Illinois Business Law Journal

The Format Wars

I. The Phantom Menace for Consumers

High Definition Television (HDTV) was first demonstrated to the public in 1969 and made commercially available in the mid-1990s.[1] However, upon being made commercially available, HDTV created a problem for consumers who wished to record and watch movies. In 1998, more than 90% of households in the United States had a videocassette recorder (VCR).[2] At the time, most of those VCRs recorded in an analog format, rather than in a digital format.[3] Analog media formats have lower image and sound qualities than digital media formats.[4] While consumers would be able to watch videocassettes on their HDTVs, they would not be utilizing the high definition technology to its fullest. A digital media format needed to come into the marketplace that could cheaply and effectively record and play high definition programming. However, instead of one format establishing itself, two formats have fought to become the next established standard.  This article will examine how these formats have developed and progressed, the legal problems that have arisen out of the conflict between these two formats, and what this conflict might mean for consumers.

Following the LEEDer: What Attorneys Should Know About Green Building

Green building is gaining momentum as a construction trend with widespread benefits, from environmental efficiency and resource conservation to human health and lifestyle improvement.  Several government entities have reacted to the green building movement, creating national and local standards and monetary incentives for developers to create green buildings.  In representing developers and others associated with green building, attorneys should consider how to contractually plan for risks that may not otherwise arise in ordinary development projects.

Abandoned Software

Piracy, the copying and distribution of software without permission from the copyright holder, is a major concern for those involved in the IT industry.  Losses due to software piracy have been estimated at 33 billion dollars per year, [1] although other groups claim these estimates are too high. [2]  Most piracy consists of downloading software for free, instead of paying retail price.  However, there is a small subset of software piracy that falls into a grey area of the copyright law.  Older software works enjoy copyright protection.  But unlike a copy of Microsoft Windows or Halo 3, in some cases it is unclear who owns the copyright on the software.  Furthermore, a lot of old software, especially video games, is unavailable at retail.  And unlike books, music, or movies, old games are stored on easily damaged, decayable media, such as floppy disk.  Given the underlying goal of copyright to deliver works into the public domain after giving the author a period of protection, there is value in preserving "abandonware".  Unfortunately, the current law of copyright does not adequately balance the two goals of intellectual property in the United States.

Homeowners’ Associations & Their Limitations on Free Speech

I. Introduction

Free speech is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment, but is it possible to give up this right if you move into a neighborhood governed by a homeowners’ association? The New Jersey Supreme Court had to decide this issue when a group of residents subject to the rules of their homeowners’ association were restricted from posting signs on their lawns or the common areas of the community. [1] Although the ruling is limited to application in New Jersey, homeowners’ associations everywhere were watching the case closely to see whether it would have an impact on how their state dealt with such constitutional challenges to their rules and regulations. [2] This article will explore the outcome of the New Jersey case as well as its implications on homeowners’ associations elsewhere.

FMRI and DNA Gene Sequence Mapping Provide Promising Technologies with an Orwellian [1] Price Tag

I. Introduction

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) and DNA sequence mapping provide technologies that offer society unprecedented benefits, but at a cost that we are only beginning to understand.  [2]  FMRI, for example, enables researchers to map the brain's neurons as they process thoughts, sensations, memories and motor commands. [3] This provides neurologists with the ability to detect early onset of Alzheimer's disease and other ailments without invasive surgery.  [4]  It also can be used as a next generation lie detector in that it provides an almost infallible insight into a person's thought process that detects deception, raising obvious concerns about our civil liberties and right to privacy.  [5] 

DNA sequence screening, on the other hand, involves the study of genes and the notion that they are determinative of an individual's behavior, character, and future medical problems.  [6]  Diseases such as Crohn's disease, night blindness, Lupus, and emphysema  and their associated genes are already patented [7], making genes a highly lucrative business commodity. [8]  However, should there be property rights associated with genes?  In the wrong hands, these potentially altruistic technologies may create an Orwellian society where the government and/or large corporations may legally infringe on our traditional notions of civil liberties in the pursuit of capitalist ends.  [9]  Where should we draw the line?

SEC’s recent report on Executive Compensation Disclosure

INTRODUCTION

On this October, the Securities and Exchange Commission published observations from its review of the executive compensation disclosures from 350 public companies that were filed during the latest proxy season.[1] This report is very important for both companies and public because it is the first SEC’s review for how well companies were adapting to the significant revisions to the executive compensation disclosure rules that took effect last year.[2]

Google's Book Search Library Project Faces Copyright Challenges

I. Introduction

Google’s stated mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”  [1]  As part of that mission, the Google Book Search Library Project is scanning and organizing printed books from dozens of libraries. By digitizing these books and making them available online, the Google Book Project will potentially benefit academic research around the world by increasing accessibility to rare and remote volumes. Google plans to make its entire digital library searchable as part of its primary search engine, reaping profits from its current advertisement structure. However, the Project has drawn opposition from some publishers, librarians and academics for a variety of reasons, including threats to copyright, scan quality and search biases.

IPO of China Construction Bank

     The Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (“ICBC”) set the record for the amount of money raised among all IPOs ever made over the world. The IPO of ICBC was actually one of the steps the Chinese government had taken to privatize (or at least partially privatize) its four major commercial banks: ICBC, China Construction Bank (“CCB”), Bank of China (“BoC”) and Agriculture Bank of China. CCB and BoC already performed IPOs during the last two years and the IPO of Agricultural Bank of China (“ABC”) is scheduled at 2008. ICBC, established in 1984 when China began its capitalist turn, boasted $724 billion in deposits, 355,000 employees and 18,038 branches, more than three times as many as Bank of America, the USA's largest bank.” In this article, we focus on the listing choices of CCB, as it was the first of the four big banks to have listed itself on public stock exchanges.

A Novel Solution to an Ancient Problem: Could the Design Piracy Prohibition Act Offer Fashion Designs Complete Protection from Imitation?

Fashion is not simply a fad. It is here to stay. Clothing is not only a necessity, but a way to make a statement. The global fashion industry sells more than $750 billion of apparel annually.[1] Major fashion design firms, such as Gucci, Prada, Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Chanel, produce new apparel designs continually, but market their design output via collections introduced seasonally in a series of runway shows.[2] While it is true that trends are constantly in flux, there is always a specific trend each season which dominates the runway and retail stores. The fashion industry’s products are typically segmented into broad categories forming what has been described as a fashion pyramid, consisting of a designer category at the top with three different segmentations of products.[3] First is a very small trade in haute couture, or extremely expensive custom designed clothing entirely for women.[4] Directly below is a much larger business in designer ready-to-wear clothing for women and men.[5] This tier is further segmented into prestige collections and lower-priced bridge collections offered by many famous designers.[6] Another level down is “better” fashion, an even larger category that consists of moderately priced apparel and the basic commodity category.[7]

Sonic Boom or Bust: Franchise Relocation in the NBA

I.  Introduction

The emergence of today’s state-of-the-art basketball arena has National Basketball Association (“NBA”) team owners holding cities hostage. Team owners seek public funding for these stadiums, and if the city refuses to provide the funding, there are always smaller markets without professional franchises willing to pony up. [1] The most recent example involves the Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics have called Seattle home for forty years. [2] Their future in the Emerald City appears bleak as the current owner, Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, plans to relocate the team to Oklahoma City unless a deal to construct a new arena is agreed upon. [3] The City of Seattle, reluctant to provide funding for a new arena, has sought to keep Bennett from relocating. [4]

Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law: a Pretext for Local Protection or an Aspiration to Comply with the International Norm?

Chinese anti-monopoly law (“AML”) was enacted on August 30, 2007, which is the first comprehensive competition law in China’s history. [1] The Chinese AML was drafted within the context of three principal competition concerns: regional monopolies (local protection); sectoral monopolies by Chinese firms, including state-owned enterprises (administrative monopoly); and a perception of alleged abuses of dominant positions by some multinationals.[2] Even though the EU and US commended the final enactment of the AML, there is still a concern among foreign enterprise that the AML is aimed at foreign investors and really acts a pretext for the protection of local economy and state-owned enterprise.

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Financing Space Assets and Private Business Entities - Part II

III. Debtor’s Rights and Related Rights
A. Background 
     Since space assets require huge amount of money, the space industry takes a great effort to get finance for manufacturing and maintaining them. Large scale entities use their own surplus and other smaller ones tend to form a consortium to get finance.[1]  If they don’t get enough finance, they will cooperate with private-sector investors like investment banks but private-sector investors want to have a security agreement on the specific space asset or the future cash-flow from operating the asset or equipment to make sure to collect money.[2]  Most satellite manufacturers such as Boeing Satellite Systems, Motorola, and Mitsubishi Electronic actively participate in the project financing with major investment and commercial banks such as Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc, UBS Investment Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman, Sachs & Co.[3] 
     However, it is hard to determine which jurisdiction or law is applied to the security agreement because each State has a different security law and space assets are in the space moving around over the world.[4]  It would be a big hurdle for business entities to get finance easily; private-sector financiers would not want to support financing or charge higher security interest.[5] 
     The Cape Town Convention tries to solve this problem through the Protocol. The main purpose of the Protocol is to make an internationally unified treaty on security agreements and the attached protocol to reflect the unique characteristic of each space asset.[6]  They would solve the problems because of the difference of security laws of each State. The unified policy would make financing easier for space business entities so that it would promote the space commerce and commercialization of space assets ultimately.[7]   

Have Brokers been Blowing the Housing Bubble?: Improper Ties between Brokers and Appraisers

I. Introduction

     Amidst all the recent talk of a housing bubble,[1] allegations have been leveled that mortgage providers have been encouraging the overvaluation of homes. The charge is that lenders have coerced appraisers to overprice properties in order to justify larger loans and correspondently larger profits. Such sharp practices put borrowers, and the market as a whole, in obvious danger. This article will explore a recent example of such practices and the implications which they could have on the individual consumers and the economy as a whole.

The Art of Registering a Business: Picking the Right Method of Registration for Your New Business

I. Introduction

Starting a new business can be a scary venture for a new entrepreneur. Beyond picking a location, hiring personnel and establishing a clientele base, deciding how to register the business can be an important decision with lasting implications. There are five main categories under which a new business owner can register his or her new business: sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company or corporation. This article discusses the pros and cons of registering under each of the five categories and the legal implications of each option.

Instant Messages: An E-Discovery Nightmare?

I.  Introduction

          Instant Messages (IMs) have become an increasingly popular method of communication, both in the personal and business world. [1] They have the benefit of being an efficient, rapid and oftentimes free means of communication. [2] IMs are often candid and free-form, and when users close their IM dialogue box when the conversation ends, the chat session generally disappears and is not recorded. [3]  However, with the advent of the e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), many electronically stored documents have become subject to discovery in litigation. [4] While Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and e-mails are accepted as discoverable documents for litigation purposes, it is unclear whether IMs can and should be requested during the discovery process. [5] This article will explore issues related to the discoverability of instant messages and will ultimately suggest that businesses employ techniques to closely monitor employee use of instant messages to prevent a “smoking gun” IM from costing employers millions of dollars in court.