The Roundtable
Welcome to the Roundtable, a forum for incisive commentary and analysis
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.
 Image Source: “The Importance of Intellectual Property (and How to Protect It).” Equinox Law Group, September 7, 2021. https://equinoxbusinesslaw.com/blog/the-importance-of-intellectual-property-and-how-to-protect-it/. By Rachel Gu
Rachel Gu is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Bioengineering. Generation Z’s most loved cinematic characters of the Marvel universe have recently become the main characters of one of The Walt Disney Company’s largest asset battles to date. Through distinguished Intellectual Property lawyer Marc Toberoff, five of the original Marvel Comics creators served Marvel Entertainment–owned by Disney–with notices of copyright termination under section 304(c) of the Copyright Act. These creators include comic illustrators Steve Ditko and Don Heck, heirs of writers Don Rico and Gene Colan, and comic writer and artist Lawrence D. Lieber–who is the younger brother of the deceased chief writer and editor of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee. Toberoff’s clients seek to reclaim copyright ownership through copyright termination for their characters Doctor Strange, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, Falcon, Blade, and the Wizard, all of which provide large sources of revenue for Disney through films, television shows, and merchandise. Consequently, Marvel filed lawsuits in return to invalidate the termination notices. If Toberoff is successful, Marvel would lose full copyright ownership as soon as June 2023. [1]
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 By Rachel Gu Rachel Gu is a sophomore in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania studying Bioengineering. On March 11th, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Since then, the number of confirmed cases has risen tenfold from 118,000 cases to over 1.8 million cases worldwide [1]. Of these, the U.S. houses over half a million cases with over 20,000 deaths and counting [2]. However, these numbers only showcase the beginning. Experts predict deaths will increase over threefold to about 70,000 by August when the projected infection curve finally begins to flatten [3]. Not to mention, experts predict a second wave of mass infection as society gradually returns to normalcy [4]. As a result, vaccine development is paramount in combating this global pandemic. However, due to the pressure of rising fatalities and plummeting economies, typical rules and regulations are being bypassed by researchers and regulators. In this race to develop vaccines, safety, liability and patent contention must be considered.
 By Rachel Gu
Rachel Gu is a sophomore in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania studying Bioengineering. On October 27, 1970, the Controlled Substances Act was passed, establishing four levels of drug severity. Marijuana was classified as one of the most dangerous substances and carried the highest penalties in the U.S. [1]. Today, 33 states have legalized medical marijuana, with 10 states and Washington D.C. having also legalized recreational marijuana use. As a result, the cannabis industry is rapidly expanding, with companies fighting to establish a dominant foot in the nascent field. When attempting to pioneer a new industry, companies must effectively protect their branding, marketing methods, and new products. However, due to marijuana’s illegal status on the federal level, intellectual property law and trademarking has become slightly more complicated.  By Rachel Gu
Rachel Gu is a sophomore in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania studying Bioengineering. As of 2019, about four out of every five people in the U.S. have a registered social media account [1]. Each user’s actions online, such as a “like” or “share” of posts on their feed, are collected as data points. This network of data is then used to create a comprehensive user profile that provides Facebook and other partnered companies useful information. This then allows them to tailor posts and ads to each individual user. In fact, more companies use this “data mining” technique than one might expect. Their intention, to optimize user engagement, has provoked debates regarding privacy agreements between companies and their users. |
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