Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy (University of Pittsburgh)
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A Tangled Web We Weave: Enforcing International Speech Restrictions in an Online World
Get PDFIt is no secret that the Internet has transforemd the way we communicate with each other in the modern world. No longer "a unique and wholly new medium of worldwide human communication,"2 the Internet has seen a dramatic increase in the number of users across the glove, from about 40 million at a time of trial in Reno v. ACLU,3 to more than 1.1 billion today.4 As is becoming ever more clear as the technology contrinues to develpo, in merely a decade, this "explosion" of the Internet has led to a host of legal complications, challenging some of our most fundamental legal assumptions and doctrines. Basic notions of jurisdiction and enforcement are turned on their head, as "content on the Internet does not exist in one particular place; rather, it exists in several places at once."5 But these complications are not just a matter for scholars, lawyers, and judges. Underlying this legal chaso is a cultural battleground, as different nations find themselves confronted with the question of how to preserve national values in the face of a medium that is quite adept at transcending territorial borders
Mineshafts on Treasure Island: A Relief Map of the eBay Fraud Landscape
Get PDFAs explorers once opened up new trade passages, thus attracting hordes of both honest traders and dishonest pirates, so too has the Internet opened new lanes of commerce and attracted the modern versions of the same. One of the widest of these lanes undoubtedly runs through eBay, located at http://www.ebay.com . From its humble beginnings as a little-known auction site hawking PEZ candy dispensers, broken laser pointers and other garage-sale pickings, eBay has transformed itself into a reputable public sales powerhouse where a Gulfstream II jet, million-dollar sports artifacts, and Madonna’s wedding tiara might easily change hands.
International E-Discovery: Navigating the Maze
Get PDFGlobalization and the growing mountain of electronically stored information ("ESI") will inevitably lead to an increase in discovery requests for ESI located abroad. But no consistent methodology exists for United States courts to evaluate whether discovery of ESI abroad is appropriate, and if so, what the consequences are for failure to comply with a discovery order. As international commerce depends on "the ability of merchants to predict the likely consequences of their conduct in overseas markets,"1 United States courts need to apply a consistent standard to decisions involving the discovery of international ESI. This paper reviews existing law related to international discovery and electronic discovery ("e-discovery") and proposes a blended approach to be considered by courts to evaluate discovery of international ESI
Scare of Avian Flu Revisits India: A Bumpy Road Ahead
Get PDFWith the threat of an avian flu pandemic once again looming over eastern India, issues regarding patents and affordability and accessibility of drugs have taken center stage. The key priority of India should be to remain prepared to address the public health crisis effectively, by stockpiling the drug tamiflu so that it can be easily distributed and administered to the needy.India had been confronted with a serious threat of avian flu in 2005-06, but past experience shows that, despite having some of the broadest and most comprehensive compulsory patent licensing laws, India\u27s policymaking elite shied away from fully exploiting these legal \u27flexibilities.\u27 Fortunately, the danger of avian flu did not turn into a substantial public health crisis that year. Under this backdrop, this paper explores various ‘flexibilities’ available in the Indian patent law and suggests short term and long term strategies to effectively tackle the impending danger of an avian flu pandemic, and similar public health crises in future. This paper will discuss potential areas of conflict between the indigenous generic drug firms and the multi-national companies with respect to TRIPS compliance in the event that these flexibilities are exploited. This paper also highlights the administrative constraints and the economic viability of the compulsory licensing system. Finally, this paper shows how political will is often more critical than having well documented provisions in statute books to respond to such situations effectively
Computer Forensics, Search Strategies, and the Particularity Requirement
Get PDFAssuming that a person subject to a search and seizure of his or her computer has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of the computer, and thus a warrant is required, should the warrant outline a “search strategy”? Or should comprehensive computer searches be permitted? In other words, how should the particularity requirement be applied to computer searches? Correspondingly, what can a forensic examiner do under a warrant while collecting potential evidence from a computer? [...
Legal Defect Protected by Article 42 of the CISG: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Get PDFThe United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) was written to facilitate and increase certainty in international sales transactions. Unfortunately, a major shortcoming of the CISG is in regard to sales of goods that are subject to intellectual or industrial property rights. This article discusses the problems with a uniform substantive law to govern sales of goods that are subject to intellectual property rights and counsels practitioners to include contract clauses to govern any disputes that may arise in relation to a claim brought by a third party asserting ownership to the intellectual or industrial property rights of the goods
“I Just Bought a Flat Screen T.V. in Kolkata?” Application of Laws for International Outsourcing Related Identity Theft
Get PDFBecause the internet makes it economical to do so, many American companies have sent their customer service jobs overseas. Workers in these outsourced jobs often have access to personal financial information of American citizens. Recent identity thefts, both in America and abroad, highlight the need for laws mandating tighter security by the companies that hold and trade personal information. This paper explores American legislation attempting to deal with identity theft crime as well as parallel laws in India, where many of the outsourced jobs are located. Furthermore, this paper suggests that any federal legislation ought not to preempt state law, as California law is currently protecting consumer privacy stronger than proposed legislation would
Impeaching Finnigan and Realigning the Corroboration Standard for Uninterested Single Witness Testimony with Precedent and Policy
Get PDFThomson3 3 and Finnigan4 were decided by different panels of Federal Circuit judges with one judge in common,5 only four and a half months apart. Both panels addressed whether an uninterested witness’s testimony must be corroborated, and both panels reached different outcomes. Although the latter of the two cases, Finnigan, attempted to reconcile the apparent inconsistencies, its craftsmanship suggests a veiled attempt to overrule Thomson,6 rather than distinguish it.7 Even though most courts have followed Finnigan8 instead of Thomson,9 Thomson deserves special attention--not only because it has not been overruled,10 but also because its holding is a natural extension of legal precedent and patent policy that may prove to be the more contoured rule to the issue at hand. Namely, whether an uninterested witness’s testimony submitted to prove patent invalidity must be corroborated with other evidence as a bright-line rule or whether courts should have the option to evaluate this testimony on a case-by-case basis. In other words, the issue discussed in the conflicting holdings of Thomson and Finnigan is whether a single witness’s testimony is ever sufficient to meet the evidentiary burden of clear and convincing evidence to prove patent invalidity
Keeping Time Machinese and Teleporters in the Public Doman: Fiction as Prior Art for Patent Examination
Get PDFWorks of fiction sometimes contain disclosures of inventions that operate as a bar to patentability, preventing inventors who actually make those inventions from subsequently patenting them. This is because the fictional disclosures effectively destroy the novelty of the inventions or render them obvious. Despite such disclosures, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office does not habitually or effectively search through fiction for pertinent prior art in its examinations. This paper explores the legal, economic, and pragmatic considerations if searching fiction is to become part of the patent examination process. Until recently, it was impracticable to search fiction in a manner that would accurately locate pertinent prior art. However, with the advent of the Google Book Search Project, fiction can be both effectively and efficiently searched for the first time in history. Ultimately, the strong public interest in keeping invalid patents from issuing requires that fictional prior art searching be incorporated into patent examinations