By Kyle R. Kroll. Full text here. Policy-makers have become increasingly wary of a new patent litigation strategy called “patent privateering.” Through licensing or transfers of patents, companies can sponsor and direct—or privateer—other entities (often called patent assertion entities (or PAEs)) to sue competitors for patent infringement. Unlike patent trolling, patent privateering is not purposed on…

By Katharine Saphner. Full text here. In 2014, the Supreme Court held in Riley v. California that law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before searching a cell phone. Though the Court intended that this holding would provide clear guidance to law enforcement officers, it may ultimately provide even more confusion. Riley distinguishes an arrestee’s…

By Brittany Johnson. Full text here. For decades, fans have written stories that extend the plotlines of popular films, novels, and television shows in a practice known as fan fiction. But with the advent of the Internet, the popularity of this practice has grown exponentially as these stories are easily posted online and accessible for free.…

By Seungwon Chung. Full text here. Increasingly, corporations are moving away from a centralized corporate structure toward decentralization and fragmentation of corporate functions. At the same time, the corporate general jurisdiction doctrine functions anachronistically—assuming that corporations exist solely as centralized structures. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Daimler AG v. Bauman reflects this assumption. By drawing…

By Mary A. Scott. Full text here. In the last few years, a growing number of states have enacted or proposed laws that limit a woman’s right to have an abortion when her reasons for seeking the abortion are based on a specific characteristic of the fetus, most notably sex or the presence of a genetic…

By Emily Scholtes. Full text here. The debate over returning incidental findings has been a hot topic in medical and legal circles for many years and is described as “one of the thorniest current challenges.” Currently, no federal or state laws regulate the disclosure of these findings. Although many agree that ethical duties arise in returning…

By Anna M. Luczkow. Full text here. Though invented in the early 1980s, three-dimensional (3D) printing recently became a topic of discussion when advancements in the field revealed the technology’s ability to transform industries and revolutionize consumer capabilities. In the past few years, society witnessed everything from 3D-printed prosthetic limbs to children’s toys. While many scholars…

By Eleanor D. Wood. Full text here. The Treasury Department has broad general rulemaking power and has historically used this power to create new regulations promulgated under APA notice-and-comment procedures. However, out of supposed necessity in the 1980s, the Treasury began increasingly using temporary regulations, which follow no such promulgation procedure, yet are binding on taxpayers…

By Michael S. DePrince. Full text here. Parenthood is easily determined when a heterosexual married couple conceives a child through sexual reproduction. The common law marital presumption of parenthood holds that when a child is born into a marriage, the woman, having given birth, is presumed the child’s mother; likewise, the woman’s husband, by virtue of marriage…

By Sam Andre. Full text here. President Gerald Ford championed the adoption of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) in 1975 to promote American energy independence through the limiting of American crude oil exports. Through this law and related regulatory provisions, the federal government successfully shielded American energy interests from crises similar to the 1973…