The Intriguing Legal Ramification of Pokémon GO
Recently, there has been a virtual tsunami of articles about the so-called hidden dangers of using the Pokémon GO app. The vast majority of them concern potential violations of the privacy rights of both consumers and landmark-owners. The media’s Chicken Little-like...
The Increasing Pace of Digital Change: Why Does Our Culture Always Seem So Blindsided?
I have previously written about the legal implications of augmented reality apps such as Pokémon Go. Mine was one of many articles on this topic, most of which decried the negative implications of AR technology. The basic premise was that society is not prepared to...
May Copyright Infringement Suits Allow the Use of Blanket Subpoenas to Identify Anonymous Users of Potentially Infringing Internet Content? Originally Published Jan 28, 2014
Is it abusive for a company alleging copyright infringement to uncloak the anonymity of users of adult content in an effort to embarrass them into settling marginal claims? That issue was considered by the Court in Amselfilm Productions v. Swarm, 6A6DC, 12-cv-3865. In...
Can the Estate of a Person Who is Deceased Enforce that Person’s Right of Publicity?
Marilyn Monroe passed away in 1962. Her estate has zealously enforced her trademark and other intellectual property rights against those who would infringe upon it. However, there are other common law rights that might apply, such as the right of publicity, which...
Does the Federal Government Have Trademark Rights Enforceable by the Pentagon? Originally Published May 29, 2014
Does the federal government have trademark rights, and can those rights be enforced by the military? The answer is yes and yes. In a recent New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/us/as-wars-end-military-gives-its-trademarks-new-vigilance.html?_r=0 it...
County Lacks Trademark Protection for its Official Seal- Originally Published Jun 17, 2014
Does a New Jersey county have trademark protection in its official seal? According to a federal judge, the answer is no. Judge Kevin McNulty recently ruled that the county could not stop a local citizen from using Union County’s seal in a television program in which...
***WINNER*** 2015 Nissenbaum Internet Law Scholarship Essay – SHEILA A. VALENE (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs)
How Can The American Legal System Improve Its Approach To Policing And Regulating Digital Technology Without Unduly Stifling Innovation And Civil Liberties? We now have more information available at our fingertips than during all of collective history. This digital...
***WINNER*** 2015 Nissenbaum Internet Law Scholarship Essay – JAMES D. HAYES (Seattle University School of Law – Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2017)
How Can The American Legal System Improve Its Approach To Policing And Regulating Digital Technology Without Unduly Stifling Innovation And Civil Liberties? ...
***HONORABLE MENTION*** 2015 Nissenbaum Internet Law Scholarship Essay – ZENZELE OJORE (Rhode Island School of Design- Anticipated Graduation Date: 2018)
How Can The American Legal System Improve Its Approach To Policing And Regulating Digital Technology Without Unduly Stifling Innovation And Civil Liberties? As digital innovation grows and internet access is becoming easily accessible to people from and the world,...
***HONORABLE MENTION*** 2015 Nissenbaum Internet Law Scholarship Essay – SARA A. SIWIECKI (Chapman University- Anticipated Graduation Date: 2018)
How Can The American Legal System Improve Its Approach To Policing And Regulating Digital Technology Without Unduly Stifling Innovation And Civil Liberties? A person is staring at you from outside your bedroom window. When people do this, we usually call the police...
***HONORABLE MENTION*** 2015 Nissenbaum Internet Law Scholarship Essay – NICHOLAS JAMES GOLINA (University of Akron)
How Can The American Legal System Improve Its Approach To Policing And Regulating Digital Technology Without Unduly Stifling Innovation And Civil Liberties? In today’s age of digital proliferation the forces of Internet democratization demand further regulation and...
***HONORABLE MENTION*** 2015 Nissenbaum Internet Law Scholarship Essay – KELLY WALDO (Boston College Law School- Anticipated Graduation Date: 2018)
How Can The American Legal System Improve Its Approach To Policing And Regulating Digital Technology Without Unduly Stifling Innovation And Civil Liberties? ...
Does a Person Have a Copyright in Her Picture if She Has Not Obtained a Registration from the United States Copyright Office?
Does a person have a copyright in her picture if she has not obtained a registration from the United States Copyright Office? The answer is yes and no. Generally, a person will have a common law copyright in a picture that they have taken. A good example is a...
If One Sells a Sole Proprietorship, What Is Being Sold?
If one sells a corporation, the shares of stock are what is being sold. If one sells a limited liability company, the membership interest is what is being sold. However, when one sells a sole proprietorship – a business which is not an entity– what exactly is being...
Does The New Jersey Civil Rights Act Authorize A Private Cause of Action Against A Person Who Is Not Acting Under “Color Of Law”?
What started as a local town hall debate over a liquor license renewal ended as a state-wide lesson in grammar from the New Jersey Supreme Court. New Jersey’s highest court ruled last month that the phrase “person acting under color of law” found in N.J.S.A. 10:6-2(c)...
Limiting Foreclosures to the Holder of the Original Note
If someone wants to foreclose on property, should they be required to prove that they are the holder of the mortgage, i.e. the mortgagee? That question has plagued New Jersey for a number of years. It has resulted in many court battles, including 46 orders to show...
Are Internet Publishers Responsible for Advertisements for Potential Sexual Liaisons with Minors?
Are internet publishers responsible for advertisements for potential sexual liaisons with minors? In the middle of last year, a US District Court for the District of New Jersey found that a New Jersey Statute creating such responsibility was likely unconstitutional....
A Copyright Lawsuit That Never Gives Up: The Litigation Over the Film “Raging Bull”
The film, Raging Bull, was released in 1980. It won the Academy Award for Robert DeNiro as Best Actor. The film was the subject of a copyright lawsuit that was filed by the estate of the person who wrote a 1963 screenplay upon which she alleged it was based. In 2009...