Driving in Circles: Impact of American Axle on Patent Eligibility Jurisprudence and Green Initiatives in the Automotive Industry
Zoë Haggerty A recent executive order signed by President Biden establishes a National Climate Task Force to oversee the conversion of the federal fleet to all-electric vehicles. If the President’s goal is to be achieved, the Supreme Court must review patent eligibility jurisprudence and provide guidance to the “bitterly divided” Federal Circuit. Fortuitously, the Supreme Court has the opportunity to do precisely that by granting certiorari to American Axle & Manufacturing v. Neapco Holdings LLC and clarifying the exact standard courts are to apply when determining cases of patent eligibility. Given the ever more pressing need for intelligibility in patent eligibility jurisprudence...
The Unresolved Mystery: Contested Scope of Copyright Protection of Sherlock Holmes
Jan Di Lee Sherlock Holmes, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of the most popular and loved series of all time. The Sherlock Holmes series has inspired numerous films and books that continue to be produced today. Sherlock Holmes has become more than a fictional character, but an icon and a subject of study and controversy. With numerous films and literature being produced with the elements from Sherlock Holmes, issues of copyright infringement frequently arise. This essay looks at copyright lawsuits surrounding Sherlock Holmes and discusses the contested scope of the public domain. This essay argues that human...
Take the © Train: Why a Musician’s Creative Process Should Be Considered in Music Copyright Litigation
Patricia Rezac Music copyright litigation remains fixated on evaluating basic compositional elements such as pitch, rhythm, and lyrics. Yet, as seen in Tempo Music, Inc. v. Famous Music Corp., courts may often benefit from closely examining a musician’s creative process. By focusing on a musician’s creative process in addition to traditional standards for originality, courts could more effectively determine whether or not a musician has violated a copyright protection. This method would reduce technical complications arising from music copyright claims, create appropriate standards across genres, and introduce a potential solution for copyright issues in the age of digital music. Read Full...
A Vendetta Against Alexa: Privacy Concerns in the Age of the Smart Home
Katherine Minorini A person’s right to privacy is so fundamental that it was written into the United States Constitution under the Fourth Amendment. This right, although protected, is not absolute, especially in circumstances involving voluntary disclosure of information to third parties. Issues arise when the third-party exception to the Fourth Amendment is coupled with the novel capabilities and innovations of the Internet of Things, especially with the smart home. This Essay argues that courts need to adapt their interpretation and application of the third-party doctrine so that information disclosed to and recorded by smart home manufacturers and servers respects Fourth...
The Liquidation of Data Privacy: How an Outdated Bankruptcy Code Threatens Consumer Information
Michael R. Akselrad In the modern world, billions of people share personal information online every day, ranging from consumer preferences to biometric and genetic identifiers, leading to the commoditization of user data, the value of which may dwarf the other assets of even large, multinational corporations. In the ordinary course of business, this user data may be kept confidential through such measures as privacy policies, statutory protections, and the reputational backlash facing a company that acts too brazenly with users’ sensitive information. In bankruptcy, however, some of these safeguards are eliminated in the interest of maximizing the value of the...
The Great Equalizer: Education or Technology?
Amy Lobue This Essay evaluates the structure of technology funding in education and how it has impacted students’ access to quality instruction throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As access to education throughout the pandemic depended on students’ and schools’ abilities to procure access to connected devices, some students were left with minimal to no instruction. Further, the pandemic sheds light on the existing technology access inequities that trace the lines between socioeconomic classes. First, technology access is defined as a two-fold issue: access to the internet, and access to devices other than smartphones. This Essay presents the current federal funding structure...
The Case for Prohibiting the Sale of Individual Genetic Testing Data to Third Parties
Nathaniel Jaffe Genetic technology is getting cheaper, and millions of individuals are using direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) services. At the same time, the scientific understanding of genetics is improving, making sequencing information more valuable for predictive medicine, research, forensics, and many other fields. In turn, genetic information has become more valuable for third parties like insurers, researchers, and pharmaceutical companies. DTC-GT providers are in a position to provide increasingly low-cost services to a growing consumer base, while stockpiling data of increasing commercial value. The sale of genetic data threatens the privacy of the individuals who provided it and opens them...
Patentability of COVID-19 Vaccines
Zoë Haggerty In many ways, the COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable and underprivileged members of society. National lockdowns, halted economies, and overburdened hospital systems have significantly exacerbated the obstacles faced by those already financially insecure. In light of these unique and widespread challenges, it is crucial that the marginalized members of society not be neglected as global and domestic health agencies push for efficient vaccine distribution. The implications of patenting COVID-19 vaccines are likely to disadvantage such members unless measures are taken to ensure the accessibility of such vaccines. This Essay explores the options of expanding or...
Can the U.S. Government Sanction TikTok Like It Is Iran’s Nuclear Program?
Joe Swain This Essay addresses the legality of the Trump administration’s TikTok app store ban. The ban restricted individual or corporate transactions with TikTok in the United States, effectively banning its continued use in the country by restricting its access to revenue. This Essay analyzes the application of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to the Trump administration’s actions and explores the resulting case which was decided by the D.C. Circuit. Although the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the IEEPA is restricted from applying to the Chinese platform, it incorrectly interpreted the meaning...
A New Understanding of Who Is a Direct Purchaser Based on Apple Inc. v. Pepper
Jacob Mitchell A group of consumers sued Apple in 2011 alleging that Apple had violated antitrust laws through their monopolization of their App Store. In trying to dismiss the suit, Apple asserted that consumers, despite purchasing apps directly from Apple through the App Store, did not have standing to sue them as monopolists because the consumers were actually buying from the app developers. The Supreme Court rejected Apple’s argument in its 2019 ruling in Apple, Inc. v. Pepper. By rejecting Apple’s view, the Supreme Court has expanded consumers’ available remedies by clarifying that consumers that buy directly from a distributor are...