Wikileaks: A Cutting-Edge Journalistic Tool or An Affront to Business Privacy?

I.  Introduction

Wikileaks.org, a website dedicated to compiling leaked
documents from governments and corporations, has sought to hold
large-scale entities more accountable for their actions through greater
transparency of information. [1]  However, by publishing sensitive
information it believes to be in the public interest, coupled with the
fact that the site has a completely anonymous user base, the site has
aroused the ire of international governments and businesses alike. [2] 
A recent lawsuit by a Swiss bank in which the bank sought (and briefly
received) a permanent injunction to shut down Wikileaks highlights how
much controversy the site has generated in its relatively short life
span. [3]  While some critics try to paint Wikileaks as a site that
engenders illegal activity and as a site that is a threat to privacy,
neither claim can be properly substantiated. [4]  Though Wikileaks is
controversial, most forms of speech displayed on the site

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Patent Reform Act Is Considered By U.S. Senate

I.     Introduction
        Robust protection for intellectual property is one of the chief engines for economic growth in the United States.  Patents, copyright and trademark laws provide vigorous, reliable protection for US intellectual property, which is valued at more than $5 trillion by the Commerce Department.  [1]  With regards to patents, most commentators and interested parties agree that at least some type of modification or reform is necessary.

        Patent reform is expected to reemerge as a major topic of debate in early April 2008, when the Senate debates amendments to S 1145, the Patent Reform Act.  The House of Representatives already passed HR 1908, their version of the Patent Reform Act, on September 7, 2007.   [2]  Both bills include several major changes to various aspects of the patent system, including how patents are awarded and challenged.   [3]  Legislators and interested parties consider the “big

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Airline Labor Disputes and the RLA Status Quo Provisions

I. Introduction

On March 7, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit filed its opinion in the case of International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. North American Airlines. [1] It addressed the question of whether a labor union is entitled to enjoin an air carrier to prevent it from unilaterally altering the working conditions of its pilots, while negotiations for an initial collective bargaining agreement are still pending. [2] The court cited the Supreme Court's interpretation of the status quo provisions of the Railway Labor Act of 1926 in Williams v. Jacksonville Terminal Co., in ruling that unilateral alteration of working conditions are not prohibited in cases where there is no prior collective bargaining agreement, regardless of any pending negotiations. [3] The Teamsters case well illustrates a continuing debate as to whether the Supreme Court's interpretation of the RLA's status quo provisions still adequately serves the … Read the rest

Are Your Gift Cards Safe?

I. Introduction

On February 19th, 2008 the specialty retailer Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and announced that it would no longer be accepting its gift cards. This came as a shock to consumers, who suddenly found their holiday gift cards worthless. "'That is typical of businesses that reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which treats gift cards as a loan to the company, not as cash.'" [1] Chapter 11 allows for an automatic stay of recovery for any claim against the debtor that arose before the filing of the bankruptcy claim. [2] In response to this announcement, C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, projected that this would greatly affect Sharper Image's future. "'You will see a lot of frustration among customers. You basically stole [money] out of the customers' pocket. They will never forgive you.'" [3]

Just two and a half weeks later, on March 7, … Read the rest

The Existing Labor and Environmental Agreements in NAFTA

As the Ohio Democratic primary approached, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pulled out all the stops to secure the few remaining undecided votes in the Democratic Presidential race.  Ohio’s economy has been struggling, and the candidates saw a convenient scapegoat to blame for its industrial decline.  Both candidates vowed to force Mexico and Canada to include labor and environmental agreements into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or risk the US pulling out of the agreement all together. [1] The sharp anti-trade rhetoric had some obvious omissions. NAFTA more than tripled trade between US, Canada, and Mexico and like all barrier reducing trade agreements, has had a beneficial long-term impact on all three economies. [2]  It was supported by politicians and economists of all political leanings, including President Clinton who pushed it through Congress. [3]  But perhaps the most glaring omission in Obama’s and Clinton’s speeches is that NAFTA

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Worst. Journal Article. Ever.

I. It's All in Good Taste

Recently,
Northern Island’s Court of Appeal overturned a jury’s decision to award £25,000
to a pizzeria in Belfast in a defamation suit.[1] In this particular case, Irish News restaurant
critic Caroline Workman wrote a highly critical article of Goodfellas pizzeria,
which resulted in the pizzeria filing a defamation suit against Irish News,[2] While a jury found in favor of Goodfellas,
awarding the pizzeria £25,000, Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal ordered a
retrial after finding the instructions to the jury were confusing regarding the
distinction between fact and comment.[3]

Cases like this have happened in the
United States and continue to happen today. While the differences between law in the United States and law in
Northern Ireland are multifarious, both nations have been faced with the
complicated legal issue of how to deal with restaurants bringing defamation
suits against their critics. U.S. courts
must delicately … Read the rest

Should Complex Corporate Litigation Trials be Left to the Juries?

I.  Introduction

     Corporate litigation disputes are becoming
more complex as new issues arise addressing questions on statistical
and/or probabilistic facts, expert testimonies, and other intricacies
of the business world. This trend in litigation poses a new issue to
the courts, and, more specifically to the juries. With these issues
becoming more complicated, one can only wonder if lay jurors are able
to understand the disputes, judicial instructions, and are capable of
applying the facts to the law.


 
   Juries in their earliest form consisted of committees of qualified
persons in the community who provided assistance on facts or issues in
dispute. [1] By this time, these "jurors not only knew the litigants,
[but] they also knew something about the dispute." [2] Jurors were able
to conduct their own investigations among those who they believed had
knowledge of the facts. [3] "Today, however, any knowledge of the
dispute or

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Can a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Exist in Cyberspace?

          Privacy has been defined as retirement and seclusion, or as “the state of being free from unsanctioned intrusion.” [1]  This evokes thoughts of physical space. [2]  One may expect to have privacy behind the closed doors of their own home, though a nosey neighbor may be able to peer through a window and violate that expectation of privacy.  Privacy is rarely a guarantee, in this high technology age of advanced surveillance, [3] but most people can feel fairly confident that they can secure a certain physical space where they can be alone and undisturbed.  What happens, however, when the walls, doors and windows are removed and cyberspace becomes the means by which private acts take place, or private thoughts are divulged?  Do people have an expectation of privacy with regard to using the internet socially, and should they?  This article will discuss the difficulty of applying

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Law Firms: It’s Getting Easier to Be Green

I.    Introduction

The current surge in environmental awareness is affecting the way
our nation does business, across a variety of industries. [1]  The
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes has come to
the unequivocal conclusion that our planet is getting hotter, and
former Vice President Al Gore’s popular documentary on global warming
has helped to create awareness about environmental issues. [2]   Beyond
any altruism towards the environment, law firms are discovering that
like any other business, they can ultimately profit by taking steps
that benefit the environment. [3]  This article explores the legal
industry's negative impact on the environment, and examines the nature
and origin of the sustainability, or “green,” movement throughout law
firms today.

II.    How Lawyers Affect the Environment

A study conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(“EPA”) has shown that a lawyer on average uses up to 100,000 sheets of
mostly virgin … Read the rest

Varying Intellectual Property Regimes: The Reception of Gray Market Goods in the United States and the European Union

Introduction: 

Most
consumers agree that intellectual property law is essential to ensure
that creators of inventions, ideas, designs, services and the like are
rewarded for their creativity and to promote the continuation of such
creations.[1] In order to grant creators with the incentive to continue
creating, such creators must be equipped with the satisfaction of
knowing that their creations will not be transformed into cheap
imitations which will inevitably compete with their own original
creations. Intellectual property is a field in which only the most
innovative thrive. While imitation is often considered the most sincere
form of flattery, it is doubtful that inventors will continue to
introduce the same number of creations at exponentially high rates,
knowing that their unique innovations may be reintroduced into the same
market to compete with their original goods within a short period of
time. The protection of intellectual property is at the forefront of

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