Law Commons^™

Trade Secret Fair Use, Deepa Varadarajan

Fordham Law Review

Trade secret law arose to help companies protect confidential information (e.g., the Coca-Cola formula) from competitors seeking to copy their innovative efforts. But companies increasingly use trade secret law to block a wide swath of information from the scrutinizing eyes of consumers, public watchdog groups, and potential improvers. Companies can do this, in part, because trade secret law lacks clear limiting doctrines that consider the social benefits of unauthorized use. For example, trade secret law makes no allowance for the departing employee that uses proprietary information to create a substantially improved product or disclose public health risks.

This Article argues …

Stay Tuned: Whether Cloud-Based Service Providers Can Have Their Copyrighted Cake And Eat It Too, Amanda Asaro

Fordham Law Review

Copyright owners have the exclusive right to perform their works publicly and the ability to license their work to others who want to share that right. Subsections 106(4) and (5) of the Copyright Act govern this exclusive public performance right, but neither subsection elaborates on what constitutes a performance made “to the public” versus one that remains private. This lack of clarity has made it difficult for courts to apply the Copyright Act consistently, especially in the face of changing technology.

Companies like Aereo, Inc. and AereoKiller, Inc. developed novel ways to transmit content over the internet to be viewed …

Does Cariou V. Prince Represent The Apogee Or Burn-Out Of Transformativeness In Fair Use Jurisprudence? A Plea For A Neo-Traditional Approach, Kim J. Landsman

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Hacking The Planet, The Dalai Lama, And You: Managing Technical Vulnerabilities In The Internet Through Polycentric Governance, Amanda Craig, Scott Shackelford

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

This Article analyzes key vulnerabilities in the Internet's infrastructure, protocols, and code, and how they may be better managed through interventions at multiple levels. In particular, this Article examines the concept of polycentric governance and its applicability to technical vulnerabilities in the Internet. This theory has been championed by proponents such as Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom and promotes self-organization and networking regulations at multiple levels to address an array of global issues, from urban crime, to climate change and cyber attacks. However, there has not yet been a consideration of the applicability of this framework to technical Internet vulnerabilities explicitly, …

The Anti-Economy Of Fashion; An Openwork Approach To Intellectual Property Protection, Amy L. Landers

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Fashion’s cultural connections provide the groundwork for a theory to resolve the critical questions of protection for works that draw strongly on exogenous inputs. This article proposes that narrow protection for fashion is both economically justified, theoretically sound, and beneficial to the field because it facilitates spillovers in a manner that allows others to create the endless variations that are the lifeblood of this vibrant industry. Such protection relies on a theory of openworks, which applies to designs that have a high level of input from outside of the creator’s realm of activity. In fashion, inspiration that derives from the …

Design Law In The United States As Compared To The European Community Design System: What Do We Need To Fix?, Tiffany Mahmood

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Now in their tenth year, European community designs were created to enhance harmonization in design protection across the Member States of the European Union (“EU”). The United States (“US”), in contrast, has only once expanded its protection for designs during that time, namely for vessel designs. Pushes have been made for further sui generis protection for Fashion law, but it is unclear why the US has not adopted a system similar to that of Europe, particularly taking into consideration the general uniformity between the two regions’ systems in other intellectual property areas. This Note looks to answer that question by …

Issues And Best Practices In Connection With Educational Resources And Other Materials In The “Cloud”, Michael Landau, Donna K. Lewis

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Revenge Porn And Freedom Of Expression: Legislative Pushback To An Online Weapon Of Emotional And Reputational Destruction, Clay Calvert

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Protecting Cultural Heritage By Strictly Scrutinizing Museum Acquisitions, Leila Alexandra Amineddoleh

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

There are many ways to protect cultural heritage as a valuable commodity. Although heightened security measures and extensive surveillance methods can deter theft, a more effective means for reducing theft is the elimination of the demand for black market art items. Trade in unprovenanced antiquities is a demand-driven crime; the market for illegal or undocumented items is driven by buyers’ wants. The most effective method of protection for cultural heritage is to eliminate the demand for black market for these precious objects, thereby reducing the market, a method known as the “market reduction approach.” There is a well-documented link between …

Copyright Cowboys: Bringing Online Television To The Digital Frontier, Daniela Cassorla

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Funding Era Free Speech Theory: Applying Traditional Speech Protection To The Regulation Of Anonymous Cyberspace, Katherine Mccabe

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

“You Never Got Me Down, Delay”: Petrella V. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. And The Availability Of Laches In Copyright Infringement Claims Brought Within The Statute Of Limitations, Daniel Sheerin

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Step-Plus-Function Claims: An Analysis Of Federal Circuit Law, Kyle O. Logan

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Worry Wort: A Path To Acquiring Trademark Rights In The Craft Brewing Industry, Ross Appel

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Faith And Martyrdom: The Tragedy Of Aaron Swartz, Austin C. Murnane

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Replicator And The First Amendment, Kyle Langvardt

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

As 3D printing technology improves, the theoretical endpoint comes into view: a machine that, like the “replicators” of Star Trek, can produce anything the user asks for out of thin air from a digital blueprint. Real-life technology may never reach that endpoint, but our progress toward it has accelerated sharply over the past few years—sharply enough, indeed, for legal scholars to weigh in on the phenomenon’s disruptive potential in areas ranging from intellectual property to gun rights. This Article is concerned with the First Amendment status of the digital blueprints. As of August 2014, it is the first law review …

Fame, Property & Identity: The Purpose And Scope Of The Right Of Publicity, Daniel Gervais, Martin L. Holmes

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

This Article examines the overlaps between the right of publicity and rights granted by trademark law and other deception-based restrictions on the use of names and symbols. It shows that the right of publicity creates a more expansive right rooted in a variegated normative soil with elements of privacy, personhood, and property. The Article suggests a proper scope for the right of publicity that protects free speech. The issue of descendibility is also discussed.

“Sharing” With The Court: The Discoverability Of Private Social Media Accounts In Civil Litigation, Zoe Rosenthal

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Tarantino V. Gawker: The News, Hyperlinking, And Contributory Infringement Liability, Victoria Geronimo

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Taxonomy Of Borrowing, Jacqueline D. Lipton Ph.D.

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

While copyright infringement is a legal wrong, plagiarism is a breach of academic and market practices. However, few authors of literary works truly understand the difference between the two. Copyright law seeks to protect economic interests in an underlying work, while plagiarism—and in countries where moral rights are robust, associated legal rights—protect the integrity of the work and the author’s claim to the work. The digital age has refocused attention on the kinds of claims an author or copyright holder might make with respect to unauthorized uses of a literary work. The ease with which a digital work may be …

A Real Separation Of Powers Or Separation Of Law: Can An Article I Administrative Agency Nullify An Article Iii Federal Court Judgment?, Shashank Upadhye, Adam Sussman

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

This Article concerns whether and how Article I administrative agencies can overturn the final judgment of an Article III federal court. The Article identifies if there really is a constitutional crisis afoot because of a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. It also addresses the concern that the federal court is the final arbiter of a legal dispute and that neither Congress nor an agency can step in to undo that which the federal court has done. The Article focuses on the newly enacted America Invents Act and the current use of administrative agency proceeding to reexamine issued patents …

Models Of Confusion: Strutting The Line Between Agent And Manger, Employee And Independent Contractor In The New York Modeling Industry, Ariel Sodomsky

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Stare Decisis At The U.S. International Trade Commission, Justin Hendrix, P. Andrew Riley, Christine Lehman

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

League Ownership Of Teams, Conflicts Of Interest, And Personnel Exchanges, Lewis Kurlantzick, B.J. Pivonka

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Need To Reform In Pharmaceutical Protection: The Inapplicability Of The Patent System To The Pharmaceutical Industry And The Recommendation Of A Shift Towards Regulatory Exclusivities, Amanda Fachler

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Unreasonable Access: Disguised Issue Advocacy And The First Amendment Status Of Broadcasters, Kerry L. Monroe

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Is There A Patent Troll Problem In The U.K.?, Christian Helmers, Brian J. Love, Luke Mcdonagh

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

This paper reports the findings of an empirical study of patent suits involving non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the U.K. between 2000 and 2010. Overall, we find that NPEs are responsible for 11% of all patent suits filed in the U.K. during this period. Though this is a small percentage by U.S. standards, our study suggests that patent trolling might not be as uniquely American as conventional wisdom suggests. We also find little support for many common explanations for Europe’s relative scarcity of NPE activity. For example, we find that NPEs litigating in the U.K. overwhelmingly assert high-tech patents – even …

Quiet On Set! We Have A Trademark To Sell, Brittany Robbins

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.