ProCD enforced a license on uncopyrightable data
ProCD, facing resale of its uncopyrightable phone database, made buyers accept a license by using the software, which the Seventh Circuit enforced.
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3,236 PUBLISHED CASES · REGULARLY UPDATEDPraykinson turned elderly Thais' daily prayer into voice therapy
Dentsu and Vajira turned elderly Thais' daily prayer into voice therapy.
Read the caseNorway's oil fund avoided Dutch disease by investing abroad
Norway's oil fund avoided Dutch disease by investing only abroad and capping annual withdrawals, preserving export competitiveness.
Read the caseIDOMED and Instituto Yduqs published a fake clinical textbook to expose racism in medicine
IDOMED and Instituto Yduqs published a clinical-style book of 20 fictionalized 'pathologies' from real Black patients' testimony to expose racism in medicine.
Read the caseCongress funded colleges with land, not cash
Congress funded colleges with land scrip, not cash, during the Civil War.
Read the caseMonte Frumentario lent grain level, took it back heaped
In 1488, the Monte Frumentario lent seed grain to farmers measured level and took it back heaped, charging interest in kind to bypass usury laws.
Read the caseIndia made unemployment relief a legal right, not a discretionary program
India's MGNREGA turned rural employment relief into a legal right, obligating the state to pay an allowance if work isn't provided within 15 days.
Read the caseStettinius helped Liberia draft ship registry law
American shipowners, via Stettinius, helped Liberia draft a new maritime code, then reflagged to shed US costs.
Read the caseLee Kum Kee wrote a family constitution to prevent feuds
Lee Kum Kee wrote a family constitution barring in-laws from shares and requiring heirs to work outside first, so disputes settle by document, not leverage.
Read the caseKubeko turned crop waste into fuel and fertilizer on Ivorian farms
Kubeko built a biodigester that turns a farm's crop waste into the cooking gas and fertilizer it was buying separately.
Read the caseIPE's pollution database let Western brands police suppliers
Ma Jun's IPE compiled government pollution data into a public map, letting Western brands enforce environmental compliance on their suppliers.
Read the caseGuatemala tax authority boosts compliance with social-norm letters
Guatemala's tax authority sent letters telling non-payers that 64.5% of peers had already paid, boosting compliance more than threats.
Read the caseFidelity let donors deduct now, decide later
Fidelity let donors deduct now, decide later by transferring ownership to a public charity.
Read the caseEnaleia paid Greek fishers for plastic they already caught
Enaleia paid Greek fishers for plastic already in their nets, scaling cleanup with the fleet.
Read the caseDraftKings and FanDuel kept the fantasy label for daily bets
DraftKings and FanDuel kept the 'fantasy sports' label from a 2006 ban but compressed play into single-day bets, scaling until regulators tested the substance.
Read the caseCao County's wood-carvers captured Japan's coffin market
Cao County's wood-carvers, paid a tenth of Japanese rates, captured 90% of Japan's coffin market by mastering its exact funeral etiquette.
Read the caseCamara made African schools pay for donated computers to ensure upkeep
Camara Education made African schools pay for donated computers and commit staff to training, so they maintained them instead of abandoning them.
Read the caseBoeing put airline mechanics inside the 777 design teams
Boeing put airline mechanics in 777 design teams, fixing 300 issues before parts were built.
Read the caseBritain deferred import duty to warehouse exit in 1803
Britain's 1803 Warehousing Act deferred import duty until goods left bonded warehouses, freeing capital and cutting smuggling.
Read the caseFreecycle moved barely-worth-anything stuff by banning price
Freecycle moved near-worthless items by banning price, so givers and takers exchange without transaction costs.
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