AI & Technology Law

ARTICLE The Demise of the Functionality Doctrine in Design Patent Law Perry J. Saidman* The so-called doctrine of functionality arises in both design patent validity and infringement analyses. Broadly stated, the doctrine seeks to ensure that design patents do not...

By Shannon Schooley, Volume 108 Staff Member In 2023, Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis.[1] Although Minnesota followed twenty-two states and the District of Columbia in doing so,[2] its legal landscape presents unique regulatory challenges.[3] Minnesota’s full-scale recreational legalization comes on the...

It has often been said that the internet lacks public property. Unlike the offline world, denizens of cyberspace cannot gather in the digital equivalent of public parks, cannot shame websites by picketing on adjacent cyber-sidewalks, and cannot loiter in online...

Introduction Liberal democracy cannot survive without a vibrant, free, and pluralist press. The venerable Fourth Estate has long served to hold the powerful to account, inform the electorate, and provide a forum for debate about vital issues of the day.[1]...

In 2023, investigative journalists reported multiple instances where billionaires showered Supreme Court Justices with lavish gifts. Previously undisclosed luxury fishing trips, private jet travel, and yacht cruises ignited popular and scholarly debates about Congress’s role in regulating Justices’ conduct. This...

Adjudicating De Facto Parentage by Stephanie L. Tang; Behind the Bench: Unmasking the Judicial Role in North America’s Prolonged Access to Justice Crisis by Brajesh Ranjan; Abuse Victims Are Not Sleeping Away Their Day in Court: Claim Preclusion and Wisconsin...

The use of race in college admissions is contentious not only because elite colleges are a gateway to good careers, but because the colleges themselves symbolize belonging at the highest levels of American society. In this sense, the Supreme Court’s...

By: Sophia Antonio, Volume 109 Staff Member Former presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK), dominated the summer news cycle with bizarre controversies. [1] RFK dropped out of the presidential race, where he ran as a third-party candidate, on August...

By Billy Clark. Full Text. Concerned by the public health threats posed by certain firearms, the Massachusetts legislature enacts a law to set safety standards for firearms in the Commonwealth. Firearm dealers across the State, including some of the leading...

Introduction Since his second inauguration on January 20, 2025, President Trump has revived the practice of imposing tariffs and has pushed the boundaries of the President’s authority to do so. Traditional tariff authorities, like Section 232 of the Trade Expansion...

Introduction The two police officers arrive at the defendant’s home in southeast Houston at 11:00 p.m. to serve a warrant for burglary. Because the defendant lives in a high-crime area, the officers are wearing body armor and have their badges...

For a document that is usually found behind glass casing in museums and galleries, many have taken advantage of the ability to carry it in their purse, wallet—or better yet—their pocket. The US Constitution is one of the oldest and...

Introduction On December 2, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with ABB Ltd., a Swiss global technology company, for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).[1] ABB,...

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1 Collectively striving to succeed Immersive Learning Benefit from close-knit residential education and experiential learning in the classroom and beyond. Integrated Research Working across institutions, Vanderbilt bridges disciplines to solve the great challenges of our time. Collaborative Discovery Collaborative culture...

This speech, given by the general counsel of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on January 7, 2025, examines how federal government lawyers can help ensure that laws are faithfully administered to address the contemporary…The postThe Federal General Counsel, Law,...

This world is vast, dangerous, and dying. You take your first steps, uncertain of who you are, where you are going, or who is responsible for the conditions in which you find yourself. You can learn more, but you will...

Recruiting Events Each year, Vanderbilt Law School LL.M. admissions representatives attend a variety of student recruiting events across the globe. This year, we will be attending a number of in-person and virtual events, including the LSAC Digital Forums, virtual LL.M....

2024–25 Environmental and Energy Regulation Reformation: Challenges and Solutions After West Virginia v. EPA, Sackett v. EPA, and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo 2023–24 Aiming for Answers: Balancing Rights, Safety, and Justice in a Post-Bruen America 2022–23 Leaving Langdell Behind:...

The Minnesota Law Review (ISSN 0026-5535) is published six times a year in November, December, February, April, May, and June by the Minnesota Law Review Foundation, 285 Walter F. Mondale Hall, 229 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455. Periodicals postage...

By Lea Chapoton, Volume 108 Staff Member In the wake of 2022’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization[1] decision and the ensuing barrage of state laws limiting abortion access, online discussions surged with strategies for maintaining reproductive freedom in potentially...

By TUN-JEN CHIANG. Full Text. The standard economic account of trade secret law focuses on providing incentives for creating new inventions. The incentive-to-invent theory, however, provides little explanation for why the key doctrinal features of trade secret law are structured...