Research

Laura Pedraza-Fariña and Ryan Whalen

The Ghost in the Patent System: An Empirical Study of Patent Law’s Elusive 'Ordinary Artisan'

Patent law shares with tort law the presence of an artificial character that structures judicial decision-making. Much like the reasonable person in tort law, the “person having ordinary skill in the art” (or PHOSITA) frames judicial inquiries into such central patent law questions as whether an invention is obvious, set out in sufficient detail, or infringed by a competitor. The PHOSITA’s perspective…

November 15, 2022

Adrian Kuenzler

What competition law can do for data privacy (and vice versa)

Attempts to temper big technology firms’ outsized influence in online advertising demonstrate a convergence of opinions between experts as to the extent that the activities of such companies impinge on aspects of citizens’ lives, ranging from the loss of privacy to instances of exclusionary behaviour by incumbents drawn up to handicap competitors. But cutting back big technology firms’ influence through competition law…

November 1, 2022

Benjamin Chen, Alexander Stremitzer and Kevin Tobia

Having Your Day in Robot Court

Should machines be judges? Some say “no,” arguing that citizens would see robot-led legal proceedings as procedurally unfair because the idea of “having your day in court” is thought to refer to having another human adjudicate one’s claims. Prior research established that people obey the law in part because they see it as procedurally just. The introduction of “robot judges” powered by…

October 20, 2022

Bryan Mercurio & Ronald Yu

Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows: Issues, Challenges and Impact

Yu, Ronald & Mercurio, Bryan, Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows: Issues, Challenges and Impact (Anthem Ethics of Personal Data Collection), Anthem Press, August 2022.

August 1, 2022

Ronald Yu & Bryan Mercurio

Does Hong Kong Need a Coherent Policy on Cross Border Data Flows to Really Be Smart?

Data flows are becoming ever more important to smart cities. Owing to the plethora of interconnections, an action in one area can result in unintended consequences elsewhere–and while a holistic approach to managing data and data flows sounds desirable, it remains to be seen whether such an approach is achievable. This chapter will explore the conflicting legal and other issues smart cities…

May 29, 2022

Ryan Whalen

The What, Why, and How of Automated Patent Decision-making

The patent system is slow, expensive, and inaccurate. So much so that some refer to it as “broken.” Meanwhile, patent applications are increasing in number and complexity. Examiners are overworked, which leads them to make more incorrect decisions. This has led some to advocate for increased use of technologies, and in particular patentability classifiers, at patent offices.   This essay provides an…

May 9, 2022

Ryan Whalen

Defining Legal Technology and its Implications

Legal technological developments have been both lauded as the promising future of the law and derided as a danger to the fundamentals of justice. This article helps reconcile these divergent perspectives by providing a definition of legal technology and a framework through which to understand its different types and their potential implications for the legal system and society more generally. Mapping technologies…

April 28, 2022

Haochen Sun

Technology and the Public Interest

In this groundbreaking work, Haochen Sun analyzes the ethical crisis unfolding at the intersection of technology and the public interest. He examines technology companies’ growing power and their increasing disregard for the public good. To tackle this asymmetry of power and responsibility, he argues that we must reexamine the nature and scope of the right to technology and dynamically protect it as…

April 23, 2022

Haochen Sun

Protecting the Public Interest Through Intellectual Property Law: The Creative Approach of Chinese Judges

Today, Chinese judges play a leading role in the global protection of intellectual property (IP) rights. With China’s judiciary handling more intellectual property lawsuits than any other jurisdiction, their work is prominent not only for its quantity but also for its quality. While acting to safeguard IP owners’ private interests, Chinese judges have also in their rulings effectively protected public interests by…

April 18, 2022

Ryan Whalen and Rachel Zingg

Innovating under Uncertainty: The Patent-Eligibility of Artificial Intelligence after Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International

Artificial intelligence-related inventions raise complex questions of how to define the boundaries around patentable subject matter. In the United States, many claim that the recent doctrinal developments by the Supreme Court have led to incoherence and excessive uncertainty within the innovation community. In response, policymakers and stakeholders have suggested legislative amendments to address these concerns. We first review these developments, and subsequently…

April 5, 2022