Tuesday, September 3, 2013, by Daniel Choo With every scientific breakthrough, there comes the potential for misappropriate use—nuclear fission and the atomic bomb; Google Earth and the Mumbai terrorist attacks; the Internet and the increased incidences of cyberbullying and cyberstalking.  To discourage such misuse, laws relating to such technological innovations need to be tightly regulated, …

Tuesday, September 3, 2013, by Kerry Boehm The act of texting while driving has long been a hot topic of debate, beginning with texting’s initial growth in popularity in the early and mid-2000s. Because texting while driving exists as a provable distraction, many states, North Carolina included, have banned it via statute.  The topic is …

Tuesday, September 3, 2013, by Will Blackton Before picking up a crayon, consider that you may be “trespassing” in an area of the visible spectrum. You may be in trouble if your box contains “Coca-Cola Red,” “Starbucks Green,” or “Ford Blue.” “T-Mobile Magenta” was a subject of litigation last week. Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent …

Sunday, April 21, 2013, by Ken Jennings The Mosaic Theory of the Fourth Amendment has featured front-and-center in the continuing debate over the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Jones.  In Jones, law enforcement officials tracked the location of the defendant’s (borrowed) vehicle for 28 days via a GPS device installed …

Thursday, April 18, 2013, by Drew Hargrove Trademark law allows an owner to “tack” an older form of mark if the owner makes slight alterations to the existing mark.   In order to “tack” the old form of a mark, both the old and new form of the mark must retain the same, “continuing commercial impression.”  …

Wednesday, April 17, 2013, by Carla Gray In the face of new pollution restrictions, the industry affected often resists change.  Thus, when the EPA announced on March 27, 2012 that it would create a Carbon Standard for New Plants as part of their strategy to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs), some in the coal industry feared …

Tuesday, April 16, 2013, by Samantha Surles The Government’s ability to find and apprehend cyber criminals is one of the big features in the 2014 Defense budget. One of the Department of Defense’s top priorities in 2014 is “expanding the Cyber Forces” under U.S. Cyber Command and developing a system for “cyber security information sharing.” …

Saturday, April 13, 2013, by Teresa Cook A New York based comedy troop, Fortress of Attitude, is currently feuding with YouTube.com and Google over their music video “P.S. Gay Car”. The song got its lyrics directly from a note left on one of the band member’s car that used homophobia to criticize his parking job. …

Friday, April 12, 2013, by Katherine Street Electric Utility consumers typically receive service from investor-owned utility companies, electric cooperatives, or municipal electric providers. Electric utility systems consist of generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and electric utility entities may provide any or all of these functions. In the eastern part of North Carolina, the majority of …

Friday, April 12, 2013, by Michael Frongello On March 20, lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives introduced a bill that would revoke the trademarks of the NFL’s Washington Redskins franchise. The bill, codified as H.R. 1278, and titled “the Non-Disparagement of American Indians in Trademark Registrations Act of 2013”, cancels all existing “Redskins” …