Note: Combating Joint Ventures in Suppression: Taking Inventory of the Legal Arsenal
By Daniel J. Iden. Full text here. Companies may decide to leave patented technologies unused for numerous reasons, a great many of them legal. The patent laws confirm a company’s right to let a patent languish, unpracticed by anyone. But companies with patents on alternative technologies may agree to enter into a joint venture: promoting and…
Continue ReadingNote: The Sartorial Dilemma of Knockoffs: Protecting Moral Rights without Disturbing the Fashion Dynamic
By Margaret E. Wade. Full text here. As soon as fashion models hit the runway, copycat designers snap photos and quickly replicate the original designs, flooding the market with nearly identical, discount versions of the original garments. In response to this phenomenon of fashion piracy, members of the fashion design community have been advocating for a…
Continue ReadingNote: Who Are They to Judge?: The Constitutionality of Delegations by Courts to Probation Officers
By Mark Thomson. Full text here. In order to promote judicial economy, Article III courts routinely delegate decisionmaking authority to probation officers. Probationers increasingly challenge those delegations as violating the Constitution’s command that only Article III judges shall exercise “the Judicial power.” Courts apply either of two standards when evaluating the constitutionality of judicial delegations to…
Continue ReadingPublic Choice and International Law Compliance: The Executive Branch Is a "They," Not an "It"
By Neomi Rao. Full text here. This Article presents a public choice analysis of how the executive branch in the United States determines questions of compliance with international law. In contrast to traditional theories that treat the state as a unitary entity, the public choice approach examines the different interests and incentives of the many executive…
Continue ReadingBeyond Crime and Commitment: Justifying Liberty Deprivations of the Dangerous and Responsible
By Kimberly Kessler Ferzan. Full text here. The traditional approaches to dangerous persons are crime and commitment. The criminal law punishes responsible actors, and the civil law confines the mentally ill. These approaches leave a gap: the state cannot substantially restrict the liberty of responsible actors until they have committed a crime. In response to this…
Continue ReadingRights for Sale
By Tsilly Dagan & Talia Fisher. Full text here. Individuals enjoy a host of rights in relation to the government, including voting rights, the right against self-incrimination, the right to public education, pollution quotas, as well as various subsidies and tax attributes. Should individuals be able to sell these public entitlements to others? Markets for voting…
Continue ReadingTort Law and the American Economy
By Frank B. Cross. Full text here. Claims that tort law is hampering the American economy are common and have produced various forms of tort reform legislation. Yet there is very little economic research on the consequences of existing tort law doctrines. Theoretically, at least, tort law can be economically beneficial. Two state-specific measures have been…
Continue ReadingEssay: Substantive Equality: A Perspective
By Catharine A. MacKinnon. Full text here.
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