BLOG POST: One Step Forward or One Step Back: Artificial Intelligence Increases Accessibility but Limits Copyright Protection for Artists with Disabilities*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal article. Josephine Meier In 2018, artist Sean Aaberg suffered a debilitating stroke, severely affecting the left side of his body.[1] Prior to his stoke, Aaberg was a boardgame designer who found success drawing colorful, vivid images and spinning classic “fantasy tropes” into something more engaging and modern for players.[2] After his stroke, Aaberg found a way to continue his craft by turning to artificial intelligence software Midjourney for assistance in rendering the drawings he was no longer capable of making independently.[3] The Midjourney program allows users to...
BLOG POST: Controller in the Courtroom: The Struggle of Collegiate ESports Under the Athletic Banner*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal Article. Noah DeRossi-Goldberg I. Working Without a Basic Understanding A. The Misstep of Navarro Decisions about Collegiate Esports are made without judges ever taking the time to pick up a controller.[1] A recent opinion by a Florida District Court has created a roadblock for any college seeking to establish a competitive, fully funded Esports program within their athletics department.[2] The Florida Institute of Technology (“FIT”) disbanded its men’s rowing team to comply with Title IX’s mandate that men’s and women’s sports receive equal funding.[3] In determining...
BLOG POST: The Weak “Non-obvious” Patenting Requirement is Impeding Americans from Obtaining Affordable Pharmaceuticals*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal Article. Sydney Closs A patent grants an inventor the right to exclude others from “making, using, importing, and selling” a patented invention for a specified period of time. 35 U.S.C. § 271. This right allows an innovator to enjoy a limited monopoly over an invention, providing important incentives for innovation. See 35 U.S.C. § 103. Under current patent law, there are five principal requirements for a new innovation to be eligible to receive a patent: (1) patentable subject matter, (2) utility, (3) novelty, (4) non-obviousness, and (5)...
BLOG POST: DR. AMAZON: SHINING A LIGHT ON HIPAA INADEQUACIES THROUGH AMAZON’S EXPANSION INTO THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal Article. Alexa Dawid Technology giants are spending billions to enter the healthcare space.[1] Offerings like Apple’s health monitoring functions on the iPhone, Microsoft’s cloud computing services for healthcare companies, and Meta’s fitness applications through its virtual reality goggles have transformed traditional notions of doctor’s offices and paper records into convenient digital systems.[2] Amazon has been one of the most ambitious within the space, debuting six HIPAA-compliant skills for Alexa in April 2019.[3] These skills mark the first time Alexa has surpassed HIPAA requirements in utilizing HIPAA-compliant...
BLOG POST: Lessons from the China Initiative: The Perils of Pursuing Foreign Policy Through Prosecutions*
*This writing is a Blog Post. It is not a published IPTF Journal Article. Joshua Nacht One week before Jeff Sessions was fired as Attorney General, he announced the November 2018 creation of the Justice Department’s “China Initiative”.[1] The China Initiative emerged to counter myriad economic and national security threats, including intellectual property (IP) theft, forced technology transfer, cyberespionage of trade secrets and national security information, and efforts to obtain and/or penetrate critical military technology.[2] By some estimates, these PRC-linked efforts cost the United States up to $30 billion a year, and have totaled $600 billion cumulatively.[3] Under Attorney General...
BLOG POST: Promises, Patents, and the Pandemic: Moderna v. Pfizer*
Emily Stark *This Writing is a Blog Post. It is not an official IPTF Article Publication. In 2020, the world desperately needed a vaccine to address the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Three companies: Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, developed and produced vaccines that would allow people to return to their ordinary lives.[2] Two of those companies, Moderna and Pfizer, both used mRNA to develop the platforms for their vaccines.[3] Researchers had been developing mRNA vaccines for years prior to the pandemic.[4] Moderna is responsible for much of the development of the mRNA vaccine technology, and Moderna filed for patents in 2010...