The Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts (LTA Journal) has published its Fall 2014 Issue. The LTA Journal publishes concise legal analysis aimed at practicing attorneys on a quarterly basis.

The issue’s first article, by Managing Submissions Editor Rachael Wallace, is “Framing the Issue: Avoiding a Substantial Similarity Finding in Reproduced Visual Art.” The article discusses copyright infringement in reproduced visual art, explains how attorneys have avoided substantial similarity findings, and provides attorneys with guidance on avoiding a substantial similarity finding in their clients’ works, focusing specifically on photographs.

Articles Editor Stephen Anson wrote the second article, “Hologram Images and the Entertainment Industry: New Legal Territory?” The article discusses the three main intellectual property issues surrounding the holographic reproduction of a dead artist’s likeness: copyright, trademark, and the right of publicity. The article recommends the steps that a living artist’s or deceased artist’s estate can take to plan for the most robust protection.

Former Articles Editor Megan Haslach contributed the third article, “Consignment Catastrophes: Lessons from New York’s Art Gallery Fraud.” The article explores issues surrounding art consignment statutes and argues that New York’s amended consignment statute provides a model that all states should implement in order to provide a fairer balance in the relationship between artists and art dealers.

The issue’s fourth article was written by Brendon Beheshti and is titled “Getting Beyond Abstract Confusion: How the United Kingdom’s Jurisprudence Can Aid in Developing an Analytic Framework for Patent-Eligibility in Light of Alice v. CLS Bank.” The Article advocates consideration of the United Kingdom’s jurisprudence as persuasive authority for implementation of a new framework for analysis of subject matter eligibility of computer-implemented inventions in light of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International.

See the full issue here.

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By Naazaneen Hodjat

In recent years, law enforcement agencies have been under significant pressure to increase transparency after a host of events have led local communities to lose faith in such agencies’ integrity. Concerns have escalated in recent months, particularly after a white police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, a black, unarmed 18-year old man on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri. The circumstances of the shooting are in hot dispute, as witness reports differ as to whether Brown was surrendering before the fatal shots. No video surveillance of the incident is available. In hope of rebuilding its credibility after much criticism from the local community, the Ferguson police department has since added body cameras for its officers. Departments throughout the country are following closely behind.

Police chiefs who have implemented the use of body cameras suggest that there are several benefits and believe that both officers and citizens behave better while being recorded. The Department of Justice recently released a policy report on this issue, stating that “body-worn cameras help police departments ensure events are also captured from an officer’s perspective.” Civil rights advocates maintain that such cameras would prevent police officers from abusing their authority, while law enforcement groups believe that cameras would deter people from falsely accusing officers of abuse. Furthermore, the Police Foundation, an organization committed to law enforcement research, recently completed a study that found that body cameras dramatically lowered complaints of police abuse. The results suggested more than a 50% reduction in the total number of use-of-force incidents, as well as a significant reduction in citizen complaints against police officers. Continue reading →

By Michael Huggins

Metadata provides a record of a user’s online activity, which includes browsing history, map searches, email activity, and even some account passwords. The NSA can use this information to build a detailed picture of an individual’s life. Opponents of the NSA’s surveillance programs argue that metadata collection programs violate an individual’s constitutional rights. However, some argue that metadata can benefit society and fight human rights violations.

Witness, a human rights group that trains citizens around the world to use video to expose human rights abuse, argues that collecting and preserving metadata can help verify those videos. Citizens and activists in conflict zones document everything on their phones. In Syria, for example, human rights activists have produced over 500,000 videos. Unfortunately, Witness cannot verify those videos without proper metadata, and as a result, the organization cannot use the videos to assist in the prosecution of human rights violations.

Witness is turning to mobile app developers to alleviate the verification problem. Witness currently supports a mobile app in collaboration with the Guardian Project called InformaCam. InformaCam uses a smartphone’s built-in sensors (e.g., wi-fi, Bluetooth, and cell tower information) to create a snapshot of the environment in which an image or video is captured. The app validates the date, time, and location of the image or video. Digital signatures and encryption prevent tampering by others. The app has an opt-in “eyewitness” or “proof” mode that users can select before creating the images or video. After a user creates an image or video, the “eyewitness” mode preserves the metadata, which provides a way to check the file for integrity. Continue reading →