Law Commons^™

The Availability Of The Fair Use Defense In Music Piracy And Internet Technology, Sonia Das

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Note examines the development of the fair-use defense to other new technologies, such as the VCR and photocopier, and concludes that courts generally make the fair-use defense available in cases involving copying using new technology. Such uses of the technology have contributed, rather than deterred, to both the bettering of the technology itself and increasing the use of a copyright work. Ultimately, the increased uses reward the copyright holder. Next, this Note applies fair-use cases to new technology in the music industry, namely the increase availability of music on the Internet and a device known as the Rio, which …

Don’T Talk To Strangers: An Analysis Of Government And Industry Efforts To Protect A Child’S Privacy Online, Dorothy A. Hertzel

Federal Communications Law Journal

Studies indicate that nearly two-thirds of children use the Internet. Children online users have created unique concerns for Internet providers and lawmakers. The collection, storage, and sale of a child online user's personal information without the child or parent's knowledge or consent has elicited much concern. Such a practice is commonplace in the world of the Internet. Congress, through the Child Online Privacy Protection Act, and the Internet industry have addressed how to curb this practice. In addition to these efforts, technological tools are currently available that block the transfer of personally identifiable information from the user to the computer. …

Media Law & Ethics Enter The 21st Century, Introduction To Symposium, Richard J. Peltz-Steele

Faculty Publications

We stand now on the verge of the twenty-first century: an artificial construct yes, but a culturally significant time nonetheless. We are the world the Hutchins Commission foresaw: the world of nations seeking understanding, seeking destiny. We will not predict the future with perfect accuracy, though we will try, because that is out nature. In our effort, we must be mindful that the questions we are asking are not new; they have been asked before and will be asked again. But let us see what we have to say about them today.

Paradigm Changes In Telecommunications Regulation, Phil Weiser

Publications

No abstract provided.

Internet: Taxar Ou Não Taxar?, Ivo T. Gico

Ivo Teixeira Gico Jr.

O artigo demonstra a opinião do autor acerca de manifestações sobre tributação da internet, sustentando o potencial nocivo à democratização da informação. The article demonstrates the author's opinion about taxing the Internet and its potential harm to the democratization of information.

Strike Two: An Analysis Of The Child Online Protection Act’S Constitutional Failures, Heather L. Miller

Federal Communications Law Journal

Congress's first attempt to regulate minors' access to sexually explicit material via the Internet failed. Congress responded with the Child Online Protection Act, which, despite its narrower scope, cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. This Notes delves into the constitutionality of Congress's second attempt by addressing the difficulty of applying the vague "harmful to minors" definition to the Internet medium and the economic and technological unavailability of the Act's affirmative defenses. This Note concludes with an explanation as to why legislation is an ineffective mechanism to address the problem of minors' access to online pornography.

The Digital Dilemma: Ten Challenges Facing Minority-Owned New Media Ventures, Marcelino Ford-Livene

Federal Communications Law Journal

Minority-owned companies competing in print publishing, radio, broadcast television, cable, and telecommunications industries have had no shortage of challenges, setbacks, and failures. Minority-owned companies are struggling to stake a claim in the new media frontier. Some challenges they face are unique to the underlying technology, uncertainty, and international reach of the Web. There should be a sense of urgency with respect to minority participation on the Web. If the promise of broadband leads to new media outlets that are profitable and more dynamic than traditional media, then minorities cannot afford to be left out.

Forum: New Approaches to Minority Media …

False Alarm?, Henry H. Perritt, Jr., Margaret G. Stewart

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Self-Regulation And The Media, Angela J. Campbell

Federal Communications Law Journal

Self-regulation has been portrayed as superior to government regulation for addressing problems of new media such as digital television and the Internet. This Article reviews the literature on self-regulation to define what is meant by the term, to identify the purported advantages and disadvantages of self-regulation, and to identify the conditions needed for its success. It then analyzes the effectiveness of self-regulation by examining instances where self-regulation has been employed in connection with media. After describing and analyzing past uses of self-regulation in broadcasting, children’s advertising, news, alcohol advertising, comic books, movies, and video games, this Article concludes that self-regulation …

The Copyright Dilemma Involving Online Service Providers: Problem Solved . . . For Now, Christian C.M. Beams

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet environment has presented copyright law with a development unlike any other this century. The illegal trading of copyrighted works has become easier than ever. Until recently, it was possible to hold online service providers strictly liable for the infringing actions of their users, regardless of whether the provider had knowledge of any infringing activity. While promoting the policy of copyright law, upholding such a standard had the potential to limit Internet speech and retard its growth. Seeing this, Congress began to debate on legislation that would protect innocent service providers from this liability. This Note argues that with …

Playing The Name Game: A Glimpse At The Future Of The Internet Domain Name System, Rebecca W. Gole

Federal Communications Law Journal

As the Internet continues to expand into the top global medium for commerce, education, and communication, individuals and businesses are racing to claim their own unique Internet address or domain name. Unlike the three-dimensional world, where many entities may share the same name, on the Internet each domain name must be unique. As a result of this uniqueness requirement, a variety of disputes and trademark issues have arisen as individuals and entities compete for lucrative domain names on the Internet market. These disputes have led to the submission of two proposals for the overhaul of the current domain name system. …

The Threat Of Long-Arm Jurisdiction To Electronic Commerce, Robert J. Aalberts, Anthony M. Townsend, Michael E. Whitman

Faculty and Research Publications

Unfortunately for those whose businesses rely on the Internet, an increasing amount of legal conflict is also arising in reaction to this new business medium. As attorneys and the courts attempt to sort out the Internet’s legal status quo, both are considering such pressing substantive issues as electronic contracts, privacy, trademark, copyright, defamation, computer crimes, censorship, and taxation. It is imperative that information system professionals become aware of how evolving Internet law will affect the medium they are charged with administrating. An informed IS community is also much more capable of mounting legal and political challenges to law that might …

Another Look At European Internet Law, Alain Gardrat

Media Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

"Chilling" The Internet? Lessons From Fcc Regulation Of Radio Broadcasting , Thomas W. Hazlett, David W. Sosa

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Congress included the Communications Decency Act (CDA) in the Telecommunications Act signed into law on February 8, 1996. The bill seeks to outlaw the use of computers and phone lines to transmit "indecent" material with provisions of jail terms and heavy fines for violators. Proponents of the bill argue it is necessary to protect minors from undesirable speech on the Internet. The CDA was immediately challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union, and the special 3-judge federal panel established to hear the case recently declared the Act unconstitutional. Yet, its ultimate adjudication remains in doubt. Ominously, the federal …

Networked Health Information: Assuring Quality Control On The Internet, Kristin B. Keltner

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Clinton Administration's Health Information and Applications Working Group promotes networked health information provided to all citizens through the Internet as one way to lower health care costs while improving the health of Americans. Managed care organizations and private health information providers already use the World Wide Web to disseminate consumer health information to broad segments of society. No standards exist to ensure that the information these Web sites carry is accurate and otherwise free from corruption. Disclaimers as to the reliability of the information as well as to the responsibility of the information provider for any harm caused by …

The Information Superhighway: Trolls At The Tollgate, Charles M. Oliver

Federal Communications Law Journal

Prior to the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, policymakers sought funding and regulatory mechanisms capable of fulfilling the vision of an Information Superhighway. Vice President Gore, the Clinton Administration's point person on the issue, initially proposed assessing fees on other sectors of the telecommunications industry to fund construction. Meanwhile, conservatives asserted that deregulation of the industry would achieve the desired result. A compromise ultimately was reached: the 1996 Act requires local exchange carriers to unbundle their networks and provide access at a reasonable cost to competitors. The use of regulatory formulas in lieu of taxes to subsidize a national …

The Telecommunications Act Of 1996: Codifying The Digital Divide, Allen S. Hammond Iv

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 purports to ensure every American eventual access to advanced telecommunications networks and services, and more immediate access to basic telephone networks and services. This access is essential because it determines the ease with which Americans can acquire an education, obtain employment, control financial affairs, access emergency assistance, and participate in the political process. The interpretation and implementation of the 1996 Act is critical because there is an imminent danger that a large portion of society— in inner cities, near suburbs, and small towns— not be connected to the "national electronic nervous system." To ensure that …

International Jurisdiction In Cyberspace: Which States May Regulate The Internet?, Stephan Wilske, Teresa Schiller

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet now reaches 60 million users in 160 countries, with the number increasing each year. Although cyberspace has been viewed as a self-regulating entity controlled by no government, this myth is being destroyed as the global Internet community expands. With this expansion comes a question: Who has the authority to regulate cyberspace? Given that decisions about the Internet reach far beyond national borders, the answer to this question is unknown, but certainly has broad implications. Traditional laws of international jurisdiction, including jurisdiction to prescribe, jurisdiction to adjudicate, and jurisdiction to enforce, offer some clear answers. However, further development of …

Regulatory Web: Free Speech And The Global Information Infrastructure, A, Victor Mayer-Schönberger, Teree E. Foster

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

National restrictions of freedom of speech on the nascent global information infrastructure are commonplace not only in the United States, but also around the globe. Individual nations, each intent upon preserving what they perceive to be within the perimeters of their national interests, seek to regulate certain forms of speech because of content that is considered reprehensible or offensive to national well-being or civic virtue. The fact that this offending speech is technologically dispersed instantaneously to millions of potential recipients strengthens the impetus to regulate.... Activists at both ends of the spectrum disregard an integral aspect of the global composition …

Linking Copyright To Homepages, Matt Jackson

Federal Communications Law Journal

The explosive growth of the Internet as a widespread medium of communication raises many novel copyright issues. One issue that has escaped much examination is the copyright implications of "links"--references to other Internet Web sites that allow immediate access to those sites. This Comment analyzes such questions as whether linking gives rise to direct or contributory liability to the copyright owner of a linked site, and whether the links themselves are copyrightable. It concludes that, although contributory liability is possible, linking cannot constitute a direct infringement any more than dialing a phone number to reach an answering machine with a …

The Communications Decency Act, Jim Exon

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pornography Drives Technology: Why Not To Censor The Internet, Peter Johnson

Federal Communications Law Journal

Historically, the development of new media has been advanced by the creators of pornography. This was evident as communications media evolved from vernacular speech to movable type, to photography, to paperback books, to videotape, to cable and pay-TV, to 900 phone lines, to the French Minitel, and to the Internet. In short, pornography, far from being an evil that the First Amendment must endure, is a positive good that encourages experimentation with new technology. Accordingly, society should not view cyberpornographers as pariahs, rather they should be viewed as explorers who pave the roads for civilization to follow.

The Legislative History Of Senator Exon's Communications Decency Act: Regulating Barbarians On The Information Superhighway, Robert Cannon

Federal Communications Law Journal

Among the most visible and controversial provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 have been those of an amendment to the larger act known as the Communications Decency Act. This article critically examines the legislative history of this amendment, creating a record of both official and unofficial sources. The article also notes the relevance of the legislative history as demonstrating both the unconstitutionality and the practical inefficacy of the statute.

Computer Bulletin Board Operator Liability For Users' Infringing Acts, M. David Dobbins

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that a computer bulletin board operator's liability for copyright infringement by users of the bulletin board should be analyzed under the theory of contributory copyright infringement. This Note calls for a standard of liability under contributory copyright infringement that accommodates the competing interests at stake in the resolution of this issue. Part I provides an overview of copyright infringement law and argues that in most situations the operator's actions, viewed independently, do not constitute copyright infringement. Part II explores theories of third-party liability. This Part rejects the doctrine of vicarious liability as an effective means for establishing …

Telecommunications In Transition: Unbundling, Reintegration, And Competition, David J. Teece

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The world economy is experiencing a technological revolution, fueled by rapid advances in microelectronics, optics, and computer science, that in the 1990s and beyond will dramatically change the way people everywhere communicate, learn, and access information and entertainment. This technological revolution has been underway for about a decade. The emergence of a fully-interactive communications network, sometimes referred to as the "Information Superhighway," is now upon us. This highway, made possible by fiber optics and the convergence of several different technologies, is capable of delivering a plethora of new interactive entertainment, informational, and instructional services that are powerful and user-friendly. The …

A Puzzle Even The Codebreakers Have Trouble Solving: A Clash Of Interests Over The Electronic Encryption Standard, Sean Flynn

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Jefferson On The Internet, Nicholas Johnson

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Drive Smoothly To Get On The Information Superhighway, Albert H. Halprin

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Information Superhighway Or Technological Sewer: What Will It Be?, Robert W. Peters

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Broadcast Licensees And Localism: At Home In The "Communications Revolution", Gigi B. Sohn, Andrew Jay Schwartzman

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.