Classes are ending, and finals are about to
begin. In keeping with this transitional period, this column is a
collection of small informational items, all of which concern this
special time of the year.
The law library has a large collection of
final exams, which are conveniently kept in the third floor copy room.
Electronic copies of older exams are available through the online
catalog. You may search by using either the faculty member’s name or
the course name. If an exam is listed, you will be prompted to input
your name and the bar code number from your library card. Please
remember that not all exams are available: some faculty members choose
not to make exams publicly available.
The law library will have extended hours beginning
on Sunday, April 24. The library will be open from 7:30 A.M. until
midnight every day until Wednesday, May 11, when the library will close
at 6:00 P.M.
Stress can adversely affect many students at this
time. Unfortunately, when students go into “exam mode,” they can
actually increase the detrimental effects of stress. Sleep, exercise,
and proper diet–three items that many students abandon–can all reduce
the level of stress. Don’t forget to maintain healthy life habits
when preparing for exams.
Please remember that others students are also
preparing for finals. Please refrain from using cell phones in the
library except in the designated areas. The third floor of the library
is reserved for silent studying. If you wish to study with others,
please use a study room.
All students are experiencing increased stress
levels at this time of the year. You are not the only one. Please
remember to be mindful of other students, and follow library rules.
Tension resulting from loud talking and cellphone use can lead to
arguments.
Although construction noise seems to be pervasive,
it will not be perpetual. During finals week, construction will be
halted. You should be able to study and expound without interruptions
from heavy machinery.
Do you have library books at home? Before you leave
for the summer, please remember to return the library books which you
had checked out.
Will you be taking summer classes? Working for a
professor? Law Review? Be sure to extend your Westlaw and Lexis
passwords for the summer. Simply visit their websites, and follow the
instructions as listed on their homepages.
On behalf of the entire law library, thank you for
allowing us to serve your library and legal reference needs. It has
been another enjoyable year. Congratulations to those of you who are
graduating. We look forward to seeing many of you continuing students
in the fall.
Legal Research Made Easier
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Did Catwoman ever file for a patent? Does
Loyola University New Orleans own a trademark? Is the phrase “Ol’ Blue
Eyes” available?
Try visiting the United States Patent and Trademark
Office for the answers to these and other questions you may have. Since
it is a U.S. Government agency, the URL is http://www.uspto.gov/.
(Or see back page.) The homepage even states, as if there was any
doubt, “This is the only official website of the United States Patent
and Trademark Office.”
One may search for patents and applications via any
of 31 different fields (or combinations), including the inventor’s
name, the inventor’s city, the assignee’s name, and abstract.
Similarly, one may search the trademark database via many different
fields.
The website is very user friendly. It allows the
user to file applications online. Information on paper filing is also
provided, as well as downloadable forms which the user may need.
Stories on up-coming enhancements are also posted. For those who simply
wish to manage their properties, the website allows online payment of
fees and electronic assignment of ownership. (For those who are already
familiar with the website, please note that the eCustomer Database
system was eliminated September 30th, 2004.)
There are a number of online guides to both
intellectual property and the process of registering it. One, entitled
“Mumbo Gumbo Jumbo,” is designed for kids, but could also be a good
introduction for law students. If the user is confused about the
meaning of any term, the excellent online glossary should help.
The Patent Official Gazette is available in
electronic form for the most recent fifty two issues and the Trademark
Official Gazette is available in electronic form for the most recent
five issues.
In short, this is one of the better designed
government websites. A wealth of information is provide in a format
that even a novice can use.
Dear Libby,
Does the U.S. Government
really care about the holes found in my Swiss Cheese?
Skeptical
Dear Skeptical:
Yes. The U.S. Government, at least the Food And Drug Administration,
Department of Health and Human Services, really does care. If the
holes, or eyes, have developed throughout the whole cheese, it may be
sold as Swiss Cheese. If the holes, or eyes, have not developed
throughout the entire cheese, it may be used for manufacturing.
See Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, sections 133.195
and 133.196.
Dear Libby,
Does the City of New
Orleans really care about the pot holes found in my street?
Skeptical (and unrelated
to prior letter writer)
Dear Skeptical (and unrelated to prior letter writer):
Perhaps. The Department of Public Works has an online form where you
may report a problem pot hole, at
http://apps.cityofno.com/311/?problem_code=TPOT
The Law Library now has subscriptions to the United
Nations Treaty Collection and to the Foreign Law Guide. Access is
limited to the law school building.
The UN Treaty Collection database contains the full
text of bilateral and multilateral treaties, as well as subsequent
treaty actions. The database includes treaties which have not yet been
printed in paper. Online treaty-related handbooks are also available at
the site. Site works best with Internet Explorer.
The Foreign Law Guide database gives the current
sources of codes and basic legislation in the different jurisdictions
of the world. This is an online version of the paper Foreign law
: current sources of codes and basic legislation in jurisdictions of
the world, in the Reference section.
Both of these databases will aid research on foreign
and international law.
A dissenting
opinion offers more than a forum for criticizing the legal reasoning of
the majority. It is also an opportunity to showcase one’s knowledge of
literature and the theatre, by choosing mildly cogent allusions with
which to sarcastically mock the majority and their opinion. Who wrote
the following two excerpts? (Hint: it wasn’t the Great Dissenter.)
1.) After some
speculative discussion (probably irrelevant here) over whether the Jets
are depraved because they are deprived, Tony and the other gang members
break off further conversation with the statement--not entirely
coherent, but evidently intended to be rude--"Gee, Officer Krupke, krup
you."
2.) They are properly
directed to this Court's Kafkaesque determination that professional
sports organizations, and the fields they rent for their exhibitions,
are "places of public accommodation" to the competing athletes, and the
athletes themselves "customers" of the organization that pays them; its
Alice in Wonderland determination that there are such things as
judicially determinable "essential" and "nonessential" rules of a
made-up game; and its Animal Farm determination that fairness and the
ADA mean that everyone gets to play by individualized rules which will
assure that no one's lack of ability (or at least no one's lack of
ability so pronounced that it amounts to a disability) will be a
handicap. The year was 2001, and "everybody was finally equal." K.
Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron, in Animal Farm and Related Readings 129
(1997).
We ask that all
Library patrons follow these rules. Many people use this library, and
we must all be considerate.
- Drinks must be in
safety cups; water bottles with a screw top are permitted.
- Snack food is
permitted in first floor reading room. All other food is verboten.
- No tobacco products
of any kind.
- Cell phones should
be switched to silent or vibrate mode. You may use them near the
Administrative area on the second floor, and the Circulation Desk area
on the first floor.
- Please re-shelve
your books.
- Please keep noise
levels low—many students are trying to study. Remember, the third floor
is for Silent Study.
Legal Research Made Easier
Catwoman, a fictional character, does not own a patent. Julie Newmar,
however, an actress who played Catwoman on the 1960’s Batman television
series, does own two patents.
The University owns the trademark for Economics Institute.
Likely. Frank Sinatra began, but abandoned, the application process.
How To Write A ...
1.) Justice Scalia in City of Chicago v. Morales, 527 U.S. 41, at 81
(1999).
2.) Justice Scalia in PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 66, at 704
(2001).
Please call the
Circulation Department at 861-5545 if you have any questions regarding
the hours of operation.
Regular Library Hours:
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Monday - Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 midnight
Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Reference Desk:
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
April 24, 2005 (Sunday) -
May 10, 2005 (Tuesday) -
Exam Schedule
7:30 a.m. - midnight
May 11, 2005 (Wednesday) - Last day of Exams,
Library closes at 6:00 p.m.
May 12, 2005 (Thursday) - Break Schedule begins
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Francis Norton, Editor
fxnorton@loyno.edu
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