Blog
Yielding to FCC Pressure, Verizon Scraps Plan to Extend Data Throttling to 4G Customers
Last week, Verizon appeared to cave to FCC pressure when it shelved a new network management policy which would have extended the controversial practice of “data throttling” to 4G customers with unlimited data plans. Verizon’s decision put an end to its two-month...
What will happen to biotech’s patent thickets after Myriad and Prometheus?
Changing patentable subject matter standards have been on the mind of biotech patent holders for the last few years. A wide range of biotech patents that were widely considered valid have been called into question by the decisions in Mayo v. Prometheus and AMP v....
Weighing Patent Versus Trade Secret Protection in the Prior User Rights Era
As part of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) signed into law on September 16, 2011, Congress expanded the Prior User Rights defense to patent infringement. Initially only available for business method patents, the AIA expanded Prior User Rights to all classes...
New iOS and Android Encryption Protections Spark Privacy Debate
On September 17, Apple updated its privacy policy to reflect privacy enhancements added to its most recent iteration of its iPhone mobile operating system, iOS 8. Notably, the update highlighted iOS 8’s new protection for user phone data: out-of-the-box passcode...
Apple’s Canary Fails to Chirp
Recently, Apple updated the privacy section on its website. While this was likely part of their response to privacy concerns due to the recent iCloud controversy, and fortuitously timed with the release of the newest batch of phones from the company, it also contains...
Who owns copyright in a selfie when it’s captured with one person’s phone but by another person’s finger? And what if that other person is actually a monkey? Or a Bradley Cooper?
Earlier this year, Ellen DeGeneres briefly “broke” Twitter after tweeting a selfie full of celebrities, captured while she was hosting the Oscars. In an attempt to beat the record for most re-tweets ever, she enlisted megastars like Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Lupita...
Bullies & Hackers: Cyberbullying lessons for revenge porn statutes
Another year, another batch of nude celebrity photos flooding headlines and the internet. This month, actress Jennifer Lawrence, model Kate Upton, and a handful of other female celebrities became the latest celebrity hack victims when an anonymous user on the online...
Why Tesla Opened Its Patent Portfolio
On June 12, 2014, the CEO of Tesla Motors (Tesla), Elon Musk, posted an external memo entitled “All Our Patent Are Belong To You.” In short, the memo details why Tesla is opening up its patent portfolio to the market. The primary reason given for this drastic move...
Googling “Search Bias”: The Efforts of Antitrust Agencies to Even the Playing Field.
Google has been a target of antitrust allegations for nearly as long as it has existed. In recent years, agencies domestic and abroad have accused the tech giant of “search bias.” The charge of search bias—levied against Google by competitors and watchdogs—asserts...
Appellate Review of Markman Hearings
In Markman, the Supreme Court declared that determining the meaning of patent claims, i.e. “claim construction,” is a question to be decided by the court; the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial does not apply. Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370,...
Akamai and the Question on Joint Infringement on Method Claims in the Supreme Court
On April 30, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear opening arguments [1] for a landmark case found in patent law casebooks, Akamai Technologies, Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc., whereby the Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, held in a 6-5 ruling that...
Supreme Court to Rule on Patent Eligibility for Process Claims
Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank. Many hope the Court’s decision in this case will help clarify the patent eligibly standard for process claims – particularly those process claims that are computer implemented and/or...
Virtual Reality Technology Going Mainstream?
While the idea of virtual reality technology has been around for decades, it has yet to make any substantial progress. The roots for virtual reality reach back to the late 1950s when the idea emerged to use computers as tools for digital display rather than just fancy...
Obama administration takes first steps to limit NSA data collection but is it enough?
Last week, President Obama announced that the government would halt its bulk collection of telephone records under the controversial NSA program. Instead the data will remain with the phone companies and government investigators can request judicial approval to...
IRS Ruling Declares Bitcoin Will Be Taxed As Property
On March 25, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service issued a ruling declaring that it will tax virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, as property. This ruling could have significant effects on the way that consumers use Bitcoin. The implication of the ruling is that Bitcoin...
Should Regulations Adapt to New Technology, or the Other Way Around?
This past week, Texas Governor Rick Perry came out in favor of changing Texas’ so-called “antiquated” laws prohibiting automobile manufacturers from selling directly to consumers. [i] In states across the country, these laws have come into recent controversy because...
Keurig Walls Off the Garden by Shutting Out Third Party K-cups
Keurig, the single serve coffee machine produced by Green Mountain, is nearly ubiquitous in offices, homes, and schools around the country. The device rose to popularity on the back of the K-cup, the single serve pods produced by Green Mountain that allowed a single...
3D & 403: Using 3D Printing in Litigation
3D printing has received attention for its potential to lead to litigation, but little has been said about using 3D printing during litigation. Yes, 3D printing raises a number of legal issues that may result in lawsuits. But the rapid pace of development and the...
Patent protection is essential yet insufficient for the success of a startup
Pebble has successfully run the largest Kickstarter campaign, raising more than $ 10.2 million in 2012 [1] [2]. However, Pebble’s future might not be so bright. First, the USPTO recently issued a final rejection to Pebble Technology’s only US patent application (US...
Heavily Redacted: Warner Bros. Fights to Keep its Anti-Piracy Practices Secret
Have you ever wondered how a massive Hollywood studio like Warner Bros. combats online piracy? (A team of ninjas with computer science degrees, perhaps?) Well, if Warner Bros. has their way, you won’t be finding out anytime soon. Warner Brothers is fighting the...
Lawsuit against Aereo heads to the Supreme Court
The New York-based startup Aereo has recently been making waves in the digital television world by creating a low-cost option for consumers to watch and record live broadcast television, providing a service similar to Internet-based streaming websites such as Hulu....
No Ads, No Games, No Gimmicks
Prior to its $19 billion acquisition by Facebook in February, WhatsApp promised subscribers three things: no ads, no games, no gimmicks. For the past five years, WhatsApp prided themselves on operating a simple, practical messaging service that protected user’s...
Prenatal Genetic Diagnostics, Surviving in the post-Myriad Era
Ariosa Diagnostics has crucially secured a New York State certification for their Harmony™ noninvasive prenatal genetic diagnostic test. Having already gained acceptance as a key provider of prenatal diagnostics in California and abroad, this is good news for both the...
Patents for Humanity
The Obama administration recently announced a renewal of Patents for Humanity, a USPTO program promoting the use of patented technologies to address worldwide humanitarian needs. Patents for Humanity is part of the President’s program to strengthen the patent system...
Posts on the MTLR Blog are editorial opinion pieces written by student-editors of the Michigan Technology Law Review. The opinions expressed in these editorial posts are not espoused or endorsed by the University of Michigan or its Law School. To view scholarly Articles and Notes published by the Michigan Technology Law Review, please visit the MTLR home page.