In July of 2010, the Copyright Office issued a ruling that allowed owners of iPhones and other cell phones to reprogram their devices to allow the use of lawfully-obtained programs not approved by their phone manufacturers. Despite the ruling, however, the Copyright Office was unable to determine whether the copies of the programs loaded onto …
The Federal Circuit, the Patent Office, and several regional circuits apply the trademark law doctrine of foreign equivalents. Under the doctrine, marks in foreign languages are translated into English and tested for the statutory bars to registration, instead of being tested in their original form. The doctrine is applied even in cases where only a …
Due to newer clinical utility study results and the recent availability of warfarin pharmacogenetic testing, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has modified warfarin’s prescription labeling twice in the past three years. Yet, despite numerous warfarin dosing adverse events resulting from trial and error dosing, many clinicians have been reluctant to prescribe warfarin pharmacogenetic testing …
Currently the most widely-used file-sharing technology, the BitTorrent protocol, enables its users to transmit and receive much larger digital files with even greater ease than its popular predecessors such as the centralized and decentralized peer-topeer networks of Napster, Kazaa, and Grokster. It did not take long before BitTorrent Web sites hosted in the United States …
Adolescent brain imaging technology is an evolving area of science that reveals levels of maturity in the adolescent brain. Its potential effect on criminally culpable behavior is the source of extensive debate. The technology can inform judges and jurors on essential differences between how adults make decisions regarding their conduct as distinct from adolescents. United …
Financial services firms have traditionally been cautious about utilizing emerging communication tools such as social media due to uncertainty regarding the application of existing securities laws to the use of these tools. Recently, regulators have focused their attention on defining the regulations that govern social media. FINRA has taken an active approach to informing financial …
The hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies utilized in the extraction of natural gas have proven controversial, particularly in states where the legal infrastructure is unprepared to accommodate the industry. In particular, a newly discovered natural gas reservoir in central North Carolina highlights deficiencies in the state’s laws addressing the serious environmental and public health …
The equitable doctrine of patent misuse is best known for prohibiting patentees from exploiting the rights and benefits that arise from the grant of a patent. Despite a long history of favorable Supreme Court cases, over the past twenty-five years the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has substantially narrowed the patent misuse …
Though “journalism” is an amorphous term capable of various meanings, its traditional media are familiar. Yet, if the progression in media from print to radio to broadcast and cable teaches a lesson, it is that dissemination technology is rarely stagnant. As the seemingly endless procession of new media made possible by digital communication continues, the …
In response to the increasing number of cyberattacks, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance recently issued guidance on the disclosure obligations of companies relating to cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents. While the purpose behind the action was well founded, this article argues that the guidelines are inadequate because they fail to …
