The Astounding Growth of "Big Tech" and the Lack of Enforcement of the Intellectual Property, Antitrust, and Contract Laws

Publication Title

Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

Over the last several years, the big technology companies ("Big Tech") have been expanding like crazy. They have been engaged in purchasing smaller companies that have technologies that will add to their power and help to monopolize the markets in which they already have power. They each have over $500 million in market capitalization, while, for example, previous corporate giants such as General Motors have only one-tenth as much. The Big Tech companies constantly rewrite their "Terms of Service," and are collecting and selling or sharing the data that they collect with other companies. At the same time, the federal courts have been incredibly lax in enforcing the laws against the Big Tech companies.

Why haven't the courts enforced copyright, trademark, or antitrust actions against "Big Tech?" Why haven't the courts applied the doctrines of unconscionability or adhesion contracts against "Big Tech?" Why are the "Big Tech" companies fighting to not have the "right to be forgotten" applied outside of the European Union?

This article looks at the growth of "Big Tech," the changes in antitrust enforcement and contract law enforcement, and the growing laxity of the courts to find that "Big Tech" is in violation of the trademark and copyright laws, and sets forth some proposals to end the problem of "Big Tech."

Comments

External Links

Westlaw

HeinOnline

Recommended Citation

Michael B. Landau, The Astounding Growth of "Big Tech" and the Lack of Enforcement of the Intellectual Property, Antitrust, and Contract Laws, 30 Alb. L. J. Sci. & Tech., no. 3, 2020, at 1.

Volume

30

Issue

3

First Page

1

Last Page

61

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS