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3D Printing: Digital Infringement and Digital Regulation
Get PDF3D printing is a rapidly-growing technology that enables creation of three dimensional solid objects made from a digital Computer Aided Design ( CAD ) file. Patent law issues are particularly relevant and uncertain in the realm of 3D printing. Thus, analysis of the Patent Act is needed to better understand direct infringement (of either the use of a 3D printer, of a CAD file, or under the doctrine of equivalents), indirect infringement, and contributory infringement in the context of 3D printing. A key issue in this analysis is whether a CAD file should be viewed as making the object itself since 3D printing involves creation of CAD files that can print the physical object at the press of a button. As the rapidly growing field of 3D printing blurs the line between the digital and physical world, it makes sense to develop new regulations and reform existing ones. Moreover, digital regulation must address cross-border digital commerce since separate steps of the 3D printing value chain be easily performed in multiple countries or by multiple actors, and easily transmitted across borders
Considering Consequences: Autonomy’s Missing Half
Get PDFIn a subtle but discernible trend, courts, commentators, and policymakers increasingly use autonomy-based justifications to support expanding economic rights. Their use of autonomy, however, is inconsistent with the concept of traditional liberal autonomy that proponents of economic rights embrace. This is because many, if not most, economic choices have some measure of consequences ameliorated by state action.
This Article exposes the conceptual incoherence of this approach and argues that these autonomy-based arguments are invalid when they fail to acknowledge the vital role consequences play in constituting liberal autonomy. It also demonstrates that the failure to account for consequences in determining the value of a choice creates conceptual and practical problems that can unnecessarily hamper effective regulations while simultaneously undervaluing true autonomy. To do so, this Article uses the Supreme Court\u27s landmark NFB v. Sebelius decision and the debate over privatizing Social Security as case studies to critique autonomy-based arguments used to justify economic rights in circumstances where consequences are artificially constrained. This Article then provides an alternative consequence-focused framework for evaluating the regulation of such choices. Finally, this Article applies that framework to demonstrate that considering consequences helps ensure a more robust protection of true autonomy while still providing policymakers flexibility to address social issues
Lifetime Disadvantage
Get PDFLifetime Disadvantage, Discrimination and the Gendered Workforce fills a gap in the literature on discrimination and disadvantage suffered by women at work by focusing on the inadequacies of the current law and the need for a new holistic approach. Each stage of the working life cycle for women is examined with a critical consideration of how the law attempts to address the problems that inhibit women\u27s labor force participation. By using their model of lifetime disadvantage, the authors show how the law adopts an incremental and disjointed approach to resolving the challenges, and argue that a more holistic orientation towards eliminating women\u27s discrimination and disadvantage is required before true gender equality can be achieved. Using the concept of resilience from vulnerability theory, the authors advocate a reconfigured workplace that acknowledges yet transcends gender
