Georgetown Law
Technology Review

A new procedural tool at the International Trade Commission could be a gamechanger for respondents arguing patent ineligibility as a defense to patent infringement claims. The new procedure, called the Interim Initial Determination (“Interim ID”) gives Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) the option to conduct proceedings—a sort of mini trial—on certain issues prior to the main […]

On October 14th, The Florida Supreme Court found that TIKD, an app that linked traffic-ticket defendants with lawyers to represent them, was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.  The company was enjoined from operating in Florida and has paused its services elsewhere. At issue in this case was the brave new world of the […]

President Biden is taking steps to address the global supply chain weaknesses made apparent by the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 24, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order announcing strategies to repair supply chain vulnerabilities in four industries, including semiconductor chip manufacturing. The Executive Order requires the Secretary of Commerce, along with the leaders of […]

In an interview with Georgetown Law Technology Review, Dharmesh Tarapore, founder and CEO of Aircraft Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) Technologies, discusses his tech start-up journey and the technology behind his flight collision avoidance system. Tarapore’s invention utilizes machine learning to increase flight safety for general aviation airplanes by detecting and alerting pilots to incoming aircrafts. […]

On February 10, 2021, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter presented the keynote address at the Future of Privacy Forum’s 11th-annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers event. In her address, Slaughter discussed some of her top privacy-related priorities for the Commission. Her early signaling of privacy priorities from Washington adds to the sentiment […]

The popular financial services app Robinhood ended 2020 on a high note. Armed with an influx of investor funding, Robinhood lifted its valuation to nearly $12 billion while simultaneously attracting millions of new and often young users to the platform. The company touts a mission to democratize finance for everyday people by providing financial literacy […]

As President Trump feuded with social media giants Twitter and Facebook throughout 2020, Section 230 also had a rather tumultuous year. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields online intermediaries from liability for user-generated content, was thrust into a surprisingly prominent place on the legislative agenda. In the waning weeks of his presidency, Trump […]

In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), in conjunction with attorneys general from 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, announced an antitrust suit against social media giant Facebook alleging illegal monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The FTC seeks a permanent injunction of anticompetitive conduct and possible divestiture of […]

On January 6th, WhatsApp notified users of updates to its terms and conditions which are mandatory “to continue using WhatsApp.” The first change is that WhatsApp will now temporarily store forwarded media on its servers in an encrypted format. Second, WhatsApp will store an undelivered message for only 30 days, then it will be deleted. […]

New SEC Leadership On January 18th, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his plan to nominate Gary Gensler, a professor of blockchain technology, digital currencies, and financial technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to chair the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The official nomination was sent to the Senate on February 3rd. If confirmed, […]