By: Dianna Shinn* | Staff Writer

Apple is taking a stand against a court order that would require Apple to help the FBI unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.  The court order specifically asks Apple to create a way to disable the feature that automatically wipes the data off an iPhone after ten wrong attempts at the password.  Apple does not have the data the government is asking for and Apple considers such a request “too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.”  Apple argues that with the creation of a backdoor for a one time use, the technology could be used again to defeat decryption.

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By Steven J. Silver, Esq.* | Guest Writer

Between mud runs, charity 5Ks, obstacles course races, and marathons, there is no shortage of events today testing a weekend warrior’s fitness or, often, their pain tolerance.

These amateur athletic competitions are not just fun and games, though. They are also major revenue generators. For example, according to the Sports Business Daily, the obstacle course racing industry saw its revenues spike from about $16 million in 2009 to nearly $400 million by 2015. In addition, more than 18 million Americans competed in marathons in 2014.

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By: Molly Pearce* | Staff Writer

Photo by Joe Ravi

On January 11, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which is a conflict over mandatory public sector union fees.  Ten California teachers have sued the union, challenging the fees under the First Amendment.  The teachers claim they are required to pay to support political positions with which they disagree.  The First Amendment restricts government action infringing upon free speech, not private conduct; this decision will not have a direct impact on unionized employees of private businesses, but will affect millions of government workers.

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By: Dana Sisk* | Staff Writer

Goldman Sachs has found itself in hot water once again after violating the SEC’s Regulation SHO Rule 203(b)(1). This regulation was enacted in 2005 to monitor the use of short sales and to prevent “naked shorting,” the act with which Goldman has been charged by the SEC. Naked short sales involve “selling stock short without first locating the shares for delivery,” according to the New York Times. Goldman Sachs violated this regulation from November 2008 to mid-2013. Continue reading »

In preparation for the upcoming JBIPL editorial interviews, some of our editors have given spotlight interviews about their positions. Each editor would like to thank the interviewees for their time and participation. We look forward to choosing an amazing group of leaders for the 2016-2017 academic year!

Tim McLister, Editor-in-Chief

My name is Tim McLister and I am the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law. My responsibilities on the Journal are twofold: internally and externally. Internally, I am the final tier of the publication process before the article is sent out to the author for final approval, and to the printer for publication. In order to succeed in this role, one must be well-versed in the Bluebook and have an obsessive attention to detail. Externally, I often communicate with the Journal‘s Faculty Advisors, Board of Advisors, and published authors. In addition, I handle all budgetary matters, award credit hours to Journal staff, and coordinate with school administration. This role requires one to be a driven leader, a terrific communicator, and above all, a team player.

My role as Editor-in-Chief has opened me up to numerous challenging and rewarding experiences over the past year, in which my successor must be aware. To date, the challenges I have faced directly involve a substantial time commitment to the Journal. My successor must be able to balance his/her studies in addition to a full-time job on the Journal. Fortunately, this commitment has rewarded the Journal with several accolades. In just nine months, the Journal‘s blog ranked the #1 educational blog in the country by The Expert Institute, ranked the #8 Law Review in the category of science and technology, and hosted one of its most successful symposiums to date. The Journal was able to accomplish so much this year because of the team that was assembled. Everyone — the Board, the Editorial Staff, and Staff Members — bought into the Journal this year and deserves much appreciation. I expect the proceeding Journal‘s Board and Staff to build on these successes for many years to come. contact - mclitm14@wfu.edu

Jane Garrity, Executive Editor

I have served as an Executive Editor for the Journal for the 2015-2016 year. As an Executive Editor, I am involved in the editorial process from start to finish. The position is unique in that it requires keen attention to detail and leadership skills.

The EE is responsible for sending out the articles to staff members. Eventually, the article comes back to the EE after being edited by staff members and Article Editors. During the process, I am available to answer any questions of staff members and Article Editors. Once the edited article comes back to me, I ensure that all citations are proper and consistent. In addition to the editorial process, the EEs are responsible for training the new staff members and providing the training materials. contact – garrjc9@wfu.edu

Emily Morris, Articles Editor

My name is Emily Morris, and I am a 3L holding the position of Articles Editor. In my role, I managed a great group of journal members. I edited their spading and compiled it. I have really enjoyed working with my spading group and being a part of the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Board. contact - morreg13@wfu.edu

Eli Marger, Managing Editor

I wanted to become Managing Editor because I thrive in leadership roles and really enjoy coordinating people and tasks towards a greater end.  While at the University of Florida, I was president of the university’s largest honor society, and had many similar tasks to what I am asked to do as Managing Editor.  Both positions entail a lot of communication, which becomes especially important when conflicts arise, either between members or regarding something like an event or an article.  After meeting with the previous Managing Editor, it seemed like the position would be a great fit.  She trained me thoroughly last year, and I felt ready to take on the position by the time my term began.

Managing Editor is a position that requires equal parts technical proficiency and people skills.  As the head of internal Journal operations, I take on such tasks as coordinating the spading process, handling board interviews, formatting articles and issues, and communicating with various editors while an article is being spaded.  I consider myself quite proficient at Bluebooking, but the biggest key to being successful in my position is being able to communicate effectively, go through articles with an eye for detail, and to perform my managerial tasks, all in mind of Journal-wide deadlines. contact – marge13@wfu.edu

Colin Kennedy, Executive Editor

My name is Colin Kennedy. I serve as one of the Executive Editors of the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law.  As an EE, (along with Cameron Brown and Jane Garrity) I am responsible for editing articles both “above” and “below” the line.  In addition to being the final authority on all issues related to the Bluebook, my main function is to see an article through from start to finish.  The process begins with the author’s unedited manuscript, and ends when the article is sent to press.  Along the way, I coordinate the work of the Articles Editors and collaborate with a number of other editors when issues related to the editing process arise.  contact – kennct13@wfu.edu

Anastasia Fanning, Manuscripts Editor

I was really excited to be Manuscripts Editor because it was an opportunity to really be involved in the substantive print of the Journal.  In this role, I have been able to learn a lot about many business and intellectual property topics.  While this can sometimes be time consuming, it was also a great way to take a mandatory break from other work.  It has also been a great way to work with professionals and other law students who are interested in the same topics I am.  I have really enjoyed working with different authors and also having the opportunity to work with the Board and to get their thoughts on different articles, notes, and empirical studies.  One of my favorite things about being Manuscripts Editor has been the autonomy of the position, but equally having deadlines for having each of our issues settled and sorted out, and having that sense of having contributed to something great. contact - bondae13@wfu.edu

Sarah Gallas, Articles Editor

My name is Sarah Gallas, and I am a 3-L. This year, I held the position of Articles Editor on the JBIPL Board. In my position, I managed a group of journal members for each article, organized their spading, and completed a higher level spading of their work. I really enjoyed working with the members of the journal and being involved in the work done with each published article! contact - gallsa13@wfu.edu

Cameron Brown, Executive Editor (EE)

Hometown: Granite Bay, CA

Legal Interest: Business and Real Estate Transactions

Favorite Law School Class: Negotiation

Favorite JBIPL Memory: Symposium Dinner with Panelists at Fratelli’s

Board Position: Executive Editor (EE)

Job Description: An EE is responsible for the entire spading process for a third of the articles. Upon receiving an article, the first step is to “prespade” the article. This involves correcting any obvious errors in the text and adding footnotes for unsupported assertions made by the author. After the prespade, the next step is to assign footnotes to the staff members and send the article to the staff with the timeline for completion. Finally, once the article has been reviewed by the staff and the Articles Editors (AEs), the final step is to “superspade” the article. This involves making sure that each footnote is correctly cited and matching each footnote with its cited source.

Ideal Candidate: There are three critical skills for an EE. First, an EE must be willing to keep learning the Bluebook rules. It is impossible to memorize every Bluebook rule, but an EE should be able to identify any obvious mistakes in a citation and know where to look to find the correct citation form. Second, an EE must be able to communicate well with the rest of the staff. An EE is the primary point-person for their articles, so he or she must be able to clearly convey to the staff and AEs the issues that need to be addressed in the spading process. An EE must also make sure that the entire staff and editorial board are on the same page regarding the timeline of the article. Third, an EE must be someone with a strong work ethic. The EE position requires long hours over short periods of time, especially during the superspade process. It is critical that the EE stays sharp throughout the entire superspade, as many spading mistakes are only discovered upon very close scrutiny. contact - browc213@wfu.edu

Joey Greener, Marketing Editor

My name is Joey Greener, and I serve as the Marketing Editor for the Journal. This year I worked closely with our Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor to contact Journal alumni and Intellectual Property attorneys in order to offer them subscriptions. We also paired our new staff members with alumni who work in practice areas they are interested in pursuing. Lastly, I worked with our Symposium Editor for the marketing for our spring Symposium. I supervise the twitter account for the Journal, and with the help of staff members live tweeting the event, we doubled our twitter followers and brought thousands of touches to our twitter page and the Law School’s main page. contact - greejb13@wfu.edu

Blaydes Moore, Notes and Comments Editor

My name is Blaydes Moore, and I am a 3L serving as Notes and Comments Editor for the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law.  I provide support to students writing their note, comment, or empirical study for the Journal.  Along with Kayla Fredrickson and Maggie Dickens, I research and evaluate topics, edit student work, and coach students with the goal of publishing the article.  I also participate in planning social events and generally support other staff and board members. contact - moors213@wfu.edu

By: Candice Diah* | Staff Writer

General Motors Co.’s failure to remedy a deadly defect in their motor vehicles has resulted in an influx of 4,180 claims of injury or death resulting from the defects. The defective vehicles, built between 2003 and 2007, contained faulty ignition switches, causing airbag nondeployment. A New York federal judge has ordered a series of bellwether trials in order to encourage a quick resolution of the cases. These trials are to include a sampling of wrongful death, personal injury, and mild-to-moderate personal claims from six different vehicle models.

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By: Dianna Shinn* | Staff Writer

The recent release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has been casted as one of the most successful movies in American history, but when adjusted for inflation the movie has earned only half of the original “Star Wars” revenue when released in 1977.  “Money illusion” is responsible for this phenomenon that Americans take nominal price over actual value.  This principle is illustrated in Yogi Berra’s famous saying, “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”  The idea of “money illusion” began in the 1970s with the confusion over nominal wage gains coupled with real purchasing power.  Money illusion as demonstrated by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has significant effects on several areas of the law.

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By: Candice Diah* | Staff Writer

“Only in Belgium” is the tagline used to attract international companies to invest under Belgium’s “excess profit” tax scheme. The scheme has been in place since 2005 and allows multinational corporations to discount profits that resulted from their multinational status. For example, profits derived from the company’s international reputation, or profits made as a result of the synergies that come with multinational operations, are not taxed. Instead, taxes are calculated using the amount of profit the company would have made, but for these advantages. This results in tax savings of 50-90% for some companies. The tax scheme was said to avoid double taxation. However, Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition chief, explained that the system resulted in double non-taxation, as the excess profits were not taxed in any other country. Continue reading »

By: Sarah Wesley Wheaton* | Staff Writer

On October 28th, IBM announced its purchase of the Weather Company data assets.  This deal is reportedly valued at more than two billion dollars.  This purchase only included the Weather Company’s digital and data assets, including Weather Underground, weather.com, the WSI, and the company’s data driven business-to business arm.  What this purchase does not include is the company’s flagship network, which has recently been struggling with lost profits as there is a decline in year-to-year viewership of 7.6%.

IBM’s Watson computer, Yorktown Heights, NY

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By: Tyler Hood* | Staff Writer

Football is serious business at Texas A&M University, which recently expanded its stadium, Kyle Field, to a capacity of 102,512. This expansion made Kyle Field the largest in the SEC. Football at A&M is also big money; the expansion in capacity came at a cost of roughly $485 million. Students at A&M (as well as alumni) take football very seriously as well, and are known for their love of traditions. One of the oldest, and perhaps best known tradition is that of the Twelfth Man. The Twelfth Man tradition originates in 1922, when E. King Gill left the stands and suited up, ready to help the shorthanded Aggies should the need arise. Now, the entire student body is the Twelfth Man, standing by to aid the team whenever and however it may be needed. Kyle Field is the “Home of the 12th Man,” and Texas A&M holds a trademark on the phrase and as well as trademarks on a few variations. Regardless of the apparently common usage of “12th Man” in football, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Texas A&M owns the expression. The word mark “12TH MAN” was first obtained in 1989 and remains current.

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