Legal Commentary

The Body Snatchers are Alive and Well : In ACLU v. Myriad, the Battle over DNA Patents Rages

Posted on February 03, 2010
The Daily Scan at the GenomeWeb headlines In ACLU v. Myriad, It's Scientific Accuracy, 0, and Wild Speculation, 1, writing:"Unless you've been living under a sequencer, you already know that the ACLU v. Myriad gene patent hearings began yesterday. Daily Scan was there for the circus, held in a standing-room-only courtroom in downtown New York...

Ira Glasser - former ACLU Executive Director - at the Huffington Post : Understanding the Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court Ruling

Posted on February 03, 2010
At the Huffington Post, Ira Glasser (Executive Director, ACLU, 1978-2001, Retired) sets straight the erroneous and oft emotionally distorted opinions floating around about the Citizens United Ruling, writing inter alia:"The recent decision by the U...

Changes to EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the European Union (EU), Legislative Acts, New Numbering in Treaties : EUR-Lex Newsletter 8/1/2010

Posted on February 03, 2010
The EUR-Lex Newsletter 8/1/2010 : Access to European Union Law contains important information about changes to EUR-Lex, to the Official Journal of the European Union, to a distinction introduced between legislative and non-legislative acts, and reference to the new numbering of the 'Treaty on European Union' and the 'Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union' as per the Lisbon Treaty...

EUR-Lex : Free Access to European Union EU Law : Official Journal, Treaties, Legislation, Case Law, Legislative Proposals

Posted on February 03, 2010
EUR-Lex"EUR-Lex provides direct free access to European Union law. Here you can consult the Official Journal of the European Union as well as the treaties, legislation, case-law and legislative proposals. You can also use the extensive search facilities available on EUR-Lex...

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Web Censorship, Human Rights and the Law : US Senator Dick Durbin to Hold Hearing on Global Internet Freedom

Posted on February 03, 2010
AFP: US senator asks companies about China rights practices"US senator on Tuesday asked 30 leading companies, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, IBM, Nokia and Twitter, for information about their human rights practices in China after Google's threat to leave the country over cyberattacks and Web censorship...

Objectives of the fiveIPoffices : EPO, JPO, KIPO, SIPO, USPTO

Posted on February 03, 2010
For the Objectives of the "five IP offices" - EPO, JPO, KIPO, SIPO, USPTO - see here.

European Patent Office (EPO) Official Journal January 2010 is Now Online

Posted on February 03, 2010
The Official Journal of January 2010 of the European Patent Office (EPO) is now online here.

Doing Business in Europe ? the legal pitfalls | Enterprise Europe

Posted on February 03, 2010
Doing Business in Europe ? the legal pitfalls | Enterprise Europe"Considering doing business with Europe? Come along to this new seminar to find out how to avoid some of the legal pitfalls when you sell your goods....Thursday 4th February 2010, Holiday Inn Rochester [UK]8...

The Gene Patent Debate at Genomics Law Report

Posted on February 03, 2010
Up Next in Gene Patents: Waiting for a Ruling (Again) and SACGHS Meets (Again)

Why Are There No Arab Democracies? asks Larry Diamond at the Journal of Democracy

Posted on February 02, 2010
Why Are There No Arab Democracies? asks Larry Diamond in the "Twentieth Anniversary Issue" of the Journal of Democracy (January 2010, Volume 21, Number 1).The Journal of Democracy writes that "Democracy has held its own or gained ground in just about every part of the world except for the Arab Middle East...

BuzzMachine : Davos 2010 : Replace the Old Order?

Posted on February 02, 2010
BuzzMachine"The theme of this year?s World Economic Forum meeting at Davos was ?rethink, redesign, rebuild.? When a friend recited that list for me, I responded that given the institutions there, the more appropriate slogan is ?replace....The World Economic Forum actually does an admirable job trying to push its members into [the] future...

U.S. Sentencing Commission Proposes Reduced Criminal Penalties for Corporations having Compliance Programs | WSJ Law Blog

Posted on February 02, 2010
In Federal Agency Proposes Reduced Criminal Penalties for Corporations at the WSJ Law Blog, Amir Efrati writes:"What kind of penalties should companies face when their employees commit crimes?[T]he U.S. Sentencing Commission ... last week included a proposal in this 78-page document to reduce exposure by organizations whose employees engage in criminal behavior...

Arianna Huffington: Davos Diary 2010: Snapshots from My Short But Sweet Visit

Posted on February 02, 2010
Arianna Huffington: Davos Diary 2010: Snapshots from My Short But Sweet Visit"Things got off to an interesting start before I even arrived. I happened to be on the same flight from D.C. to Zurich as Larry Summers, who was reading Martin Jacques' weighty tome, 'When China Rules the World...

Davos Conversation's Universe (801)

Posted on February 02, 2010
Davos Conversation's Universe (801)

World Economic Forum 2010 Ends

Posted on February 02, 2010
World Economic Forum - Home"At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010 in Davos, participants resolved to rethink, redesign and rebuild the global economy to ensure principled growth and sustainability."

Huckabee on Tax Policy at the New Jersey Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Posted on February 02, 2010
At the New Jersey Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog Deirdre Wheatley-Liss of Fein Such Kahn & Shepard relates A conversation with Mike Huckabee [former governor of Arkansas] on Tax Policy where she asked Huckabee the following question:"Governor Huckabee, here in New Jersey we are in the most expensive state to live in and the most expensive state to do business in from a tax perspective...

The future of legal education? SIMPLE. SIMulated Professional Learning Environment.

Posted on February 02, 2010
Paul Maharg of Zeugma in his draft document at SlideShare titled The permeable web: community, value and ethics in legal education, discusses SIMPLE - SIMulated Professional Learning Environment - in its application to law studies.Maharg writes:"Draft paper...

Future EU Personal Data Protection and Privacy Laws to Target Social Media : Facebook, Twitter, Myspace et al.

Posted on February 01, 2010
Leigh Phillips at the EUobserver in New EU laws to target Facebook writes that:"[T]he European Commission ... announced plans for comprehensive new laws that have in their sights the massively popular website [Facebook]....Underscoring its new powers under the Lisbon Treaty and the legal basis given to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the commission said it wants to create "a clear, modern set of rules" guaranteeing a high level of personal data protection and privacy...

Jewish Law and Constitutional Interpretation : David Friedman cited at Three Jews, Four Opinions

Posted on February 01, 2010
We are a bit late on this December 3, 2009 posting at Three Jews, Four Opinions, but we nevertheless wanted to put in a reference to David Friedman on Jewish Law and Constitutional Interpretation:"David Friedman has an interesting set of posts on Jewish Law and Constitutional Interpretation and And For the Real Enthusiasts in Jewish Law, A Story...

WIPO Uniform Domain Resolution Policy (UDRP) : 1500+ Domain Names Transferred to IHG Intercontinental Hotels Group in Single Ruling

Posted on January 29, 2010
Over 1,500 domain names handed to hotels group in single ruling | Pinsent Masons LLP Out-Law.com"The single case, heard by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)'s arbitration centre, transferred 1,519 domain names to the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)...

Review of Linguatec Personal Translator Professional, Version 14 - Automatic Translation in Seven Different Language Pairs for Home and Office

Posted on January 29, 2010
Personal Translator Version 14 from Linguatec is the new product from the market leader for automatic translations. Such technologically advanced personal translation software is a welcome addition to any software library of useful tools, whether this be in the home or at the office...

Obama's First State of the Union Focuses on Domestic Issues : First Year of Presidency Marked by Unprecedented Winning Streak in Washington D.C.

Posted on January 28, 2010
Below is the video of US President Obama's 1st State of the Union Address.A transcript is available.In our opinion, the most important personal policy statement in that address is found in these words:"Our most urgent task upon taking office was to shore up the same banks that helped cause this crisis...

Laughing All the Way to the Bank - Dwight Garner reviews I.O.U.: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay - by John Lanchester

Posted on January 27, 2010
Laughing All the Way to the Banka NY Times review ofI.O.U.: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay: by John LanchesterLet's get this straight, with a hat tip to CaryGEE:In his book "I.O.U", Lanchester writes at p. 55 about the famed late economist John Maynard Keynes:"As Keynes - he who made himself and his college rich by spending half an hour a day in bed playing the stock market - once observed, there is nothing so disastrous as a rational policy in an irrational world...

Banks, Bailouts, Bonuses and Bogusness: "Geithner Stands His Ground on A.I.G. Bailout Role" - NYTimes.com

Posted on January 27, 2010
Geithner Stands His Ground on A.I.G. Bailout Role - NYTimes.com"WASHINGTON ? In heated questioning that at times took on the air of a cross-examination, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Wednesday defended his role and the government?s actions in bailing out the American International Group, saying Washington did what was necessary to prevent ?a second Great Depression...

If you Recall - Federal Rules Dictated That Toyota Halt Sale of Recalled Vehicles - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

Posted on January 27, 2010
If you Recall ...It's a matter of Law....At the New York Times Wheels blog in Federal Rules Dictated That Toyota Halt Sale of Recalled Vehicles - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com Christopher Jensen writes:"Toyota had no choice but to stop selling eight different models while it works out a way to fix what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has called ?a dangerous accelerator pedal issue...

Protect Your Rights : Collaboration Reference Guide : Computer Arts - Strike a partnership

Posted on January 26, 2010
Protect Your Rights: Collaboration Reference Guide at the Computer Arts - Strike a partnership"Legal expert Nicolette Hamilton has advised the AOI and worked for the Intellectual Property Office. Here's her indispensable collaboration reference guide, packed with invaluable tips and solid, professional advice for anyone about to join creative forces...

Legal Research Tomorrow: New Westlaw, Lexis & Bloomberg Platforms - News - Google-Izing - ABA Journal

Posted on January 26, 2010
Exclusive:Inside the New Westlaw, Lexis & Bloomberg Platforms - News - ABA Journalby Jill Schachner Chanen, who writes inter alia:"There?s a battle about to break out on your computer screen....WestlawNext, the new platform will debut February 1....

10 Noteworthy Cyberlaw Developments of 2009

Posted on January 25, 2010
10 Noteworthy Cyberlaw Developments of 2009by Eric Goldman

European Union - European Commission - Information Society - Latvia : Laws relating to Electronic Documents

Posted on January 25, 2010
European Union - EU - European Commission - Information Society: "Legal and Administrative Practices Regarding the Validity and Mutual Recognition of e-Documents - 17 December 2006The study clarifies the present situation concerning the national legal and administrative practices in 32 countries (the 25 Member States, 3 EFTA countries parties to the EEA Agreement (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), 2 Acceding Countries (Bulgaria and Romania) and 2 Candidate Countries (Croatia and Turkey); it assesses them comparatively and identifies the remaining legal barriers concerning the validity and mutual recognition of e-documents...

Clorox: Attorney to Oversee Social-Media Programs - Advertising Age - Digital

Posted on January 25, 2010
Clorox: Attorney to Oversee Social-Media Programs - Advertising Age - DigitalMarketer's Move Seen as Testament to Importance of Twitter and Facebookby Jack Neff

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