By: Corey A. Ciocchetti Employer monitoring of electronic mail constitutes an emerging area of the law that is clearly unsettled at this point in time. This iBrief demonstrates that the privacy rights of non public-sector employees are relatively unprotected by the federal and state constitutions, broad judicial interpretations of enacted privacy legislation favor legitimate employer-monitoring practices, and many of the elements of common law claims are difficult for employees to prove. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0026
Author: dukelawtechreview
Freelance Articles and Electronic Databases: Who Owns the Copyrights?
By: Christine Soares There has long been uncertainty as to who owns the rights to digital reproductions of freelance articles. The Supreme Court has recently affirmed that copyrights for the digital reproduction of freelance articles belong to freelance authors, rather than the periodical and electronic media publishers who included the articles in electronic databases. However, in answering this question others, such as the preservation of the historical record and future dealings with freelance writers remain to be answered. The author discusses the recent Supreme Court ruling and offers answers to questions created by it. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0025
Copyrights in Computer-Generated Works: Whom, if Anyone, Do We Reward?
By: Darin Glasser Computer-generated works raise grave authorship concerns under U.S. copyright law, with arguments in favor of allocating copyrights to the computer user, programmer, the computer itself, or some combination therein. The author discusses the issues and paradoxes inherent in these choices, and assesses the nature of mathematical graphical processes in light of the idea/expression dichotomy. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0024
International Liability in Cyberspace
By: Matthew Crane Activities in cyberspace often expose companies to “cybertorts”, a species of tort particularly difficult to reconcile with standard insurance policies. The author explores some of the difficulties in obtaining coverage for cybertorts from traditional insurance policies, and makes recommendations for companies to reduce their cyberspace liability exposure. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0023
The Clone Wars: The Growing Debate Over Federal Cloning Legislation
By: John Garvish As readers of science fiction are well aware, the term “clone” refers to asexually produced offspring, that is, offspring produced by a process of cell-division which does not begin with the union of two sex cells. A clone is the genetic twin of the cell donor. Propagation of plants by this method is, of course, commonplace, but mammalian reproduction in this fashion would indeed be a revolutionary accomplishment, with profound and disturbing implications. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0022
Virtual Las Vegas: Regulate or Prohibit?
By: Cara Franklin With online gambling becoming increasingly accessible and popular, state and federal politicians are asking themselves how to make the prohibition on online gambling effective. Nevertheless, questions still linger as to whether outright prohibition is truly the right answer. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0021
International Upheaval: Patent Independence Protectionists and the Hague Conference
By: Kyle Grimshaw International lawmakers presently are negotiating a treaty that would not only allow U.S. courts to grant summary judgment in patent infringement suits if a court in Canada or Europe previously found patent infringement, but would actually require it. This paper examines whether courts in the United States should be allowed to find patent infringement based solely upon the fact that foreign courts had previously found patent infringement. The author concludes that changing the law to allow this practice is not sound policy. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0020
The Complexities of On-Line Mutual Fund Advertising: A Summary of the Relevant Regulations
By: Corey Ciocchetti As the investment marketplace advances with current technology, paper-based advertising has quickly been supplemented by on-line advertising. Interestingly, both the Securities Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers are treating this new medium similarly to the old-fashioned paper-based medium. This iBrief discusses and summarizes the current regulations surrounding one emerging form of on-line advertising – that of mutual funds. This discussion is intended to form a solid foundation from which an interested party may delve further into this emerging area of e-commerce. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0019
The First Sale Doctrine and Digital Phonorecords
By: Bob Hyde This iBrief follows various phonorecord formats to illustrate the specifics of the First Sale doctrine as it applies to digital phonorecords. The author argues that the disposal of a digital phonorecord by means of distribution infringes an author’s exclusive right to reproduce the underlying musical work and this distribution is not subject to First Sale protection. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0018
The Future of Database Protection in U.S. Copyright Law
By: Jennifer Askanazi, Glen Caplan, Dianne Descoteaux, Kelly Donohue, Darin Glasser & Emelio Mena In the recent British Horseracing Board case, the English High Court signaled a return to the “sweat of the brow” standard of copyright protection. Although recent attempts have been made in the United States to protect databases under this standard, this iBrief argues that the information economy is wise to continuing protecting this data through trade secret, State misappropriation and contract law until legislation is passed. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0017