Author(s): Paul M. Schwartz Year: 2011 Abstract: Personally identifiable information (PII) is one of the most central concepts in information privacy regulation. The scope of privacy laws typically turns on whether PII is involved. The basic assumption behind the applicable laws is that if PII is not involved, then there can be no privacy harm. […]
The PII Problem: Privacy and a New Concept of Personally Identifiable Information
Priority and Novelty under the AIA
Author(s): Robert P. Merges Year: 2012 Abstract: The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011, Pub. L. No. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011) (“AIA”) radically transforms some of the most basic rules in the U.S. patent system. For many inventors and patent owners the most important changes center on priority and novelty. Practitioners working under the […]
The Relationship between Foundations and Principles in IP Law
Author(s): Robert P. Merges Year: 2013 Abstract: In my book, Justifying Intellectual Property (“JIP”) (Harvard U Press, 2011), I describe three levels of analysis in intellectual property (IP) Law: (1) specific doctrines and practices; (2) midlevel policy principles, which derive from and tie together various doctrines and practices; and (3) foundational commitments, or basic normative […]
RAND Patents and Exclusion Orders: Submission of 19 Economics and Law Professors to the International Trade Commission
Author(s): Jason Schultz Year: 2012 Abstract: In this comment to ITC Investigation 337-TA-745 (Certain Wireless Communication Devices, Motorola v. Apple) we, as teachers and scholars of economics, antitrust and intellectual property, remedies, administrative, and international intellectual property law, former Department of Justice lawyers and chief economists, a former executive official at the Patent and Trademark […]
Polymorphs and Prodrugs and Salts (Oh My!): An Empirical Analysis of ‘Secondary’ Pharmaceutical Patents
Author(s): Amy Kapczynski Year: 2012 Abstract: While there has been much discussion by policymakers and stakeholders about the effects of “secondary patents” on the pharmaceutical industry, there is no empirical evidence on their prevalence or determinants. Characterizing the landscape of secondary patents is important in light of recent court decisions in the U.S. that may […]
The Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Privacy in the Coming Decade
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle and Deirdre K. Mulligan Year: 2007 Abstract: The large majority of consumers believe that the term “privacy policy” describes a baseline level of information practices that protect their privacy. In short, “privacy,” like “free” before it, has taken on a normative meaning in the marketplace. When consumers see the term “privacy […]
Consumer Privacy in the E-Commerce Marketplace 2002
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2004 Abstract: The author reviews 2002 developments in privacy and e-commerce, and concludes by arguing that a framework of fair information principles should govern the collection, maintenance, and dissemination of personal information. Proposed online privacy, computer security, and student privacy legislation is reviewed. The role of the Federal Trade Commission […]
A Supermajority of Californians Supports Limits on Law Enforcement Access to Cell Phone Location Information
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2008 Abstract: While law enforcement increasingly locates individuals by gaining access to wireless phone records, a supermajority of Californians supports judicial intervention and informing suspects before law enforcement acquires retrospective (historical) location data on individuals from wireless phone companies. A majority of Californians understands that wireless phones can track their […]
Privacy Law Fundamentals
Author(s): Paul M. Schwartz Year: 2011 Abstract: “Privacy Law Fundamentals” is a distilled guide to the essential elements of U.S. data privacy law. In an easily-digestible format, the book covers core concepts, key laws, and leading cases. Included here for download are The Table of Contents and Chapter 1. The book explains the major provisions […]
New Governance, Chief Privacy Officers, and the Corporate Management of Information Privacy in the United States: An Initial Inquiry
Author(s): Kenneth A. Bamberger and Deirdre K. Mulligan Year: 2011 Abstract: While the turn from traditional regulation to more collaborative, experimentalist, and flexible forms of governance has garnered significant academic focus, far less attention has been paid to the effects of such “new governance” approaches on regulated firms’ understanding of the laws’ demands, and on […]