Current Issue

Volume 15 - Issue 1

Moving from Nixon to NASA: Privacy's Second Strand--A Right to Informational Privacy

Christina P. Moniodis
15 Yale J.L. & Tech. 139

The Supreme Court’s data privacy jurisprudence consists of only two cases, yet these cases have fueled a circuit split on data privacy rights. The Court’s hesitance to foray into data privacy law may be because the nonrival, invisible, and recombinant nature of information causes plaintiffs’ harms to elude courts. Such harms threaten the democratic relationship between citizen and state.

Anonymity, Disclosure and First Amendment Balancing in the Internet Era: Developments in Libel, Copyright, and Election Speech

Jason M. Shepard & Genelle Belmas
15 Yale J.L. & Tech. 92

The Supreme Court has long protected anonymity for speakers and writers under the First Amendment. The Internet enables anonymity for individuals who post writings, download music, and participate in political discussion. However, this poses a challenge for plaintiffs who want to sue anonymous speakers for libel, copyright infringement, or election speech. This Article evaluates current legal developments in these areas and makes recommendations about how the law should deal with these different but related issues of anonymous speech.

Reverse Engineering Informational Privacy Law

Michael Birnhack
15 Yale J.L. & Tech. 24

Is technology-neutral legislation possible? Technological neutrality in legislation is often praised for its flexibility and ability to apply to future technologies. Yet, time and again we realize that even if the law did not name any technology, it was nevertheless based on an image of a particular technology. When new technologies appear, they expose the underlying technological mindset of the existing law. This article suggests that we read technology-related laws to uncover their hidden technological mindset so that we can better understand the law and prepare for the future.

Best Mode Trade Secrets

Brian J. Love & Christopher B. Seaman
15 Yale J.L. & Tech. 1

Trade secrecy and patent rights traditionally have been considered mutually exclusive. Trade secret rights are premised on secrecy. Without it, they evaporate. Patent rights, on the other hand, require public disclosure. Absent a sufficiently detailed description of the invention, patents are invalid. However, with the passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) last fall, this once black-and-white distinction may melt into something a little more gray.