFE: A PROPOSAL FOR RESOLUTION OF IN-WORLD FASHION DISPUTES

Posted in All Articles, Fashion, Other Intellectual Property | Posted by admin
SECOND LIFE STRIFE: A PROPOSAL FOR RESOLUTION OF IN-WORLD FASHION DISPUTES

This article proposes a system of dispute resolution for the virtual world of Second Life. Virtual worlds offer a unique opportunity to examine real world law in a similar environment. These environments might very well be the electronic market place of the future, replacing traditional two-dimensional web pages, but they also provide a fascinating way [...]

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AN ANALYSIS OF THE VIDEO GAME REGULATION HARMONIZATION EFFORT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS TRANS-ATLANTIC CHILLING EFFECT ON CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED EXPRESSION

Posted in All Articles, Computing | Posted by admin
AN ANALYSIS OF THE VIDEO GAME REGULATION HARMONIZATION EFFORT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS TRANS-ATLANTIC CHILLING EFFECT ON CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED EXPRESSION

Video games have become a prominent pastime for both children and adults in the United States (U.S.) and across the European Union (EU). [1] Today, individuals are spending more time and money on electronic entertainment than ever before. [2] Studies conducted by the National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF) highlight the significant amount [...]

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WARRANTLESS SEARCH AND SEIZURE OF E-MAIL AND METHODS OF PANOPTICAL PROPHYLAXIS

Posted in All Articles, Computing | Posted by admin
WARRANTLESS SEARCH AND SEIZURE OF E-MAIL AND METHODS OF PANOPTICAL PROPHYLAXIS

A. The Fourth Amendment and the Protection of Privacy in Electronic Communications   U.S. citizens are in a constant battle for their rights to privacy, fighting the government’s increasingly pervasive surveillance and justicial needs. One area where court opinions conflict with the public’s expectation of privacy is over the realm of personal electronic communications. The [...]

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