A visitor to the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr’s home found a horseshoe hanging on the wall. In mock surprise he said to the man of science, “Surely it can’t be that you of all people believe a horseshoe can bring you luck?” “No," replied Bohr. “But I understand it brings you luck whether you believe in it or not.”
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DO NOT THROW OUT THAT OLD DICTIONARY
Do not throw out that old dictionary. Or, if you must, make sure that you have access to a place that keeps old books. The law is written in words. Often disputes arise over the meaning of words in contracts or statutes or constitutions. Recently, the United States...
Statutory Interpretation and Sexual Orientation
Statutory interpretation hardly is a sexy subject. But, competing views on how statutes should be interpreted are very much a current issue with respect to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual...
A New Parenthetical
Not much has changed in proper legal citation since I began law school other than the fact that the current edition of the Blue Book is much thicker and has larger pages than the relatively compact edition that I bought in 1980. Compare THE BLUEBOOK: A UNIFORM SYSTEM...
Gender X Buyers Must Check “Male” or “Female” on Form 4473 to Buy a Firearm from a Licensed Gun Dealer
To buy a firearm from a federally licensed dealer the buyer is required to provide evidence of identity so the dealer can establish that the buyer is the person shown on the ID. The buyer must also check a box on the Form 4473 identifying his or her sex. There are...
California’s Resale Royalties Act Struck Down Leaving Artists with No Right to Share in the Appreciated Value of Their Works
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that claims brought under the California Resale Royalties Act (“CRRA”), based on the resale of artwork after January 1, 1978, are expressly preempted by 17 U.S.C. § 301(a) of the U.S. Copyright...
The Supreme Court is Expected to Clarify What “Registration” Means Under the Copyright Act
A copyright infringement action cannot “be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright has been made in accordance with the [Copyright Act].” 17 U.S.C. Section 411(a). The Copyright Act does not provide guidance on how “registration of the...
The Use of Proper Disclaimers in Ads
We review many ads that contain very prominent headlines designed to catch the consumer’s attention and draw her into the ad to buy the advertised product. You might ask, “What good is an ad that does not contain a prominent headline, intended to attract attention...
Get Ready To Pay (and Remit) More State Sales Taxes
This morning the Supreme Court overruled over fifty years of precedent and held that a state can hold an out-of-state seller responsible for collecting sales taxes. See South Dakota v. Wayfair (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-494_j4el.pdf). In National...
The Wearing of the Green – or the Red – or the Blue – at the Polls
Yesterday morning the Supreme Court of the United States held that Minnesota’s statutory ban on voters’ wearing political apparel to the polls violates the First Amendment. See Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky...
A NEW RESTATEMENT
On May 22, 2018, the Membership of the American Law Institute gave their final approval to the Restatement of the Law, Liability Insurance (“RLLI”). The Reporters for the RLLI were Professor Tom Baker of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Professor Kyle D....