Florida attorney David Shestokas tweeted earlier today on the issue of whether the patent law amendment to a “first to file” system favors large corporations over small businesses. What do you think?
Monthly Archives: March 2013
Supremes Reach Only Sane Conclusion in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Court holding other than it did would have made a mockery of the notion of copyright and rightfully encouraged more to question many of the more extreme protections copyright owners seek under federal law. The notion of copyfraud would have had an even more potent resonance.
The Death of the Mens Rea Requirement Via “Public Welfare” Offenses
Case in Point: Florida v. Adkins. In 2012, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state’s drug law, which does not require the prosecution to establish criminal intent, is constitutional. What other result could be expected when “possession” and drug offenses exist? Crimes not requiring an actual or intended harm to another person for their commission only require a certain criminal intent or mens rea as a fig leaf. The mens rea for those crimes is hollowed out completely by their very nature; there is no tangible harm required. It necessarily follows that states such as Florida will then attempt to eliminate a mens rea requirement altogether and make the crimes purely strict liability.
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada Encyclopedia Set Completed in 2013
We hear frequently that print publications are fading which makes what Simon Chester wrote about recently an even more astounding development. Considering that it is 2013 and digital content, mobile applications, cloud-based computing, and “solutions” are all the legal publishing rage, so to speak, Halsbury’s Laws of Canada has just recently completed the arduous and daring task of producing the final print volume in its “new” (Halsbury’s/Lexis began creating the set in 2006) 70+ volume encyclopedia set covering Canadian federal and provincial law.
Kudos. The traditional legal encyclopedia treatise (whether in print or digital format) lives on for another day.
