"Improved Humans: Legal and Political Aspects of the New Genetics," presented by Maxwell J. Mehlman, the Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law and Director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University. The lecture will focus on the legal, ethical and political challenges of transhumanism. Wednesday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., Armstrong Hall, Great Hall, with reception following in the Steptoe & Johnson Rotunda. For more information, please visit http://www.asu.edu/csrc or call (480) 727-6736.
"Selecting and Defending Trademarks," presented by David Rogers, Esq., Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey L.L.P., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 12:10 p.m., Armstrong Hall, Room 114. Sponsored by LASSA. For more information, contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail Andrew.Askland@asu.edu .
Pacing Law and Ethics with Science and Technology, presented by the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at ASU and the Center, Thursday & Friday, Dec. 4 & 5, ASU SkySong, 1475 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. For more information, contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail Andrew.Askland@asu.edu .
"The Role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Licensing Nuclear Power," presented by Prof. Ken Mossman, ASU Life Sciences, Monday, Feb. 2, 12:10 p.m., Armstrong Hall, Room 114, Sponsored by LASSA. For more information, contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail Andrew.Askland@asu.edu .
"DNA Database Woes and the Birthday Problem," presented by Prof. David Kaye, ASU Law, Tuesday, February 17, 12:10 p.m., Armstrong Hall, Room 114, Sponsored by LASSA. For more information, contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail Andrew.Askland@asu.edu .
Nanotechnology Law, Regulation and Policy Conference II, hosted by the Food and Drug Law Institute and co-sponsored by the Center, Wednesday & Thursday, Feb. 18 & 19, L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington, DC. For more information, contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail Andrew.Askland@asu.edu .
"Health Care Entrepreneurism - Legal Challenges," Dr. John Shufeldt, CEO, HealthCare Urgent Care, Tuesday, March 3, 12:10 p.m., Armstrong Hall, Room 114, Sponsored by LASSA. For more information, contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail Andrew.Askland@asu.edu .
Unchallengeable Orthodoxies Conference, Friday, March 20. Special public program on academic free speech, Thursday, March 19, 7 p.m., Armstrong Hall. For more information please contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail him at Andrew.Askland@asu.edu.
"Forensic Science in the 21st Century: The National Academy of Sciences Report and Beyond," featuring a keynote address by Chief Judge Emeritus Harry T. Edwards, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Friday & Saturday, Apr. 3 & 4, Armstrong Hall. This international conference will bring together leading scholars of forensic science, criminalistics, and scientific evidence to discuss the future of forensic science and its relationship to the legal system in light of the highly anticipated report of the National Academy of Sciences, "Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Science Community." For more information please contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail him at Andrew.Askland@asu.edu.
Legal and Ethical Implications of New Scientific Findings on Drugs and Alcohol, with topics that include genetic predisposition to alcoholism and how brain scanning technology can help manage symptoms, Friday, Apr. 10, Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse, 401 W. Washington St., Phoenix, Ariz. For more information please contact Andrew (Sandy) Askland at (480) 965-2465 or e-mail him at Andrew.Askland@asu.edu .
In The News
Samsung Is Hit With Patent Suits The New York Times Nov. 17, 2008 Spansion, a struggling Silicon Valley maker of flash memory chips, filed a pair of broad patent infringement suits on Monday against Samsung of South Korea, the world’s largest producer of the chips. In a complaint to the International Trade Commission in Washington, Spansion is seeking to bar the import into the United States of more than 100 million music players, cellphones, cameras and light laptop computers that use Samsung’s flash memory chips. The chips store data in a wide range of products.
A New Voice in Online Privacy The Washington Post Nov. 17, 2008 A group of privacy scholars, lawyers and corporate officials are launching an advocacy group today designed to help shape standards around how companies collect, store and use consumer data for business and advertising. The group, the Future of Privacy Forum, will be led by Jules Polonetsky, who until this month was in charge of AOL's privacy policy, and Chris Wolf, a privacy lawyer for law firm Proskauer Rose. They say the organization, which is sponsored by AT&T, aims to develop ways to give consumers more control over how personal information is used for behavioral-targeted advertising.
Online Age Verification for Children Brings Privacy Worries The New York Times Nov. 15, 2008 WHEN it comes to protecting children on the Internet and keeping them safe from predators, law enforcement officials have vocally advocated one approach in particular. They want popular sites, like the social network MySpace, to confirm the identities and ages of minors and then allow the young Web surfers to talk only with other children, or with adults approved by parents. But performing so-called age verification for children is fraught with challenges. The kinds of publicly available data that Web companies use to confirm the identities of adults, like their credit card or Social Security numbers, are either not available for minors or are restricted by federal privacy laws.
FDA opens 1st office in China today Austin American Statesman Nov. 19, 2008 U.S. officials are launching a new strategy to improve the safety of the vast range of foods and other products imported from China and other countries to the United States. The FDA is opening its first office outside the United States today in Beijing.
