Harvard Journal of Law and Technology

06/12/2021

⚡️SUBMIT TO JOLT! ⚡️

JOLT is accepting student author applications for the Spring Issue of Volume 35 from now until 11:59 PM EST on Monday January 3, 2022. We are also accepting submissions to our student writing competition for publication in our Spring 2021 Issue!

🥇 1st Prize: $750
🥈 2nd Prize: $250

For more information, go to: https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/submissions

07/06/2021

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: JOLT is accepting student note and student writing competition submissions for the Fall Issue of Volume 35 until June 21, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET.

1st Prize: $500
2nd Prize: $100

More info: jolt.law.harvard.edu/submissions

12/04/2021

Thanks for another great semester of JOLT Digest! Here are a few articles from this semester for you to read in case you missed them. Check out more Digest articles at https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest.

By Neil Davey:
"As the World Health Organization suggests a patent pool (C-TAP) to share international knowledge and increase global access to COVID-19 pharmaceutical products, the pharmaceutical industry pushes back.”: https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/increasing-global-access-to-covid-19-vaccines-and-treatments-through-patent-pools

By Anthony Pericolo:
Everything has changed with 's because of an underlying copyright dispute: https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/bad-blood-with-taylor-swifts-album-re-recording

By Colin Rahill:
A comprehensive look at the cybersecurity and privacy objectives of the Biden administration: https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/the-state-of-privacy-under-a-biden-administration-federal-cybersecurity-legislation-strict-regulatory-enforcement-and-a-new-privacy-shield-with-the-eu

By April Xiaoyi Xu:
Smartphones Out, Bye COVID-19! — Assessing the Possibility of Exporting China's Global Pandemic-Era QR Codes as Health Certificates: https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/smartphones-out-bye-covid-19-assessing-the-possibility-of-exporting-chinas-global-pandemic-era-qr-codes-as-health-certificates-1

By Eric Xu:
Can state representatives block constituents on Twitter? Splitting from the Second and Fourth Circuits, the Eighth Circuit says yes: https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/campbell-v-reisch-blocking-constituents-on-twitter

28/12/2020

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: JOLT is accepting student note submissions for the Spring Issue of Volume 34 until Jan 3, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. More info: jolt.law.harvard.edu/submissions

13/02/2019

Data denial: judge rejects Yahoo’s proposed data breach settlement.
jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/not-so-fast-california-judge-denies-proposed-settlement-in-class-action-over-massive-data-breach-at-yahoo

In re: Yahoo Inc Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 16-md-02752. In a Monday night decision on January 28, the U.S. District Court...

04/12/2018

Blackbird Technologies’ patent infringement claims against Pokémon GO creator Niantic survived Niantic’s recent motion to dismiss. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/blackbird-tech-v-niantic-district-court-finds-geolocation-methods-for-virtual-reality-games-are-not-abstract-ideas

Blackbird Tech. LLC v. Niantic, Inc., No. 17-cv-1810-RGA, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186629 (D. Del. Oct. 31, 2018). On October 31, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of...

03/12/2018

Florida courts are conflicted on password protections: can the government compel decryption? http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/compelled-decryption-in-florida-a-foregone-conclusion

G.A.Q.L. v. State of Florida, No. 4D18-1811 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Oct. 24, 2018). The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District granted certiorari and quashed...

02/12/2018

FTC wins motion for partial summary judgement requiring Qualcomm to grant licenses to all willing applicants, including competing modem chip suppliers. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/ftc-v-qualcomm-standard-essential-patent-holders-must-license-to-competitors

Federal Trade Commission v. Qualcomm, Inc., No. 17-CV-00220-LHK (N.D.Cal. Nov. 06, 2018) On November 6, 2018, the Northern District of California Judge Lucy H. Koh granted a motion for partial...

01/12/2018

“Right to repair”: New exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act allow consumers to hack into their devices for repair purposes. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/copyright-offices-ruling-on-exemptions-to-the-digital-millennium-copyright-act-allowing-consumers-repairers-and-hackers-to-fix-their-own-devices

Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies, 83 Fed. Reg. 54010 (Oct. 26, 2018) (to be codified at 37 C.F.R. pt. 201). Summary of...

30/11/2018

Ninth Circuit tells Skidmore its sound recording of "Ta**us" is not protected by copyright law. But remands to district court for a new trial due to erroneous jury instructions. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/led-zeppelins-stair-ing-contest-heads-back-to-court

Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin, No. 16-56057 (9th Cir. Sep. 28, 2018). In what must surely be uplifting news for Michael Skidmore—trustee of late psych-rocker and Spirit band member Randy Wolfe—the Ninth...

29/11/2018

The hackers behind 2016’s massive Uber data breach face felony hacking charges for Lynda.com extortion scheme. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/united-states-v-glover-lynda-hacking-indictments-hit-pair-behind-massive-uber-breach

Indictment, United States v. Brandon Charles Glover and Vasile Mereacre, No. 5:18-cr-00348-LHK (N.D. Cal. Aug. 2, 2018) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5021170-Lynda-indictment.html The two hackers behind Uber’s large 2016 data breach face felony charges...

28/11/2018

UK High Court rules that 1998 Data Protection Act does not provide compensation for Google’s non-consensual data collection through DoubleClick Ad cookie. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/richard-lloyd-v-google-llc-no-liability-for-acquisition-and-sale-of-users-personal-information

Lloyd v. Google LLC [2018] EWHC (QB) 2599 (Eng.). Opinion In The High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Media and Communications List, Case No: HQ17M01913 Richard Lloyd, filed suit in...

27/11/2018

Federal Circuit backed Biogen in a patent dispute with Forward Pharma, freeing Biogen from paying royalties on MS blockbuster drug Tecfidera. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/forward-v-biogen-biogen-prevails-in-ms-drug-patent-appeal-in-federal-circuit

FWP IP ApS v. Biogen MA, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 29943 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 24, 2018), opinion hosted by Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On October 24...

29/10/2018

‪The Music Modernization Act could change how artists are paid by digital streaming services.‬
‪http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/music-modernization-act-signed-into-law‬

Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (“Music Modernization Act”), Pub. L. No. 115-264 (2018), public law hosted by congress.gov. On October 11th, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Music...

14/10/2018

California’s new internet-of-things cybersecurity law will require manufacturers to implement reasonable security features on any device that can connect to the internet.
http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/is-your-smart-thermostat-safe-from-hackers-californias-new-internet-of-things-cybersecurity-law-seeks-to-address-the-issue

California Senate Bill 327, 2018 Cal. Stats. ch. 886 bill hosted by California Legislative Information. On September 28, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 327 (“SB...

10/06/2018

Submit your student note by Friday, June 15th at 11:59pm!

If you have a paper (4,000-6,000 words) that involves law and technology, this could be a great opportunity to publish in the print journal! We're accepting submissions on a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to: cyber crime, space law, antitrust, privacy, biotech, entertainment and new media, technology and the developing world, and telecommunications.

You can find the application link and additional information on JOLT’s website at http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/submissions.

JOLT publishes writings by academics, practitioners, and policymakers on a variety of topics, including intellectual property, biotechnology, e-commerce, cybercrime, the Internet, green energy and cleantech, space law, science and technology policy, and the impact of evolving technologies on legal d...

19/04/2018

Maryland Governor agrees to adopt new social media policy and not block dissenting citizens on Facebook.

https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/laurenson-v-hogan-mr-hogan-unblock-your-constituent-settlement-requires-maryland-governor-to-allow-dissent-on-his-social-media

Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief and Damages, Laurenson v. Hogan, No. 8:17-CV-02162-DKC (D. Md. filed August 1, 2017), complaint hosted by ACLU of Maryland. Release and Settlement Agreement, Laurenson...

19/04/2018

Oracle v. Google completes its second trip to the Federal Circuit with a ruling that Google’s usage of Java API methods did not qualify as a fair use.

https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/oracle-v-google-federal-circuit-rules-no-fair-use-protection-for-googles-copying-of-java-api-methods

Oracle America, Inc., v. Google LLC, No. 17-1118, (Fed. Cir. Mar. 27, 2018), opinion hosted by USCourts.gov. In a result that sends the case back to California for a third...