Defamation cases are hard ones in the real world. Recent US matters involving Dominion Voting, Sara Palin, and even Cheetos show that these cases continue to interest the general public as well as legal cognoscenti. Resolving these lawsuits is dependent on understanding concepts of truth, accuracy, fact, opinion, and all manner of issues that define … Continue Reading
Fiction writing has a curious claim on truth. We learn this at the youngest age, listening to fairy tales when the child in us “intuitively comprehends that, although these stories are unreal, they are not untrue …” Bettelheim, The Uses Of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (at 73). We hear this in … Continue Reading
The American holiday of Thanksgiving is tradition-laden and is celebrated as much for the leftovers after that November Thursday as it is for the turkey on that day, at least according to the US Department of Agriculture. Indeed, Americans “idolize Thanksgiving left overs,” and the “[t]he overstuffing of America’s fridges has become something of a … Continue Reading
Legend has it that shortly after Adam was created, he complained: ‘O, Lord! you have given the lion fierce teeth and claws, and the elephant formidable tusks; you have given the deer swiftness of legs, and the turtle a protective shell; you have given the birds of flight wings, but you have left me altogether … Continue Reading
Art, said Stephen, is the human disposition of sensible or intelligible matter for an esthetic end.” ― James Joyce, A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN, Chapter V [T]he application…identified the author of the Work as the ‘Creativity Machine,’ and noted it was ‘Created autonomously by machine.’ —Complaint, paragraph 17 in Thaler … Continue Reading
Admittedly, the second word in that title is a mouthful—but Paraskavedekatriaphobia is a real word, with an etymology and definition. It even has a synonym, friggatriskaidekaphobia. Each means “fear of Friday the 13th.” Though I am tempted to write this October piece about Halloween (whether it is the day or the movies by that name, … Continue Reading
The title is the first thing the reader sees or hears …—and getting it right is the single most important … decision you’ll make. The title forms the basis of the reader’s judgment ….” Tucker Max For those of you who may read my past ILN posts, you will not be surprised that I subscribe … Continue Reading
“One man’s legally sanctioned privateer is another man’s pirate.” [James Wadsworth, Global Piracy: A Documentary History of Seaborne Banditry (2019), at p. 8] We live in a time of contradictions and confusion, and today we aim to explore how some such tensions have manifested themselves in the area of intellectual property law. On the one … Continue Reading
A few weeks back, as remote working and social distancing were becoming the order of the day (and interesting phrase, given what quickly became the norm in many US states and cities, as executive orders abounded), my son tossed a statement in my direction that was both compliment and challenge: “Isaac Newton developed calculus, among … Continue Reading
Bloggers naturally desire to write about new developments and new cases. But, because writing on legal topics is often like pulling snap shots out of a film, there is also sometimes a feeling that one is obliged to return to a previously noted case to report back on the rest of the story (as one … Continue Reading
“You mean there’s a catch?” “Sure there’s a catch,” Doc Daneeka replied. “Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy.” There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the … Continue Reading
Recent years have witnessed a surge in the United States in the appreciation for fine food and those who create it. Indeed, the concept of the “celebrity chef” has taken such hold in the United States that there are entire television networks and countless magazines (on-line and in print) to cooking, recipes, chefs and the … Continue Reading
When one thinks about lawyers and Shakespeare, many recall the oft-quoted and misunderstood statement “the first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” ‘Henry VI,” Part II, Act IV, Scene II, Line 73. But my favorite, as a better reflection of the best of our lot, is: Sir, I shall not be slack; in … Continue Reading
Two words, uttered in a certain tone and with a certain speed, are apt to suggest a bit of wastefulness, a touch of anarchy, and yet a sense of communal participation. Those two words, from Faber College of lore to present discussions of law: Food Fight!!!!!. And, we see the long smoldering discussions of geographical … Continue Reading
According to the “infinite monkey theorem,” a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare or at least a comprehensible original work. But, according to a United States federal district court judge, that … Continue Reading
Recently the Obama administration publicly released the previously-undisclosed text of the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP, revealing, among other things, the provisions related to trade secrets. Earlier, the administration had said that the TPP would “provide strong enforcement systems, including, for example, civil procedures, provisional measures, border measures, and criminal procedures and penalties for commercial-scale … Continue Reading
