A growing dispute in the digital economy concerns whether companies may restrict the large-scale collection of publicly available online data. As professional networking and business activity increasingly take place on online platforms, firms have begun using automated tools to gather and analyze user-generated information, raising questions about who controls access to and use of that data once it is posted in the public domain.

Many streaming services offer the option to buy movies or episodes of a television series, but that doesn’t mean that the purchaser now owns the movie or episode forever. Instead, what is being offered is a license, or permission, to view the movie or the episode, which can end if the streaming service itself loses the license to offer the movie to consumers. Is there a way for consumers to keep their access to movies they paid for despite whatever happens to the streaming service’s license to the movie or episode?

The alcohol industry has experienced ebbs and flows in recent years due to shifting consumer desires, tariff trouble, and more non-alcoholic beverage competitors. Despite these challenges, Buffalo Trace Distillery located in Frankfort, Kentucky remains a stronghold amid a global decline in alcohol sales. The distillery is one of the oldest and most well-known in the United States. Famous for its high-end bourbon, the distillery has been around for over 200 years and has grown along with our nation: overcoming prohibition, war, and in recent years, historic flooding. Its offerings include the flagship Buffalo Trace Bourbon, and specialty brands such as Blanton's Single Barrel, Eagle Rare, W.L. Weller, E.H. Taylor, Jr., and the highly sought after Pappy Van Winkle.

Dupe culture has challenged brands to grapple with how they can protect their designs. In 2013, brands began marketing their products to consumers on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram. Fast-fashion retailers noticed the gap between consumers who desired to purchase trending products but could not afford them and began replicating popular designs and selling them for cheaper prices.  

Generative AI has brought a number of gifts and burdens to the world, particularly in the field of intellectual property law. AI has challenged norms about what can be patented, who (or what) can create artwork, what rights of publicity celebrities have to defend themselves regarding AI imitations of their likeness, and where those rights and limits begin and end.

Dupe companies are increasingly copying luxury brands’ advertising to sell duplicate products, raising questions about intellectual property and fair competition. As consumer interest in high-end fashion skyrockets, driven by claims such as Birkin bags outperforming gold as an investment, luxury brands are seeing record-breaking sales. These companies spend millions on tailored advertising campaigns. In contrast, dupe companies, which sell inexpensive copies of luxury goods, cut costs by copying the advertising that luxury brands invested significant time and money to develop.

The eruption of Artificial Intelligence technologies has created new problems for lawmakers. One of the most controversial functions of AI is the way the technologies train themselves. Currently, AI training processes hundreds of millions of datapoints publicly available on the internet. These include sites likes Wikipedia and Project Gutemberg, as well as articles, blogs, forums, and images. One consequence is that the technology may avail itself to copyrighted material during training. Thus, ownership of the new content may be called into question.

Today, before you all, and God herself, I confess, I am not a faithful reader of the terms and conditions of service. And I admit, I’ve agreed to terms and conditions without reading the extensive legal document. But who does?! Yet, every now and then, out of curiosity, guilt, and lawyerly duty, I’ll read the lengthy, smallest-type document.

Games Workshop (GW), a UK based company, is the author and owner of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop miniature game, which is also played significantly in the United States. Each set of models, or “army unit,” comes unassembled, requiring the player to assemble and paint the models before playing. The hobby involves substantial creativity from fans; players paint the armies different colors, often use hobby materials to alter the appearance of models, or mix and match different modeling kits. Both the creative element and the cost of the hobby have created a market for selling alternative 3-D prints on third-party websites like ebay or etsy.

“I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that [AI] is an insult to life itself.” —Hayao Miyazaki

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation company established in 1985 by artist Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli crafted a distinguishable artistic style of animation with international appeal. Today, the studio is worth $245 million and maintains strict licensing and film distribution rights throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

With the emergence of generative AI in entertainment media, the right of publicity in relation to actors’ likeness is becoming increasingly prevalent. Modifying voices using generative AI (“genAI”) has become a serious concern amongst voice actors, and it is important to examine whether voices are a part of identity protected by public use law.

The high cost of medicine affords wealthier people a better opportunity for health than others. The recent “trend” of using Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications for weight loss highlighted this disparity. To prevent increasing costs, should pharmacies and physicians be allowed to compound ingredients of patented drugs owned by pharmaceutical companies even when there is no drug shortage?