MJIL Blog

Zenius Kang Under U.S. law, the long-established criterion of copyrightability is one of specificity.[1] As an important aspect of literary works, characters are copyrightable, given that they are depicted with sufficient distinctiveness and originality by the author.[2] It is therefore possible that within the same work, some well-developed characters are copyrightable, whereas others, having no […]

Aziz Woodward On January 17, 2026, the United Nations’ “High Seas Treaty” went into force after gaining the required sixty ratifications by national governments.[1] The treaty, also called the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, is a multilateral convention which sets out to help the UN meet its goals of protecting ocean biodiversity as articulated

John Patterson The recent introduction of the right for athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) into collegiate sports has officially breached international borders. Under the 2025 House settlement, collegiate athletes in the United States can now receive compensation for their NIL and institutions may partake in sharing up to $20.5 million

William Priess The current negotiations between Iran and the U.S. highlight the near impossibility of open and honest negotiation with an unreliable state. Currently, the Trump administration is in talks with the Iranian government to end their nuclear weapons program (“Program”), or failing that, is expected to launch a strike to further destroy the Iranian

Ben Forsberg Across the United States, headlines have emerged about retirees losing savings to crypto investment scams[1] and CEOs tricked into wiring company funds to offshore wallets.[2] Most of the attention has focused on financial victims, but far less attention has been paid to the other side of the scam networks—the trafficked workers who are

Paige Murphy As immigration raids have been ravaging our nation, alarm bells are going off regarding the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[1] Is the risk of bringing thousands of international athletes and global observers into a hotbed of curated immigration crisis worth the reward of the ego boost and apparent reputational benefit for the

Alana McBane Fundamental to an American’s sense of liberties is the well-guarded right to the freedom of speech, as enshrined by the First Amendment. The impulse to protect this right to almost its absolute emanates from this nation’s founding moments in which the American Revolution was a direct result of an oppressive regime that hindered

David Eide On November 17, Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, was sentenced to death in absentia by the Bangladeshi International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for crimes against humanity stemming from her government’s lethal crackdown on student protestors during the July 2024 Revolution.[1] This sentence is particularly notable because the ICT had initially been

Jordan Visina The Olympic Games have long been portrayed as a sanctuary from global politics where international cooperation briefly eclipses geopolitical conflict. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently stated that the Olympics “are an excellent moment to symbolize peace and respect for international law and international cooperation.”[1] Yet, history suggests otherwise. From Cold War boycotts

Thomas Plunkett The Bolivarian Republic has always had the ire of Washington. Amidst renewed saber-rattling—extrajudicial drone strikes on “narcos,”[1] amphibious landing drills in Puerto Rico,[2] and carrier group deployments in the Caribbean[3]—Washington’s jus ad bellum: electoral illegitimacy and narco-corruption,[4] are symptoms. The deeper issue is alignment. Venezuela exited the American sphere-of-influence twenty-six years ago and