Since the peak of the NASDAQ in March of 2000, many technology companies have found either that they cannot raise enough capital to implement their business plans or that they have an untenable business plan. Some have simply shut their doors and gone out of business, while others have filed for bankruptcy. Either way, these …
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a grocery store where consumers can take advantage of special discounts without first handing over a frequent shopper card for scanning. While many may consider this grocery store technology a new form of coupon clipping, few stop to consider the privacy implications. Grocery store technology, like technology in …
Conflicting standards of claim construction confuse patent practitioners and the patent holders they represent about the scope of the patent’s protection. In particular, claim construction canons establishing the relationship between the claims and the written description in determining the scope of protection are unclear. In a recent case, Teleflex, Inc. v. Ficosa North America Corp., …
An estimated 2.3 billion spam electronic messages (emails) are sent daily. An average Internet user is likely to receive approximately 1,500 spam e-mails by 2006. Spam e-mail has increased an incredible 450% in the year between summer 2001 and summer 2002. According to a recent European Union study, the cost to consumers and businesses of …
The Virtual Magistrate (“VMAG”) project was the first pioneer to grapple with notions of a fully virtual private court, but it was unsuccessful in attracting interested disputants or in achieving its goal of serving as a conflict resolution portal for the online community. Will the Michigan Cyber Court end up as just another quirky footnote …
The twentieth century marked the era when organized crime, typically equated with the Mafia or La Cosa Nostra, became a widely recognized and widely studied phenomenon. Organized crime in the La Cosa Nostra sense burst into the American awareness in the 1950’s and 1960’s as a result of Senator Estes Kefauver’s inquiries, the McClellan Committee …
When cyber-predators are caught through online sting operations and found guilty of the underlying statutory violation, judges must look to the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Sentencing Guidelines”) to determine what sentences offenders will serve. One of the sentencing guidelines applicable to such cases is section 2A3.2, “Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under the Age …
The modern inventor is compelled to create innovative products, generate a market for those products, and protect those products with a patent. The choice to file a patent application reflects an inventor’s desire to protect her private interest in controlling a limited monopoly over the invention, subject to the statutes governing patents. Section 102 of …
For an avid sports fan, it is sometimes challenging to watch every important game while simultaneously keeping other commitments. Consider a law student who must choose between being prepared for class the following day and watching his or her favorite team. Listening to Dick Vitale rant and rave about the next “diaper dandy” while trying …
As many as 600 operating power plants in the United States are between thirty and fifty years old and are up to ten times dirtier than new power plants built today. Many of the technologies that remove pollution and increase operating efficiencies have been available for decades, but power plants have been slow to adapt. …
