Data Security in Precision Agriculture: How Machine Learning Will Exacerbate the Privacy Risks of Farming
Anna Johnson As precision agriculture technology advances, privacy concerns plague farmers who fear that their agricultural data could be exploited by data processors. Despite these concerns, the federal government has failed to enact agricultural data protection laws. With the rise of machine learning (ML), federal and state legislators should act urgently to prohibit AI-driven, farming data misuse. Since data security threats in agriculture can disrupt the stability of the commodities market, a coordinated, industry-specific approach ensuring the privacy of agricultural data must be taken. This paper analyzes the privacy risks created by ML in precision agriculture and proposes legislative and...
Gut Check: The Future of False & Misleading Claims Amidst the Poppi Class Action
Hannah Niemczyk Innovation in the food and beverage landscape has increased significantly in recent years, contributing to a flourishing marketplace that is excitingly diverse but deceptive to the unsuspecting public. Consumers have more variety than ever at the supermarket, so factors such as health and wellness may determine what makes the cut at checkout. Meanwhile, brands curate advertisements to edge out the competition, often capitalizing on market trends and overpromising on label claims. To achieve holistic consumer protection, this Article explores false and misleading gut health claims considering the Summer 2024 class action involving the popular prebiotic beverage brand “Poppi”...
Playing the Patent Game: Protecting Video Game Mechanics as Intellectual Property
Lucy Hanson Nintendo Co. Ltd., Japanese owner of colossal video game franchise Pokémon, filed suit in 2024 against independent developer Pocketpair, Inc. for alleged patent infringement of Pokémon game mechanics. In doing so, Nintendo once again drew attention to the thirty-year controversy regarding the patentability of video games. Although developers continue to assert their right to benefit from their own software innovations, critics attack game mechanic patents for stifling gaming innovation because of their broadness. The international nature of game development means both American and Japanese patent laws contribute to molding this contentious environment for software patents. This Article discusses...
BLOG POST: Is (Fair) Competition Alive and Well? The Demise of the FTC’s Proposed Ban on Non-Compete Clauses*
*This writing is a Blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal article. Ariana Harris Non-compete clauses have long faced skepticism.[1] Though intended to protect a company’s proprietary information (e.g., trade secrets, business plans) by limiting employee mobility and thus avoiding unfair competition, their legitimacy is sometimes questioned with respect to unfair employment practices.[2] Advocates for a nationwide ban argue reduced non-compete enforcement raises wages and boosts innovation.[3] These individuals cite increased innovation in California resulting from the state’s ban on non-compete clauses and prevention of monopolies.[4] Opponents of a nationwide ban argue employers might invest less in employee...
Protecting Native Knowledge Systems? Implementing WIPO’s GRATK Treaty
Allie Verdesca The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK) was passed in May 2024 to establish a mandatory patent disclosure requirement for inventions that are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge. This Article assesses whether the United States should ratify it. By grounding the challenges of Native intellectual property (IP) interests within the historical context of the American IP system, this Article argues that ratifying the GRATK Treaty is necessary to support Native IP rights. Although the Treaty’s provisions alone may not fully protect tribal sovereignty, its ratification,...
Waivers to the Ryan Haight Act and the Future of Telemedicine
Quinn Hartman Under the Ryan Haight Act (RHA), the federal government has tightly restricted the prescription of controlled substances through telemedicine. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, which led millions to rely on telemedicine, lawmakers have introduced and renewed waivers to these restrictions to ensure continued access to treatment. By relaxing enforcement, those waivers have inadvertently spawned a resurgence in the unlawful activities that the RHA aimed to prevent. This Article proposes that special registration, a reliable process allowing legitimate providers to apply for the ability to prescribe virtually, is a better alternative to renewing the waivers, as it preserves telemedicine...
BLOG POST: The Golden State Killer and the Privacy Risks of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal article. Jordan Rose In 2018, a breakthrough in a 40-year-old unsolved case involving a series of homicides, sexual assaults, and burglaries, known as the Golden State Killer, shocked the public.[1] Law enforcement used an innovative, yet controversial, approach to identify the suspect.[2] Investigators uploaded an unidentified DNA sample from one of the original crime scenes to GEDMatch, an open-source genetic database specifically designed to provide consumers a method of identifying genetic relatives by uploading their DNA samples, rather than to help identify criminal suspects.[3] Over four months,...
BLOG POST: Generative AI – The Future of Efficient Police Reporting?*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal article. Maeve Silk Axon Draft One is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that generates police reports using recorded audio from body cameras.[1] Police departments across the United States use such tools to increase efficiency.[2] Officers spending less time writing reports are free to spend more time directly interacting with, and protecting, members of their community.[3] If officers no longer draft police reports independently, their reduced direct involvement in the process—which reinforces accountability—could affect their policing methods.[4] Many fear that the use of AI to generate police reports...
BLOG POST: Copyright Royalty Distribution Law Violations in the Streaming Era – A Solution to the Problem*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal article. Melina Iavarone Music has never been more accessible.[1] Digital service providers (DSPs) like Spotify and Pandora allow consumers to stream songs digitally.[2] The shift to streaming has also transformed how artists get paid.[3] Despite massively lucrative streaming careers, major names like Taylor Swift have taken issue with how mechanical copyright royalties are distributed.[4] In 2014, Swift temporarily removed her discography from Spotify, believing that the streaming service should not undercut her profits by allowing users to access her music for free.[5] Specifically, she objected to Spotify’s...