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After over a year of litigation, the United States Supreme Court recently upheld President Trump’s so-called “travel ban” as constitutional and statutorily permissible. See Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. ____ (2018). Criticized by many as invidious, imprudent, or unnecessary, Presidential Proclamation No. 9645 attempts to improve screening procedures related to national security for individuals from countries that may present “public safety threats.” 82 Fed. Reg. 45161 (2017) (the “Travel Ban”). To this end, the Travel Ban placed certain types of entry restrictions on the nationals of eight (8) countries: Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Somalia, and Yemen. Although the restrictions differ from country to country and do not apply to all individuals attempting to enter the United States from those countries, many still wish to know what the Travel Ban does and whether it will affect them.

The Travel Ban prohibits entry into the United States as an immigrant for nationals of the following countries: Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen. For those seeking to enter the United States as nonimmigrants, the Travel Ban prohibits the issuance of certain business and tourist visas from the following countries: Chad, Libya, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Yemen. Importantly, for nationals of North Korea and Syria, the Travel Ban prohibits entry into the United States regardless of whether the individual seeking entry is attempting to enter as an immigrant or a nonimmigrant. As for Venezuela, the Travel Ban’s entry restrictions only appear to apply to certain Venezuelan government officials.

However, the Travel Ban does contain exceptions. The Travel Ban does not prohibit entry of the following categories of individuals coming from the countries listed above: lawful permanent residents of the United States, foreign nationals who have been granted asylum by the United States, refugees who have already been admitted to the United States, or individuals who have been granted withholding of removal, advance parole, or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

Intellectual property has become a hot-button issue for many businesses. Intellectual property is usually associated with the tech industry, but it is actually a crucial tool for companies in many fields. The fact that intellectual property rights are so important makes them a lightning rod for litigation.

If you are involved in an intellectual copyright dispute, you are certainly not the first. There is a long history of complex and contentious disputes involving intellectual property, from Barbie dolls to Sir Isaac Newton. Here, we will examine ten of them.

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Americans don’t seem to agree about much these days, but I think most people would describe the year 2016 as worrisome and disheartening. Our country endured a divisive and rancorous presidential election. We lost notables such as Judge Anthony Scalia and astronaut John Glenn, pop culture icons Gene Wilder and Carrie Fisher, musicians Prince and David Bowie, and sports figures Muhammed Ali and Arnold Palmer. Good jobs were scarce, small businesses were struggling, healthcare costs were rising, and school debts were mounting. We were reminded daily by politicians and the media that our society as we know it has fallen under the shadow of a persistent threat of terrorism.

An additional perceived menace to our society that has been the impetus of recent public dialogue is cyberwarfare, and I am persistently disillusioned and annoyed when listening to reporters and pundits discuss “hacking” and “leaking” and what, if any, impact foreign actors may have had on the 2016 presidential election.

Prior to attending law school, my background was in technology, and I am someone who knows a bit about cyber defense. I received computer engineering certifications from Red Hat Software (RHCE), Microsoft (MCNE+I) and Novell (MCNE). As a student at Brown University, where I received my undergraduate degree in International Relations, I also spent considerable time studying Russia (when it was a union of socialist republics and not a federation). While enrolled in International Business at the University of Copenhagen, I was afforded the opportunity to travel through several Eastern European countries (including behind the Berlin Wall just before it fell) and experienced honest and enlightening discourse.

While previous generations may have observed or been subjected to domineering torment by others, the word “bully” today encompasses much more than a mental image of Biff from Back to the Future or John Bender from The Breakfast Club. Bullies no longer resemble their cinematic portrayals, and it is now much more difficult to withdraw from an environment in which bullying occurs. Current technology and our growing social media presence make the bullying dynamic much harder to contain and much harder to ignore. Today’s online environment is a place where bullying has instant, widespread, and permanent effects and where bullies can attack their victims 24-hours-a-day.

In an effort to address this growing problem, Tennessee has taken a zero-tolerance stance and has implemented various laws addressing cyberbullying. Tennessee law defines cyberbullying as “bullying undertaken through the use of electronic devices.” It includes cell phones, computers, email, text messaging, and web sites. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-4502). In general, the policy behind laws against teen bullying and cyberbullying is the same – to protect young people from the scarring effects of being targeted by their peers for cruel treatment. However, several features unique to electronic media make cyberbullying potentially more harmful:

• Uncontained. Once a rumor, insult, threat, or image is sent or posted, it is potentially viewable by anyone with access to the Internet.