Yitzchak Besser Image

Yitzchak Besser

is a third-year student at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he serves as a senior staff editor for the University of Baltimore Law Review. He is also a judicial intern in the chambers of U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher, the vice president of the University of Baltimore Intellectual Property Law Society, a member of the Royal Graham Shannonhouse III Honor Society, and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa – The National Leadership Honor Society. He also served as a legal intern at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and as a student attorney in the University of Baltimore Saul Ewing Civil Advocacy Clinic. Prior to law school, Yitzchak served as an editor at an international newspaper and as the content director at an email marketing firm.

Recent Articles by Yitzchak Besser

A Cosmic Copyright Conundrum: ‘Star Trek,’ Space Force, SCOTUS and Blackbeard’s Shipwreck

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Allen v. Cooper, which relates to photos and videos of the sunken remains of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the centuries-old ship once captained by the famed pirate Blackbeard. The plaintiff in that case claimed that North Carolina unlawfully used his copyrighted works. Only two months earlier, the Trump Administration also faced a copyright infringement imbroglio. Following the official Twitter unveiling of the seal for the newly created U.S. Space Force, critics noted that the seal bore a striking similarity to that of Starfleet, the scientific and military force in the fictional universe of the television and film property, Star Trek. While some pointed to the (fairly far-fetched) trademark implications of the Space Force logo, many voices on the Internet also alleged that the government infringed on the copyright for the Starfleet seal. These two cases have brought the issues of copyright infringement and sovereign immunity into the spotlight. To resolve them, one must first look to the tenets of copyright law.

False Advertising, Free Speech, and the Fight Over Plant-based and Lab-Grown Meat Alternatives

Missouri made history in August 2018 when it became the first state to regulate the use of the word “meat” on product labels. The new legislation takes aim at companies selling plant-based meat alternatives. It also targets producers of lab-grown meat products, known as “clean meat” or “cell-based meat.”