Law Commons^™

Closing The “Free Speech” Loophole: The Case For Protecting College Athletes’ Publicity Rights In Commercial Video Games, Marc Edelman

Florida Law Review

When Electronic Arts Inc. (Electronic Arts) launched its video game series NCAA Football in June 1993, the available technology limited developers to crafting avatars that looked like faceless figurines. Today, however, advancements in digital technology have enabled developers to create “virtual players” that strongly resemble their real-life counterparts. For example, in NCAA Football 12, the avatar that represents University of Florida running back Chris Rainey possesses Chris Rainey’s actual height, weight, skin complexion, and hair style. In addition, both Chris Rainey and his virtual counterpart wear the same jersey number, visor, gloves, and sweatbands.

Recently, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Taylor …

Competitive Patent Law, William Hubbard

Florida Law Review

Can U.S. patent law help American businesses compete in global markets? In early 2011, President Barack Obama argued that, to obtain economic prosperity, the United States must “out-innovate . . . the rest of the world,” and that patent reform is a “critical dimension[]” of this innovation agenda. Soon thereafter, Congress enacted the most sweeping reforms to U.S. patent law in more than half a century, contending that the changes will “give American inventors and innovators the 21st century patent system they need to compete.” Surprisingly, no legal scholar has assessed whether patent reform is capable of making American firms …