Digital Commons Network^™

“Finding The 'Public' In 'Public Disrepute” – Would The Cultural Defense Make A Difference In Celebrity And Sports Endorsement Contract Disputes? - The Case Of Michael Vick And Adrian Peterson, Toni Lester

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This article will explore this issue by engaging in case studies of the Vick and Peterson scandals to see what would have happened had the two men taken their claims against Nike to court. Part One will discuss the cases in more depth and elaborate on how they might be viewed through the lens of cultural relativity theory and the cultural defense. Part Two will elaborate on what morals clauses are and the legal standards courts use to enforce them. In addition to examining the Mendenhall decision, several other court cases will be discussed, each of which places differing levels …

Keynote Address: A Sure Bet? The Legal Status Of Daily Fantasy Sports, Marc Edelman

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Today, I will provide an overview of the legal status of “daily fantasy sports” and explain why the legality—or illegality—of the industry is not a sure bet. I will begin by providing a brief background of the origins of fantasy sports, and then turn to the impact of technologies such as the Internet, and the legal status of these games under both federal and state laws. I will conclude by discussing the recent efforts to regulate “daily fantasy sports” through the courts and legislation

Gotham Skylines: The Intersection Of Scènes À Faire And Fictional Facts In Comic Books, Graphic Novels, And Their Derivative Works, Gavin M. Strube

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

In just a decade and a half since the modern superhero film exploded onto the scene, the comic books and graphic novels that have long been the very definition of a fringe or niche interest, have morphed into a multi-billion dollar film, television and video game empire. The two main players in this industry, Marvel and DC, are owned by juggernauts in the entertainment industry. More importantly, some of these characters have been around for over three-quarters of a century. Readers keyed into intellectual property law, particularly copyright, should begin to see the issue. The copyright protection on these characters …

Wide Right: How Isp Immunity And Current Laws Are Off The Mark In Protecting The Modern Athlete On Social Media, Dominick J. Mingione

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

“[Y]our tranny looking dad is a disgrace to American football,” “I would rape the shit out of her,” and “[The] [B]ears are easier than you on prom night,” are just a sampling of some of the alarmingly harassing tweets received by Chloe Trestman between the night of November 9, 2014 and November 10, 2014. Who is Chloe Trestman, and what could she have possibly done to warrant such abuse? Chloe’s father is Marc Trestman, the head coach of the Chicago Bears. And the twitter vitriol, or “twitriol,” directed toward Chloe was in response to the Bears’ blowout loss to their …

Transforming “Transformative Use”: The Growing Misinterpretation Of The Fair Use Doctrine, Caile Morris

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Starting in late 2012, and continuing into late 2013, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York wreaked havoc on the traditional interpretation of the copyright infringement defense known as “fair use.” Two cases stemming from the advent of the Google Books Project are Author’s Guild, Inc. v. HathiTrust and Author’s Guild, Inc. v. Google, Inc. These cases adopted a controversial interpretation of the fair use defense, codified in 17 U.S.C. § 107, when each case determined that the mass digitization of thousands of books constituted fair use merely because the digitization was what is known …

The Night Is Dark And Full Of . . . Family Law?: California Law And Marital Presumption In Game Of Thrones, Rebecca Rosen

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The television show Game of Thrones has developed a tremendous following in recent years. The show takes place primarily in the fictional state of Westeros, a feudal society that mirrors many of the legal structures of medieval England. As such, many of the laws and customs of Westeros seem antithetical to the beliefs and values of modern viewers. In an attempt to posit a more just outcome following the death of Westeros’ king (the action which springboards the primary power struggle), this Article applies California law to the disposition of King Robert’s property. Shockingly, this Article finds that California’s marital …

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum, Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring 2015

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The staff of PIPSELF has worked diligently this year in selecting and preparing original and appealing articles concerning emerging issues in the fields of intellectual property, sports, and entertainment law for this issue. We welcome our readers to send comments and feedback: e-mail us at pipself@law.pace.edu, visit our Twitter @PIPSELF, or ‘like’ us on Facebook at “Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum.”

Is Cricket Taxing? The Taxation Of Cricket Players In India, Rishi Shroff

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Essay examines the taxation of crickets in the context of Indian law. It examines the concept of non-resident “star” companies created by Indian cricketers as a mechanism to avoid the taxation of their global income in India.

Protecting A Celebrity’S Child From Harassment: Is California’S Amendment Penal Code § 11414 Too Vague To Be Constitutional?, Michelle N. Robinson

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Note will describe a brief history of the legal attempts to restrict the paparazzi and the legislative history behind A.B. 3592 and its amendment, S.B. 606. The bills are controversial and have received a significant amount of criticism, due to the fact that they restrict speech by essentially prohibiting paparazzi, known for their harassing behavior, from taking pictures of the children of celebrities. The Note will conclude with an analysis utilizing the void-for-vagueness doctrine of whether the bill is in violation of the First Amendment.

The Copyright Infringement Test: A New Approach To Literary Misappropriation In Film, Rikki Bahar

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Note argues that courts’ emphasis on the ordinary observer test to prove illicit copying in film is misguided. The ordinary observer test relies on whether the accused work captures the total feel of the copyrighted work, but overlooks an essential aspect of unlawful appropriation and copyright law – the idea that only particular elements of a work are copyrightable. If a jury is exposed to expert testimony regarding probative similarity before making their evaluation, it is unlikely they will forget such evidence when evaluating the illicit copying.

A better test for infringement would be one that allows the ordinary …

Let’S Talk About Sex: How Societal Value Evolution Has Redefined Obscenity, Kamilah Mitchell

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Note seeks to examine the evolution of sex and sexuality in the media, by critically examining how the prevalence of sex and more recently the prevalence of topics and issues related to sexuality in television, literature, electronic media, and art have and continue to impact societal views and notions on obscenity. This Note will also examine the Miller test for obscenity, and the long term effects of societal value evolution on the application of the Miller test. This Note concludes by positing that at some point, the line between what is deemed sexually offensive and what is socially acceptable …

Cash From Chaos: Sound Recording Authorship, Section 203 Recapture Rights And A New Wave Of Termination, Hector Martinez

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The thesis of this Article is that under an exclusive recording agreement entered into in the United States between a record label and recording artist on or after January 1, 1978, any key member of recording artist that signed the recording contract is a bona fide author of a sound recording for purposes of claiming standing in order to effectuate a termination of transfer of grant under Section 203 of the 1976 Copyright Act.

Part I will summarize the history of sound recordings as copyrightable subject matter. Part II will examine record industry custom and practice as it relates to …

Banksy Got Back? Problems With Chains Of Unauthorized Derivative Works And Arrangements In Cover Songs Under A Compulsory License, Matthew A. Eller

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Article will analyze the scope of copyright ownership in relation to chains of unauthorized derivative works and chains of arrangement rights in cover versions of musical recordings. In particular, the analysis will focus on the gray area in the law where an unauthorized derivative work (“D1”) is created by an author and another author creates a second derivative work (“D2”) based off of D1. In situations such as these, does the creator of the original derivative work have any rights in their creation if their derivative work was unauthorized?

Further, depending on what rights do exist for D1, can …

Pinning Your Way To Copyright Infringement: The Legal Implications Pinterest Could Face, Brittany Fink

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

With the simple click of a button, anyone can copy an image from one place and paste it to another. What some people do not realize is that these actions could have them one click away from copyright infringement. Advancements in technology have made it easier for Internet users to infringe on the rights of copyright owners. Many popular websites, such as YouTube and Facebook, have seen the dangers of allowing users to upload videos and images onto their websites. However, one popular website has not yet seen the wrath of copyright owners. This Article looks at the rights copyright …

The Patent Reform Debate: Has Patent Overprotection Resulted In Not-So-Smartphones?, Ryan A. Kraski

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Article discusses the issue of excessive patent protection and possible remedies; the discussed remedies are the usage of antitrust laws or simply replacing certain patents with copyright protection. This Article first explores the relationship between patent protection and antitrust law. It then describes a number of tests that have been used in the past and one proposed new test, designed to confront this interrelationship. While considering these tests, this Article applies two controversial real-world patents to each in order to examine their benefits and problems. This Article then goes on to discuss the possible benefits of protecting inventors through …

Cleaning Out The Closet: A Proposal To Eliminate The Aesthetic Functionality Doctrine In The Fashion Industry, Jessie A. Maihos

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The aesthetic functionality doctrine seeks to promote competition, but is ineffective in the fashion industry because there is not one design that will be the most aesthetically appealing to everyone, as there is in other industries. This Article examines the various problems with the aesthetic functionality doctrine, and will argue that this doctrine, while relevant in other industries, should be eliminated from fashion.

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum, Volume 4, Issue 2, Spring 2014

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This issue of Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum includes articles on the modern legal issues & developments affecting fashion, the Internet, music, film, international sports, constitutional law & the lives of celebrities.

“Meet Me Halfway”: Arm Wrestling And The Law, Thomas M. Byron

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Most law review articles are very serious, and with good reason. They discuss important, world-changing matters like the role and magnitude of executive power, the limits of Constitutional rights, the boundaries of international law, and the vagaries of civil procedure. This Article has no such world-changing or reverent pretentions; it instead takes a light-hearted view of a fairly marginal legal topic: arm wrestling. To provide a spine for the discussion, the Article leans heavily on the 1980s movie Over the Top – a movie about arm wrestling, trucking, and child custody - to provide examples of arm wrestling content with …

Don’T Get Slammed Into Nefer Nefer Land: Complaints In The Civil Forfeiture Of Cultural Property, Victoria A. Russell

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The Saint Louis Art Museum, known as SLAM, acquired the mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer in 1998. Eight years later, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities called for its return on the grounds that it had been stolen from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. SLAM refused. In 2011, the case went before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to determine the ownership of the mask. Perhaps to the surprise of many, the court decided that the mask belongs in Saint Louis.

This Article will explain how this case was properly decided, albeit on a legal technicality. It …

Shutting Down The Pharmacy On Wheels: Will Lance Armstrong’S Admission Impact The Practice Of Doping In Professional Cycling?, Kristina Fretwell

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Lance Armstrong was one of the sport’s greatest heroes and his doping admission shook the American public to its core. Although professional cyclists are sanctioned for violating anti-doping rules on an almost regular basis, the investigation and lifetime ban of Lance Armstrong highlighted the serious problems facing the sport. Increased efforts to police drug use in cycling appear to be ineffective; however, as Armstrong’s situation may reveal, private law-suits have the potential to serve as a new and additional deterrent to cheating in the future.

The aftermath of Armstrong’s admission has led to bickering of the major regulatory agencies, leading …

Slaves To Copyright: Branding Human Flesh As A Tangible Medium Of Expression, Arrielle Sophia Millstein

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Article argues why human flesh, because of its inherent properties and its necessity for human survival, should not qualify as a tangible medium of expression under the Copyright Act of 1976. Through policy concerns and property law this Article demonstrates why the fixation requirement, necessary to obtain copyright protection of a “work,” must be flexible and eliminate human flesh as an acceptable, tangible medium of expression, to avoid the disastrous risk of the court falling into the role of “21st Century judicial slave masters.”

I’M The One Making The Money, Now Where’S My Cut? Revisiting The Student-Athlete As An “Employee” Under The National Labor Relations Act, John J. Leppler

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Article argues why the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Big-Time Division I College Football and Men’s Basketball student-athletes are legally “employees” and why these student-athletes are inadequately compensated for their revenue-producing skills.

Part II of this Article sets forth the common law “right of control” test and the National Labor Relation Act’s (NLRA) special statutory test for students in a university setting, and shows how the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the judiciary determine whether a particular person, specifically a university student, meets these standards and is legally an “employee”. Moreover, the NCAA asserts it does not have …

Reports Of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated: Ebay, Bosch, And The Presumption Of Irreparable Harm In Hatch-Waxman Litigation, Kenneth C. Louis

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Article examines the preliminary injunction standard in pharmaceutical patent infringement actions pursuant to the Hatch-Waxman Act. Prior to Supreme Court’s decision in eBay v. MercExchange, L.L.C. in 2006, federal courts applied a presumption of irreparable harm when a patent holder established a likelihood of success on the merits. While the eBay Court abrogated the presumption of irreparable harm in permanent injunctions, courts have been unclear as to application of eBay on preliminary in-junctions. This Article will further examine preliminary injunctions in Hatch-Waxman actions in the District of New Jersey since eBay in 2006 and argue that courts still tacitly …

New York’S Taxable Lap Dancing …At A Strip Club Near You!, Harvey Gilmore

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

In today’s difficult economic times, state governments are more hard pressed than ever to come up with new sources of revenue to at least stay revenue neutral. Leave it to the perpetually money-hungry State of New York to come up with this gem of an idea for generating tax revenues: In 2005, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance attempted to impose sales tax on a nightclub’s offering of exotic dancing to its customers. This resulted in one nightclub instigating a legal challenge to the state’s attempt to impose sales taxes on exotic dancing. This resulted in the …

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum, Volume 4, Issue 1, Winter 2014

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Thank you for downloading the first digital edition of the Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum. As you scroll through the pages of this issue, you may notice the Forum has a new look. Recognizing the significant advancements in technology that have revolutionized the legal field in the past few years, the Volume 4 Editorial Board sought to update and adapt the Forum to be accessible digitally, formatting the issue for tablets and e-readers. As you read, take advantage of clickable Tables of Contents and links to online sources throughout the issue.

Hardball In City Hall: Public Financing Of Sports Stadiums, Roger I. Abrams

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Roger I. Abram’s article on public financing of sports stadiums is an unedited portion of Chapter 9 from Abram’s forthcoming book, Playing Tough: The World of Sports and Politics, published by University Press of New England (2013).

Fair Or Foul: When Does Media Accusation Of Performance Enhancing Drug Use Become Tortious?, Richard T. Ward Iii

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The Steroids Era in baseball refers to the recent period in the MLB where many players and trainers have been found guilty or been implicated in the use of performance enhancing drugs which leads to sharp increases in player talent. The stigma associated with PED use, and also any other form of cheating, has proven to be a fast track to shame in the world of Major League Baseball. This article addresses the current state of defamation law in New York and the Federal Courts by analyzing the recent statement made by Skip Bayless concerning use of Performance Enhancing Drugs …

Apple V. Samsung: Design Protection And Consumers, Nidhi Garg

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Nidhi Garg writes an article about how design patent protection affects product lines and the average consumer. The analysis is done in light of the case between Apple and Samsung over patents relating to iPhones and iPads. The article focuses on design patent protection and how it has evolved over history. After an analysis of the laws, regulation, and case law related to design patents the article describes how consumers are affected by such changes. More particularly, how overreaching design patent protection may improve product lines and/or decrease innovation and product selection.

A Sure Thing? Online Gaming And Canada, Ryan M. Rodenberg, John T. Holden

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The legal status of gaming activities on First Nations land within Canada is complicated. The foci of this paper are two-fold. First, we trace the origin and expansion of First Nations gaming. Second, we analyze the potential of First Nations as hubs for the growing global e-gaming industry, with an emphasis on Internet poker and online sports wagering. We conclude by positing that the Canadian regulatory scheme presents an opportunity to First Nations in connection with e-gaming.

When Copyright Can Kill: How 3d Printers Are Breaking The Barriers Between “Intellectual” Property And The Physical World, Matt Simon

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This article examines copyright’s applicability to 3D printing technology, by analyzing the facts surrounding the (formerly) proposed development of a fully 3D printable firearm. Critical to this analysis however, is an understanding of how copyright has traditionally protected intellectual property, and why 3D printers do not fit into this conventional framework. As 3D printing is advancing at an extraordinarily rapid rate, any discussion of this topic would be incomplete without reference to the “moving target” that is 3D printing technology. In the short time between when this article was initially submitted for evaluation to the PIPSELF Law Forum in December …