US Supreme Court declines J&J baby powder appeal, takes up H&M copyright dispute
In an order list released Tuesday, the US Supreme Court declined to hear Johnson & Johnson’s appeal seeking to undo a $2 billion judgment over claims that their talc-based baby powder contained cancer-causing asbestos. The pharmaceutical giant claimed that its due process rights were violated when lower courts consolidated 22 cases from 12 different states [...]
In April 2020, Amazon released a comedy series called “Upload.” The show extrapolates a future in which technological advances have led to the successful simulation of human consciousness in silico. This technology is used by companies to “upload” dying individuals into digital worlds where they can “live” in perpetuity. When uploaded, human consciousness is converted [...]
EU legislators adopt proposal to combat online piracy of live sporting events
Members of the European Parliament adopted a proposal Wednesday to crack down on illegal broadcasting of live sporting events. This proposal includes the ability to block illegal broadcasts within half an hour. Live sports broadcasting provides a significant revenue source for event organizers. However, the illegal streaming of live sports has become a growing issue [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari in three cases involving the restoration of gun ownership rights. The cases all involve a federal law (USC § 922(g)(1)) that imposes a lifetime ban on the ownership of firearms for persons convicted of crimes punishable by prison terms of more than one year, which includes many [...]
US Supreme Court finds Google's use of Oracle's code is fair use
The US Supreme Court ruled 6-2 in favor of Google on Monday in Google v. Oracle, holding that Google’s use of Oracle’s Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) was fair use. Oracle sued Google for copyright infringement after Google used portions of Oracle’s Java API code in the development of their Android operating system. APIs allow for [...]
Failure in the Marketplace of Ideas: Censorship and Impeachment
The House decision to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) of committee assignments reflects a recent attempt to deal with a perceived failure in the marketplace of ideas. Oliver Wendell Holmes suggested in dissent over 100 years ago (Abrams v. United States (1919)) that the best way to arrive at the truth is by a “free [...]
China will now hold children as young as 12 years old criminally liable for crimes deemed “abominable,” according to China Daily. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on Saturday also introduced punishment for intellectual property infringement that could lead to 10 years in prison. The Standing Committee said an “abominable” crime would [...]
New Zealand Supreme Court grants extradition of Megaupload founder to US
The Supreme Court of New Zealand ruled Wednesday that the US may extradite German-Finnish internet entrepreneur and political activist Kim Dotcom to face criminal copyright-related charges. In 2005, Dotcom founded a business comprised of various companies providing cloud storage and file-sharing capability for internet users. The US alleges that one of those companies, Megaupload, “encouraged third parties [...]
Supreme Court hears arguments in Google-Oracle copyright dispute
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in cases concerning copyright and personal jurisdiction issues. Google v. Oracle, involves a $9 billion copyright suit. The suit originated several years ago when Google created the mobile software Android using part of Oracle’s programming language. While Google argued that allowing the company to copy the language [...]
“The Reasonable Robot” is a book written by Dr. Ryan Abbott who, when not thinking about the future of the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and the law, teaches law at the University of Surrey School of Law in Guildford, England. “The Reasonable Robot” confronts the impending clash of AI and the law through a [...]
