Blog Posts
Decentralizing Patent Communication: Towards a Network Paradigm of the Patent System
Aug. 27, 2022—By Or Cohen-Sasson United States patent law requires the publication of a patent application 18 months after its filing date. Yet in practice, approximately 50% of applicants publish their applications much sooner.[1] Early publication does not expedite the examination process, nor does it grant any special patent rights. Early publication thus seems like an odd...
Coca-Cola Curses: Updating Dangerous Speech for Postcolonial Contexts
Aug. 6, 2022—By Brittan Heller[1] The Atlantic Council June 2022 Postcolonial environments pose unique moderation challenges for social media, as traditional understandings of hate speech fail to provide the resources to understand its usage in a postcolonial context. I saw this firsthand during my fieldwork in Kasese, Uganda, where I worked to create a lexicon of localized...
Toward Textual Internet Immunity
Mar. 23, 2022—By Gregory M. Dickinson Internet immunity doctrine is broken. Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, online entities are absolutely immune from lawsuits related to content authored by third parties. The law has been essential to the internet’s development over the last twenty years, but it has not kept pace with the...
“Levitating” Lawsuit: Blatant Rip-off or Bogus Claim?
Mar. 22, 2022—By John Scott The music industry is watching Dua Lipa with bated breath – and for once, not because she’s a phenomenal performer. Instead, attention is on the UK singer because she was hit with two lawsuits on March 1st and 4th claiming copyright infringement in her hit song “Levitating”.[1] The March 1 lawsuit –...
Setting the Goal Posts: The Titans, Nashville, and State of Tennessee Negotiate a New Stadium
Mar. 22, 2022—By Tilghman Kazmierowicz (Kaz) The Tennessee Titans are contractually due for a new stadium. The current Nissan Stadium lease agreement with the city requires a “first-class stadium”, clarified by Mayor John Cooper to mean “the median of the most recent half-dozen stadiums that have been built.”[1] Nissan Stadium is one of the oldest stadiums in...
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Pixels: NFT Liquidity through Fractionalization
Mar. 15, 2022—By Elizabeth Andreano In March 2021, Mike Winkelmann, a digital artist also known as Beeple, sold an NFT of his work for $69 million.[1] Prior to this piece, Beeple’s highest NFT sale was $100. This record NFT sale positioned Beeple among the top three wealthiest living artists. But, this particular sale differed from typical artist...
What’s Taking So Long? Why Tennessee’s Confederate Monuments Aren’t Coming Down
Mar. 15, 2022—By Sage Snider In July 2021, after forty years of protest against the state capitol’s bust of Confederate general and KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) finally voted to allow its removal.[1] Back in 2013, the Tennessee legislature gave the THC ultimate say over changing historical markers.[2] The Forrest bust decision...
The Effect of Sanctions Against Russia on the Sporting World
Mar. 8, 2022—By Davis Price Shugrue On February 24, 2022, Russian military forces attacked the nation of Ukraine.[1] The invasion has drawn widespread criticism from across Europe and the world. In addition to condemnation, Russia has been the target of sanctions and other legal actions as punishment for what some Western leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris...
Ryval’s Tokenization of Litigation Financing: An Aid to the Indigent or a Trap for the Unwary?
Mar. 8, 2022—By Reagan Schmidt Can cryptocurrency play a role in financing litigation for indigent plaintiffs that would otherwise lack the resources to pursue meritorious claims? New York attorney Kyle Roche believes so, and plans to launch early this year a platform that provides summaries of cases and enables investors to purchase cryptocurrency tokens representing shares in...
The Art Industry Gets Creative: Art Basel Features NFTs and Blockchain Art
Mar. 3, 2022—By Stephanie Nakash Art Basel is an international art fair staged in Miami Beach. Each year, the event features the best artwork from leading galleries across the world and brings together the best artists creating such works. Despite last year’s hiatus due to COVID concerns, the event returned this year––in innovative and ground-breaking fashion. Embracing...