Faculty News
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Prof. Kitrosser Quoted in The Washington Post on Whistleblower Anonymity
November 11, 2019Professor Kitrosser was quoted in a Washington Post story entitled, “Facebook and YouTube Block Spread of Supposed Whistleblower’s Name and Photo. Twitter Allows Both.” Kitrosser explains that the relevant whistleblower protection statute—the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act—does not bar private parties from naming the whistleblower. She added, however, that “[i]f a person’s life is in danger … there could be criminal ramifications,” although those ramifications would be subject to First Amendment considerations.
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Prof. McGeveran Comments in L.A. Times on Data Broker Privacy Bill
November 6, 2019Professor William McGeveran, an expert in data privacy, commented in a column by David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times about new legislative proposals to create a national registry of data brokers. “Having a list of data brokers is better than not having a list,” McGeveran said. “But it’s still far short of accountability.”
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Prof. Kitrosser Quoted by Associated Press on President Trump’s Pushback Against Subpoenas
November 5, 2019Professor Kitrosser is quoted in an Associated Press story entitled “Experts: White House Has Dubious Reasons to Ignore Subpoenas.” She explains that President Trump’s efforts to prevent White House officials from cooperating with the House impeachment probe could itself provide a basis for an article of impeachment on obstruction. She told the AP, “Not only can [obstruction] be [a basis for impeachment,] it absolutely should be. This is an effort to stymie Congress in one of its core roles.” She also reflected on the fact that the White House did not, in its recent subpoena refusals, explicitly claim executive privilege. She explained that the White House is “probably trying to have it both ways and trying to avoid the legal and political ramifications of claiming executive privilege while getting the advantage of it.”
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Prof. Meili Presents Research at Two Conferences in Peru
October 29, 2019Professor Stephen Meili presented his research on the constitutionalization of human rights law and its implications in Latin America at two recent conferences in Peru. The first was held in Cusco on October 25, sponsored by Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru and the second was held in Lima on October 28, sponsored by Universidad del Pacifico. At each of these events, Prof. Meili discussed his research into strategic litigation in Mexico on behalf of refugees from Central America and Venezuela that has utilized recently enacted constitutional human rights provisions, including the right to asylum. He also discussed the possible implications of these developments in Peru, which—like Mexicoh—has recently experienced a dramatic increase in asylum applications and whose national constitution contains many human rights provisions.
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Law360 Quotes Prof. Cotter on U.K. Supreme Court Patent Case
October 28, 2019An October 25, 2019 Law360 article titled “FRAND At UK’s Top Court: What You Need To Know,” discusses recent hearings before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in the joined cases Unwired Planet v. Huawei and Conversant v. Huawei and ZTE. In both cases, the plaintiff owns a global portfolio of standard-essential patents (SEPs) subject to a commitment to license them on “fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory” (FRAND) terms. The question presented is whether, in a case involving the alleged infringement of a small number of FRAND-committed U.K. SEPs, it is appropriate for the Patents Court of England and Wales to determine the terms of a global license to the plaintiff’s portfolio (as opposed to determining the terms of U.K. license only). The article quotes Professor Tom Cotter, who notes among other things that, while “[t]here are some efficiencies in having one court make that determination,” it might be “inappropriate for the court of one single country to make this decision for the entire world.” Cotter also recently spoke on these issues at a conference at Oxford University, and published an expert analysis on the subject earlier this month in Law360.
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Prof. Turoski Presents Research on the Patent Landscape for Medtech’s Hottest Technologies
October 23, 2019Prof. Turoski presented his research on patents in medical technology, specifically robots specially adapted for use in computer-aided surgery. The presentation titled “Patent Landscape for Medtech’s Hottest Technologies” was presented at Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) Minneapolis, which is the Midwest’s largest MedTech event with 5,000+ industry professionals attending.
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Prof. Cotter Delivers Keynote Address at Oxford Conference
October 21, 2019On October 18, 2019, Professor Tom Cotter delivered a keynote speech at a conference held at St. Cross College, Oxford, titled “OxFirst’s Fourth IP and Competition Forum: Globalisation and FRAND: Coming to Grips With the Interplay of IP & Competition Law.” Professor Cotter spoke on the topic “Should FRAND Licensing Rates Be Global?”
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Prof. Klass Interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio on Climate Change Damage Lawsuits
October 18, 2019Professor Alexandra Klass was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio News regarding climate change damage lawsuits.
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Binger Center for New Americans Executive Director Deepinder Mayell Publishes Joint Op-Ed on Refugees in MinnPost
October 16, 2019Deepiner Mayell, executive director of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, co-authored an op-ed in MinnPost about the global refugee crisis.
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Tax Notes Quotes Prof. Hickman On Debt-Equity Pre-Rule
October 11, 2019Prof. Hickman was quoted in a Tax Notes article, “Treasury Takes Interim Step on Road to Revising Debt-Equity Regs”, speculating about the significance of a “pre-rule” docketed by the Treasury Department with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) regarding the characterization of certain interests in corporations as debt or equity. The article quoted Prof. Hickman regarding Treasury’s past practice of using IRS Notices to signal and solicit public input regarding potential future regulations, and also OIRA review of IRS subregulatory guidance documents more generally.