The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that profanity can be trademarked and that the provision §1052(a) of the United States Code forbidding the registration of such a trademark is an unconstitutional limitation on the freedom of speech. Section 2(a) prohibits the registration of trademarks that comprise of “immoral, deceptive, …
In a world with increasing reliance on technology, it is unsurprising that computer algorithms are now being used to predict crime. Many have seen the movie Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, in which a futuristic society has abolished all murder due to its ability to harness individuals’ psychic powers to predict killings before they even …
In the wake of consequential 2016 election, during which artificial intelligence was used to potentially influence voters, deeper questions about AI present themselves—one of which is: can AI threaten human rights? The answer is most certainly a resounding yes, because it already has. To be clear, this is not a suggestion that robots are, on …
In 2016, retail giants such as Walmart, Lowes, Target, and Home Depot lost $200 million worth of stolen goods to organized crime in Tennessee alone. This amounted to $14 million in lost sales tax revenue for the state, so the legislature took notice. What they discovered was a network of criminals using gift cards to …
From the outside looking in, the music industry could not be doing any better. In 2017, the music industry: saw its first double digit growth in sales and revenue in almost twenty years, streaming services brought in $883.9 billion in royalties, and paid music subscriptions more than doubled, now accounting for at least 22.6 million …
South Dakota’s Attorney General has filed the first of an expected wave of state petitions asking the Supreme Court to reconsider an opinion from 1992, Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, that restricts states’ ability to tax remote retailers. Similar “kill- Quill” lawsuits are pending in the state courts in Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, and Wyoming. Quill …
In this month’s fake news, President Trump sought refuge in Twitter: “Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to public!” Specifically, Trump tweeted “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate …
Starting next year, it is likely that New York City will be the nation’s latest urban area to serve as a test ground for autonomous driving technology. The development followed New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that the state is now accepting applications for autonomous vehicle testing on public roadways. So far, General Motors has …
Nearly all Internet users interact with “the cloud” every day, but most never consider what‑or where‑“the cloud” is. The “where” of data is not a straightforward inquiry. The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear a major digital privacy case, United States v. Microsoft Corp., which will determine whether law enforcement officials can demand …
An unconventional housing trend has arisen amongst millennials who want to travel the nation in a mobile home, but cannot afford the $50,000 to mid-$100,000s+ it costs to buy an RV. Their solution is a “skoolie,” or “a school bus that has been purchased by a private owner and converted for some purpose other than …
