Author(s): Paul M. Schwartz Year: 2013 Abstract: Cloud computing is the locating of computing resources on the Internet in a fashion that makes them highly dynamic and scalable. This kind of distributed computing environment can quickly expand to handle a greater system load or take on new tasks. Cloud computing thereby permits dramatic flexibility in […]
Information Privacy in the Cloud
The EU-U.S. Privacy Collision: A Turn to Institutions and
Author(s): Paul M. Schwartz Year: 2013 Abstract: The European Commission’s release in late January 2012 of its proposed “General Data Protection Regulation” provides a perfect juncture to assess the ongoing EU-U.S. privacy collision. An intense debate is now occurring around critical areas of information policy, including the rules for lawfulness of personal processing, the “right […]
Brief Amici Curiae of Experts in the History of Executive Surveillance: James Bamford, Loch Johnson, and Peter Fenn in First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. National Security Agency
Author(s): Jennifer Urban Year: 2013 Abstract: This case presents pressing questions regarding the executive’s power to collect, store, and use Americans’ telephony and other personal data for the purposes of conducting surveillance operations. In the wake of recent disclosures revealing National Security Agency data collection programs, the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles and 21 other […]
Medieval Guilds Redux: Contemporary Institutions for Collective Invention
Author(s): Robert P. Merges Year: 2004 Abstract: This essay draws on recent scholarship concerning the nature and function of medieval guilds. I argue that certain features of these guilds appear in modem institutions that further collective invention: patent pools, industry-wide standard-setting organizations, informal knowledge exchange among academic scientists, and (in a more limited way) open […]
The Control of Strategic Alliances: An Empirical Analysis of Biotechnology Collaborations
Author(s): Robert P. Merges Year: 2000 Abstract: In this paper, we examine the determinants of control rights in technology strategic alliances between biotechnology firms and pharmaceutical corporations, as well as with other biotechnology firms. We undertake three clinical studies and an empirical analysis of 200 contracts. Consistent with the framework developed by Aghion and Tirole […]
Privacy and Modern Advertising: Most US Internet Users Want ‘Do Not Track’ to Stop Collection of Data about their Online Activities
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle and Jennifer Urban Year: 2012 Abstract: Most Americans have not heard of ‘Do Not Track,’ a proposal to allow Internet users to exercise more control over online advertising. However, when probed, most prefer that Do Not Track block advertisers from collecting data about their online activities. This is a much more […]
Brief Amicus Curiae of People for the American Way Foundation in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellees, Hepting v. AT&T Corp., No. 06-17132 (9th Cir. 2007)
Author(s): Deirdre K. Mulligan Year: 2014 Abstract: Brief amicus curiae in case arguing that legislative history of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act demonstrates that Congress intended that FISA be the exclusive means by which the Executive could conduct electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes. Keywords: national security, FISA, foreign intelligence, warrantless wiretapping, state secrets, NSA Link: […]
Rules of the Road for Space?: Satellite Collisions and the Inadequacy of Current Space Law
Author(s): Year: Abstract: The February 2009 collision of a dead Russian satellite with an Iridium communications satellite left a cloud of debris in orbit and a number of questions on earth as to why and how it happened and who was responsible. Contrary to some popular impressions, outer space is not a lawless region, but […]
The Concept of Property in the Digital Era
Author(s): Robert P. Merges Year: 2009 Abstract: In this Essay I argue that the basic case for property is still a very strong one. Individual control over individual assets still makes sense. I defend property rights in digital creations in the face of two general scholarly critiques: The first is what I call digital determinism […]
From Victorian Secrets to Cyberspace Shaming
Author(s): Paul M. Schwartz Year: 2009 Abstract: Worrying about privacy is a growth industry. The public is highly concerned about how its personal information is collected, stored, and processed. Technology companies compete to create new applications that will analyze personal data and meet new needs, such as the ability to broadcast one’s GPS data to […]