Get Out of My Head: An Examination of Potential Brain-Computer Interface Data Privacy Concerns
Kevin Y. Li Brain-computer interfaces (“BCI”), which interpret brain impulses and translate them into real world outputs, currently exist in a variety of forms. With the continued development of BCIs and their increasing complexity, privacy issues will arise in regards to the data that they collect. Existing federal statutes, such as HIPAA, as well as state data privacy statutes offer some protection to BCI users, but it remains to be seen whether these laws will be sufficient to accommodate the amount and sensitivity of the data likely to be generated by future BCIs. Lastly, this article explores the possibility of...
Blockchain and Copyright: Vain Hope for Photographers?
Jason Kim Blockchain technology has near unlimited application potential, and its influence could extend all the way to the copyright industry. For photographers, blockchain technology might serve as a safe and efficient tool to detect infringement. However, this notion must be treated with caution. Blockchain’s security applications are indeed a valuable prospect, but the technology has critical flaws that prevent it from becoming the panacea for photographer. Read Full Text Here
Copyright Issues and Implications of Emerging Virtual Reality Technologies
Lauren E. Beausoleil Virtual reality (“VR”) technologies allow users to experience three-dimensional, multi-sensory environments (“virtual worlds”). This new and rapidly-developing technological platform is promising, but does not come without legal challenges. Issues regarding copyrights for virtual worlds and creations within those worlds can be expected. This article involves an exploration into potential application of copyright law to virtual reality technologies, focusing on what might be protected by copyright, potential infringement challenges, and how enforcement of these copyrights might play out for both users and developers. Read Full Text Here
Keep an I on the Sky: E-Discovery Risks Forecasted for Apple’s iCloud
Daniel Carmeli Some things have not changed since the fire of March 14, 1873. The competing interests of clients seeking convenient storage on one side against providers seeking protection from liability on the other continue to pervade the legal landscape. Naturally, some things have changed, such as the items being stored, the nature of the storage facilities, the associated risks, and the rules governing preservation obligations. Physical property has been replaced with electronically stored information (“ESI”) and warehouses now take the form of remote data servers. And in addition to longstanding conventional risks, such as accidental fire, companies now face...
The Edge of Ethics in iParadigms
Michael G. Bennett In an attempt to stem a perceived rise in student plagiarism, educational institutions are increasingly turning to anti-plagiarism technologies. The use of these technological means to police student writings has been controversial, socially, politically, and legally. This article discusses the outcome of A.V. et al. v. iParadigms, to date the most important opinion on the legality of such technology’s use. The author examines the case in detail and presents arguments against the technology’s use, on the grounds that such use undermines educational policy by allowing the ethics of teachers to become a by-product of available technological means and...
Warrantless Search and Seizure of E-Mail and Methods of Panoptical Prophylaxis
Paul Ham U.S. citizens are in a constant battle for their rights to privacy, fighting the government’s increasingly pervasive surveillance and justicial needs. One area where court opinions conflict with the public’s expectation of privacy is over the realm of personal electronic communications. The general public believes electronic communications must be afforded a certain level of privacy that is not currently recognized by case law or statutes. Under current case law, warrantless searches and seizures of your personal e-mail are not prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment should be your source for protecting your e-mails when you are...
An Analysis of the Video Game Regulation Harmonization Effort in the European Union and Its Trans-Atlantic Chilling Effect on Constitutionally Protected Expression
Kyle Robertson Video games have become a prominent pastime for both children and adults in the United States (U.S.) and across the European Union (EU). Today, individuals are spending more time and money on electronic entertainment than ever before. In addition to similar video game consumption habits, violent, pre-meditated murders by video game players have stunned both the United States and Germany. As a result, legislators in both countries have taken action in attempts to restrict minors’ access to violent video games. The results have widely differed between the two countries, with the United States electing to treat video games...
Saving Trade Secret Disclosures on the Internet Through Sequential Preservation
Elizabeth A. Rowe When, for instance, an employee discloses an employer’s trade secrets to the public over the Internet, does our current trade secret framework appropriately address the consequences of that disclosure? What ought to be the rule which governs whether the trade secret owner has lost not only the protection status for the secret, but any remedies against use by third parties? Should the ease with which the Internet permits instant and mass disclosure of secrets be taken into consideration in assessing the fairness of a rule which calls for immediate loss of the trade secret upon disclosure? The...
An Exploration of Rights Management Technologies Used in the Music Industry
Nika Aldrich On November 19, 2005, the Attorney General of the State of Texas filed a lawsuit against Sony BMG. This action was followed promptly by class action lawsuits in California and New York. Nine actions from New York, one from California, and one from New Mexico were involved in the consolidation action of April 2006. Elsewhere, a complaint to the Federal Government was filed in Italy against Sony BMG. With this flurry of lawsuits, the term, “Digital Rights Management” was thrust into the court system. As the consolidated action settles and the term “Digital Rights Management” makes its way...
P2P File-Sharing: What the Supreme Court Has an Opportunity to Consider
Margo E. K. Reder When the United States Supreme Court hears Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. (04-480) on March 29th, it has an opportunity to consider for the first time, the rights, responsibilities and liabilities of p2p network creators and their users, the content industry, and ISPs. Over 25 of the world’s largest entertainment conglomerates joined together in petitioning the Supreme Court for a grant of certiorari. Petitioners characterize this case as “one of the most important copyright cases ever to reach this Court. Resolution of the question presented here will largely determine the value, indeed the very significance, of copyright...