The science and technology guidebook for lawyers

Legal professionals, who work in areas where law, science, and technology converge, don't need a PhD to effectively represent their clients, but they do need a grounding in how science and technology are integrally related in today's society. Understanding how science works, what constitutes a valid science and its limitations, enables a lawyer to assess how a scientific discovery or technological innovation affects a client's interests. This book provides an easily understandable explanation of particular sciences and technologies by analyzing specific cases.

The book begins with a survey of the question "What is science?" through two different lenses--the scientist and the legal practitioner. Examples are drawn from forensic science to illustrate the importance of practicing good science, followed by a short treatise on the philosophy of science. Next, the text focuses on the important role that definition and interpretation play in framing the legal issues dependent on science and technology. Subsequent chapters cover:

Forensics Estimating (statistics, distributions, variation, etc.) Science and technology policy (focusing on genetic engineering) Federal evidentiary standards Fourth Amendment and communications technology Forms of technology protection (Intellectual property, copyright, software technology, trademark and the internet) Patents and transformative technology Issues in biotechnology Economic and societal impacts when law, science, and technology converge

In order to effectively represent a client's interests competently where law, science, and technology come together, a lawyer must be qualified to analyze techno-scientific information as if it were within his or her sphere of knowledge. This text lays the basis for achieving this important objective.

• Preface p. xiii
• Introduction p. xv
• Chapter 1 Science in the Practice of Law p. 1
• ScienceùA Practical Illustration of Doubt p. 3
• Generation One Forensic Evidence p. 3
• Generation Two Forensic Evidence p. 12
• A System of DNA Collection and Analysis p. 15
• Chapter 2 Language of Law and Science p. 31
• Through the Lens of Science p. 31
• A View of Reality, Truth, and Facts p. 40
• Scientist: Inherent Limitations p. 43
• Social Reality of Science p. 45
• A Paradigm for Partitioning a Socially Constructed World p. 47
• Dichotomous Ontologies: "Creation Science" versus "Evolution Science" p. 52
• Scientific MethodùA Deeper Look p. 60
• Elements of the Scientific Method p. 66
• Discourse in Science p. 75
• Reading Statutes, Decisions p. 79
• Identifying the Claims in Dispute p. 80
• Chapter 3 Art and Science of Estimating p. 83
• A Criteria for Logical Connectivity p. 84
• Comparing How We Reason in Science and Law p. 86
• Statistics p. 87
• Distributions p. 87
• The Normal Distribution p. 89
• Central Tendency and Variation p. 90
• The Standard Normal Distribution p. 90
• Other Types of Distributions p. 91
• Hypothesis Testing p. 91
• Procedure for Statistical Hypothesis Tests p. 91
• Three Important Statistical Concepts p. 93
• Type 1 and Type 2 Errors p. 95
• Z Test of Significance p. 95
• Basic Design Issues p. 96
• Bayes's Theory and Conditional Probability p. 97
• Cases Illustrating the Use of Statistics p. 98
• Chapter 4 Science and Technology Policy p. 109
• The Emergence of a National Policy p. 109
• The Human Genome, Research, and Policy p. 116
• The National Science Foundation p. 120
• The National Academy of Science p. 121
• Chapter 5 Federal Evidentiary Standards p. 127
• Chapter 6 How Technology Manifests in Law p. 139
• Fourth Amendment and Communications Technology p. 144
• Chapter 7 Forms of Technology Protection p. 159
• Intellectual Property: Legal Object p. 159
• A Theory of Copyright p. 163
• The Technology of Software p. 172
• Programming p. 173
• Copyright and Software p. 175
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act p. 189
• Trademark and the Internet p. 199
• Chapter 8 Patents and Transformative Technology p. 207
• Discovery and Invention Distinguished p. 211
• Limits on Patentability p. 212
• Illustrative Claims p. 220
• The Interpretation of Claims p. 224
• A Short History of Computers p. 239
• Mathematics in the Software p. 255
• Turning the Corner p. 256
• Business Method Patents p. 259
• Chapter 9 Issues in Biotechnology p. 271
• A Bioengineering Primer p. 271
• The Language of Bioengineering p. 274
• Life FormsùEnds in Themselves p. 286
• Genetically Modified Plants p. 293
• Transgenic Nonhuman Mammals p. 304
• DNA Sequence Identity p. 308
• Cytological Patents p. 313
• Patents Based on Correlations and Causation p. 313
• One Possible Analysis of Prometheus p. 315
• Patenting of Gene Sequences p. 318
• Biological Assets and Other Ownership Issues p. 336
• Gene Patents and Licensing Practices p. 349
• Ownership Regarding in Vitro Fertilization p. 350
• Chapter 10 Not Just a Matter of Money p. 359
• One Possible Future p. 368
• Plausible Technology Trajectory p. 370
• Application Scenarios p. 372
• Regulatory Considerations p. 376
• Ownership of Intellectual Property p. 380
• Conclusion p. 383
• Index p. 385