Articles

The Spectrum Commons in Theory and Practice

Jerry Brito

The radio spectrum is a scarce resource that has been historically allocated through command-and-control regulation. Today, it is widely accepted that this type of allocation is as inefficient for spectrum as it would be for paper or land. Many commentators and scholars, most famously Ronald Coase, have advocated that a more efficient allocation would be achieved if government sold the rights to the spectrum and allowed a free market in radio property to develop.... Read more about The Spectrum Commons in Theory and Practice

Anticipatory Electronic Surveillance in Anglo-American Law

Richard Salgado

The principles behind the Fourth Amendment's Search and Seizure clause are found throughout Anglo-American jurisprudence. This body of law reflects a history of attempting to harmonize the seemingly conflicting governmental goals of communication privacy on the one hand, and protecting the public safety and national security on the other. Nations adopt surveillance doctrines, driven largely by the realities of the technology. As technologies change, assumptions behind doctrines can become outdated.... Read more about Anticipatory Electronic Surveillance in Anglo-American Law

Regulating Access to Databases Through Antitrust Law

Daryl Lim Tze Wei

It is largely uncontroversial that the "creative" effort in a database will be protected by copyright. However, any effort to extend protection to purely factual databases creates difficulties in determining the proper method and scope of protection. This Paper argues that antitrust law can be used to supplement intellectual property law in maintaining the "access-incentive" balance with respect to databases. It starts from the premise that a trend toward "TRIPs-plus" rights in databases, whatever its form, is inevitable.... Read more about Regulating Access to Databases Through Antitrust Law

The Search Engine Economy's Achilles Heel?

Manavinder S. Bains

In today's Internet economy, search engines play an increasingly important role in helping consumers locate goods and services. However, search engines may also allow unauthorized online retailers to misuse trademarks as keywords and metatags in ways that can boost their placement in search engine results and increase online sales. For instance, a person other than a trademark holder may purchase a trademarked word or phrase as a search engine keyword (keyword misuse), or may insert them as hidden HTML code on webpages (metatag misuse).... Read more about The Search Engine Economy's Achilles Heel?

Deference Overcome: Courts' Invalidation of Patent Claims as Anticipated by Art Considered by the PTO

J. Michael Buchanan

This paper examines six decisions in which district courts have held patent claims invalid based on PTO-considered art. Part II describes the origin and limitations of the methodology used to select and analyze particular cases. Part III summarizes the pertinent law relating to the presumption of validity and anticipation, and it briefly considers the PTO's inter partes patent reexamination process as an administrative analog of patent validity litigation. It ends with a summary of the factors weighing for and against the challenger.... Read more about Deference Overcome: Courts' Invalidation of Patent Claims as Anticipated by Art Considered by the PTO

Managing Risk to Reputation: The Challenge of the Internet for Legal Recruiting

T. Colpan and L.R. Skibell

This article argues that corporate law firms do not appreciate the changing world of legal recruiting. The rise of information technology means that law students function as sophisticated consumers of information on law firm life. Given that monetary compensation at major corporate firms is almost identical, students' perception of lifestyle can have a major influence on their valuation of firms. Consequently, firms need to adapt by more carefully managing the type of information that might be accessible to students, and their general reputation within the student community. Read more about Managing Risk to Reputation: The Challenge of the Internet for Legal Recruiting

Almost Private: Pen Registers, Packet Sniffers, and Privacy at the Margins

David McPhie

This paper examines the laws that regulate government use of pen registers (devices that record dialed phone numbers) and "packet sniffers" (the Internet counterpart to the pen register, roughly speaking). Following a review of the basic history and development of the statutory and constitutional law governing privacy in communications, the paper takes a closer look at Title III's use of the concept of "contents" as the touchstone of its privacy scheme, and analyzes the difficulties inherent in that scheme.... Read more about Almost Private: Pen Registers, Packet Sniffers, and Privacy at the Margins

Regulation of Electronic Employee Monitoring: Identifying Fundamental Principles of Employee Privacy through a Comparative Study of Data Privacy Legislation in the European Union, United States and Canada

Gail Lasprogata
Nancy J. King
Sukanya Pillay

This article compares the regulation of electronic employee monitoring in the European Union, the United States and Canada in an attempt to reconcile conflicting legal standards regarding workplace privacy as they are evolving simultaneously with technological advances. Included is an extensive discussion of the European Union's widely influential privacy directive and its application in the context of electronic employee monitoring, relevant U.S.... Read more about Regulation of Electronic Employee Monitoring: Identifying Fundamental Principles of Employee Privacy through a Comparative Study of Data Privacy Legislation in the European Union, United States and Canada

Antitrust for Patent Pools: A Century of Policy Evolution

Richard J. Gilbert

This paper reviews the antitrust treatment of patent-pooling and cross-licensing arrangements from E. Bement & Sons v. National Harrow Co., decided in 1902, to the recent Department of Justice business review letters on the MPEG and DVD patent pools. I examine the factors that the courts identified as pertinent to the antitrust outcome and compare them to the competitive factors identified in the DOJ/FTC Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property.... Read more about Antitrust for Patent Pools: A Century of Policy Evolution

Can You Hear Me Now?: Getting Better Reception from the FCC's Spectrum Policy

R. Paul Margie

Today, for the first time, there are more mobile than landline telephones in the United States. Satellite TV and radio are booming. In addition, public safety organizations and the military depend heavily on wireless systems to do their jobs. All of these technologies, and a host of new innovations, are competing for access to the increasingly crowded electromagnetic spectrum. As a consequence, spectrum policy has taken center stage at the Federal Communications Commission.... Read more about Can You Hear Me Now?: Getting Better Reception from the FCC's Spectrum Policy

  • December 29, 2003
  • Stan. Tech. L. Rev. http://stlr.stanford.edu/pdf/margie-fcc.pdf
  • Articles

Pages