The current structure of the Copyright Act has failed to create a fair market system that is an effective vehicle for ensuring the progress of the arts. Federal District Courts have adopted inconsistent approaches to sampling law, precluding a legal consensus on business practices in a national music industry. Digital sound editing and compositional technology …
If Scott Peterson had been stuck in traffic on a congested highway in Los Angeles, driven to a local bank, or taken a transcontinental road trip to West Orange, New Jersey, police in Modesto, California would have known. Indeed, the police department’s surveillance was precise, perpetual, and nearly invisible. It was also electronic. Shortly after …
When drafting a patent application, inventors or their legal representatives must carefully choose the language and terms employed in the claims section. A particular problem arises in a granted patent when a term with multiple definitions creates ambiguity in the interpretation of the claims and the scope of protection provided therein. How should courts determine …
In its decision in Ashcroft v. ACLU, the Supreme Court held that the Attorney General had not convincingly rebutted the contention of plaintiff Internet content providers that filtering software was less restrictive and just as effective as the legislation Mr. Ashcroft sought to defend. The Supreme Court was correct to uphold the preliminary injunction against …
The Sinfonia is part of a new breed of virtual orchestra instruments designed to faithfully recreate the sound of a traditional full-size orchestra from a single computerized console. Thus far, the technology has been used in over thirty productions across the country, including the national tours of Annie and Miss Saigon, as well as the …
Many believe that cyberspace was born out of a world of no regulation. And many believe that the future of dispute resolution lies in the absence of the state. The general view of online dispute resolution (“ODR”) follows from these beliefs: it is a new and promising form of dispute resolution, and it takes place …
We stand at the threshold of a major change in legal education. Recognizing the extent to which law students and lawyers alike rely on the Internet in both their professional and personal lives, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) has approved new standards for the J.D. curriculum which will greatly expand the opportunities for law students …
Obviousness, or inventive step, has been called the ultimate bar to patentability. The purpose of the nonobviousness requirement is to complement the novelty requirement and to extend the scope of the relevant prior art beyond anticipatory prior art. This ensures that an invention constitutes a sufficient advance in technology to warrant an exclusive right. Adoption …
