Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts Publishes Summer 2012 Issue

The Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts recently announced

The Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts (LTA Journal) has published its first issue of the 2012-13 school year. The LTA Journal publishes concise legal analysis aimed at practicing attorneys on a quarterly basis. This quarter's edition includes four articles by student members of the LTA Journal.

This issue's first article is "Finding Safe Harbor: Navigating Washington's New Unfair Competition Law," written by Associate Editor-in-Chief of Operations Daniel Shickich. The article explores the legislative history and operation of Substitute House Bill 1495, which was passed in 2011 by the Washington State Legislature. The law creates a new cause of action that allows private plaintiffs or the state attorney general to seek injunctive relief and damages against manufacturers that use stolen IT in their business operations.

Associate Editor-in-Chief of Production Bryan Russell contributed "Facebook Firings and Twitter Terminations: The National Labor Relations Act as a Limit on Retaliatory Discharge." The article explains the approach used by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to evaluate retaliatory discharge claims where the employee is terminated for social media statements or activities.

2012-13 Editor-in-Chief Kerra Melvin wrote the third article, "Technology, Travel Companies & Taxation: Should Expedia Be Required to Collect and Remit State Occupancy Taxes on Profits from Facilitating Hotel Room Rentals?" The article analyzes the circumstances under which Online Travel Companies (OTCs) such as Expedia and Hotels.com are required to collect and remit local hotel occupancy taxes on profit margins from room rentals facilitated through their websites. The article also discusses litigation alternatives for OTCs and local governments.

Class of 2012 LTA Journal member Luke Rona wrote the final article. His article, "Who Are You? Difficulties in Obtaining Trademark Protection for Domain Names," explores the difficulty companies face when attempting to acquire trademark protection for domain names that include a top-level domain ("TLD"), such as ".com." The article provides an overview of trademark distinctiveness and standards of review and synthesizes the factors a court might consider when categorizing a domain name as generic or descriptive.