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2025/26 Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, staff group photograph, 2022, 2023
No full texthttps://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/staff/1007/thumbnail.jp
Federalism, State Action, and Workers\u27 Medical Privacy
Full text linkInjured workers entering state workers’ compensation systems effectively forego their medical privacy. This is due to widespread judicial misinterpretation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule (HPR) as excluding injured workers from federal medical privacy protections. As a result, medical privacy for workers’ compensation claims is effectively governed by state law. This Article argues that states have failed to protect the medical privacy of injured workers adequately and that there is a pressing need for legislative reform. The Article presents the first comprehensive survey in the legal literature of state action protecting the medical privacy of injured workers. Part I describes the data collection, including the methodology used and an overview of the results. Part II examines state response in three areas: scope of information protected, ex parte communications, and protective orders for disclosures. Detailed survey results are presented in the Appendix. Part III describes best practices among the states and provides proposals for legislative change, including the adoption of the HPR’s standards as a floor for medical privacy protections, or, alternatively, more state statutory protections to limit disclosures. I conclude by summarizing the implications of this work
Sufficiently Distinct is Insufficient to Determine Design Patent Infringement
Full text linkThe “ordinary observer” test for design patent infringement essentially asks whether the patented and accused designs are “substantially the same” in overall appearance. Although courts are very skilled in listing differences between the two designs, the final infringement determination is very subjective, being based on the personal observations and feelings of the fact-finder.
In the 2008 en banc decision of Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa, the Federal Circuit abolished the “point of novelty” test that, despite its flaws, had brought some objectivity to the infringement determination. In its place, the Court in Egyptian repeatedly emphasized the need to view the patented and accused designs in the context of the prior art in order to provide a frame of reference for determining substantial similarity.
However, in one sentence of Egyptian, the Court said that the prior art did not need to be reviewed if the patented and accused designs were “sufficiently distinct”. But there were no guidelines, in Egyptian or later cases, about how to determine whether two designs are “sufficiently distinct”. Since then, an outsized number of cases have relied on this clearly subjective determination.
This paper posits that guardrails are needed so that the “sufficiently distinct” test is applicable in only the most egregious of circumstances, when the two designs are – at a glance – markedly different, and that in nearly all cases a comparison of the patented and accused designs with the prior art is appropriate
Reexamining Trade Secrecy for Privacy: Transparency in AI-Generated Inferences
No full textBusinesses today collect vast amounts of personal data to generate inferences that predict consumer behavior, optimize engagement, and drive sales. While this practice is highly profitable, it raises serious privacy concerns—especially when individuals remain unaware of the inferences drawn about them or are denied meaningful control over their personal data. Although frameworks like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) recognize inferences about individuals as personal data, companies frequently invoke trade secret protections to withhold access to these inferences, limiting transparency. As data analytics technologies evolve, so too do the risks of privacy loss, discrimination, and manipulation.
This Dissertation explores the intersection of trade secrecy and data protection law, focusing on the legal and practical tensions that arise in the context of inference generation. Chapter 2 lays the foundation by examining the growing significance of inference practices and the legal barriers—especially those under EU and U.S. law—that restrict consumer access to their inferences. It calls for a critical reassessment of trade secret doctrine in light of personal data rights. Chapter 3 traces the historical evolution of trade secret law, highlighting its shift from protecting fair competition to shielding data from consumers and public oversight.
Chapter 4 proposes legal and policy reforms to recalibrate trade secret protections when they conflict with privacy rights. It draws lessons from other intellectual property regimes and suggests accountability mechanisms to strengthen data controllers\u27 obligations in responding to access requests. Chapter 5 serves as a “test suite,” evaluating the practical and legal challenges of implementing a meaningful Right of Access to Inferences. Finally, Chapter 6 synthesizes the findings and calls on policymakers to re-examine the boundaries between trade secrecy and privacy law, urging a more transparent, rights-respecting digital ecosystem
Free taxpayer assistance offered at Maurer School of Law through March
Full text linkQualifying local taxpayers will have a helping hand navigating federal and state tax returns this spring, as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program will once again offer services at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Both U.S. and certain international taxpayers are eligible to utilize the services, which will run on Monday and Tuesdays from 6:30-9:30 p.m. beginning January 27 and running through March 25. Services will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in Room 121 on the first floor of the Law School (211 South Indiana Avenue).
VITA services will not be available the week of spring break (March 17-18)
Three distinguished judges to hear final arguments in Sherman Minton Moot Court Competition
Full text linkA panel of three distinguished judges will hear final arguments in the Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s Sherman Minton Moot Court Competition on Friday, April 4.
The Hon. Diane S. Sykes, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; the Hon. Richard L. Young, Senior Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana; and the Hon. Alison Conlon, Judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County (Ill.) will hear arguments in the DeLaney Moot Court Room beginning at 5 p.m.
The jurists will also meet with students before the event
Conservation Law Clinic students help draft new Indiana prescribed burn legislation
Full text linkA new Indiana law that expands the state’s prescribed burning capacity was signed by Indiana Governor Mike Braun on April 30, in part due to efforts by Indiana University Maurer School of Law students through the school’s Conservation Law Clinic.
The law expands a prescribed fire training program administered through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and defines the standard of liability for those certified through the training program. Before the bill was signed, Indiana was one of only a few states nationwide without a certification program or standard of liability clearly defined through legislation. This new law will allow interested members of the public to now take advantage of the training program offered by Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The law is designed to increase the frequency and efficacy of prescribed fire as a land management tool in the state.
“This bill marks an important step forward for conservation and private land stewardship in Indiana,” said Jarred Brooke, chair of the Indiana Prescribed Fire Council. “With clearer training standards and liability protections, prescribed fire can continue to be applied safely, effectively, and more widely across the landscape.”
Indiana Law students played a major role drafting the initial version of the bill and advising Indiana Prescribed Fire Council throughout the legislative process
