Law Commons^™

From The Editor, David W. Dulabon

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In this issue, the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment Law & Practice (JELP) explores two such themes. In the Film/TV section, we present views on the degree to which First Amendment protection extends to expression that arguably entails a negative influence on some audiences. In the Music section, we are pleased to offer two variations on a common theme, in the form of two accounts of the copyright law's reaction to advances in technology. Accompanying these recurrent themes are those of our own, as sections dealing with the Internet and Sports round out this, our fifth issue.

Digital Broadcasting: The Cost Of Copyright, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Music copyright issues pervade the Internet these days, but few have roots as far back as 1915. Since that time, radio broadcasters and copyright owners have found themselves embroiled in a conflict over the extent to which copyright law should and can dictate the terms and cost of broadcasting music. Advances in dig- ital transmission technology, followed closely by the introduction of two important legislative enactments, have kept the debate fresh in recent years. Now, an inter- pretative ruling by the Copyright Office as to the applicability of the latter to the former threatens to extend the dispute well into …

The Peculiar Case Of State V. Terry Lynn Nichols: Are Television Cameras Really Banned From Oklahoma Criminal Proceedings?, Robert D. Nelon

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The truck bomb ripped into A.P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m. One hundred sixty-eight men, women, and children died. None knew Timothy McVeigh or Terry Lynn Nichols, nor did McVeigh and Nichols know them. In fact, Nichols was not even in Oklahoma City when the bombing occurred. He is now--occupying a special cell in the Oklahoma County Jail, awaiting trial on state charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and aiding in placing a bomb near a public building.

Nichols' trip to Oklahoma City was circuitous. Initially, separate federal proceedings against McVeigh and Nichols were …

Cyberjacking, Mouse Trapping, And The Ftc Act: Are Federal Consumer Protection Laws Helping Or Hurting Online Consumers?, Kenneth Sanney

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Only the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can bring a federal cause of action against a company whose business practices or actions deceive consumers. However, the FTC's power is limited; it can intervene on behalf of consumers only when there is a pattern of misconduct by the business that threatens the public interest. But where the scams themselves are difficult to spot, patterns may be virtually impossible to establish. Moreover, even successful FTC actions may yield little in the way of preventative or compensatory benefit for the individual user.

My aim in this Note, therefore, is to offer one possible means …

Digital Performance Royalties: Should Radio Pay?, Bruce H. Phillips, Carl R. Moore

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

We must acknowledge that some questions remain unanswered. Have we entered an era in which record labels, recording artists, record producers, and musicians will finally earn royalties for the public performance of their creations? Will the recent Copyright Office action be a watershed development in United States copyright law? Or will the broadcasters and their well-funded and powerful lobbying arm, the NAB, prevail in the end--if not in the courts, then in Congress? The only clear answer is simply this: not if the RIAA, the record labels' own well-funded and powerful lobbying arm, has anything to do with it. It …

Beyond The Blackboard: Regulating Distance Learning In Higher Education, Leslie T. Thornton

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

It is not so surprising that traditional institutions of higher education have been relatively slower than businesses, for example, to embrace the potential of the new technologies, and have lost students to those institutions and businesses which have been more willing to change. But technology is playing an enormous role in the shape, size, and direction of education, and it's not waiting for the leaders of traditional institutions--or anyone else, for that matter--to join the club.

This Article examines the scope and impact of that role, specifically as it has developed through a new trend toward online "distance education" or …

Irreconcilable Congressional Treatment Of Internet Service Providers As Speakers, Raymond Shih Ray Ku

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article argues that under the CDA and OCILLA, Congress adopted facially inconsistent approaches towards ISP liability for expression. Nonetheless, despite the overt differences, it is possible to discern an underlying principle for determining when ISPs should be considered speakers that reconciles this inconsistency. Put simply, the CDA and OCILLA support an approach toward determining when ISPs are speakers that focuses on whether an ISP exercises editorial control over its network. This approach is evidenced by the fact that both statutes recognize that ISPs are able to exercise editorial control over any and all content on their networks, and both …

Flag On The Play: 25 To Life For The Offense Of Murder, Sean Bukowski

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note will consider the extent to which the "professional athletic" community should add its own sanctions to those imposed by public law. First, it asks whether athletes are getting into more trouble than in the past, as it is possible that athletes are just following a trend of society, and thus are no more prone to violence than anyone else. Nevertheless, violent crime, especially that committed by role models like athletes, is especially damaging to society. Therefore, the Note then addresses why the sports leagues should care whether their athletes are committing such offenses.

It will then examine how …

For Entertainment Purposes Or Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam: Televangelism In The Marketplace Of Ideas, Juan G. Villasenor

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note discusses the proposed legal responses to the problem of fraud by televangelists. Finding the solutions constitutionally deficient, politically unsound, or practically ineffective as deterrents, it then explores the possibility of a content-based restriction on televangelists' speech. The Note concludes that such a deliberate restriction on speech cannot withstand First Amendment scrutiny, regardless of the dishonesty or disingenuousness one may find in televangelists' tactics. Accordingly, despite the great potential for deception, televangelists' activities are, and should be, absolutely protected by the First Amendment. Any proposed remedy to deal with televangelism must occur in the marketplace of ideas, which is …

Changes In The Ticket Distribution Industry: Is This The Beginning Of The End For Ticketmaster?, Joycelyn Stevenson

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note aims to explore the legal underpinnings of consumer frustration with Ticketmaster and the rest of the ticket distribution industry as it moves into the electronic age. First, this Note introduces Ticketmaster and examines its use of exclusive dealing agreements with local venues. It then discusses the relevant federal antitrust statutes affecting the industry and the market in which distributors operate. It also analyzes the role exclusive dealing agreements play in stifling competition. Next, this Note discusses the challenges--both legal and economic--to the industry's most visible member. It then discusses Ticketmaster as a possible product of competition in light …

The Price Of Fame: The Celebrity Image As A Commodity And The Right Of Publicity, Ty Ford

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note will examine several recent cases that illustrate how major stars are using the ever-widening scope of such doctrines to control their images in the media. These examples show how the right of publicity has evolved from a right designed to protect a performer's uniquely personal attributes and stylings from unauthorized (and unpaid for) exploitation into a legal fortress constructed around movie-star images that allows the star to separate unwanted attention from necessary popularity. Furthermore, it will explore the inherent contradictions in such a development, showing how it can be used to manipulate and control the very peripheral industries, …

Forming A Single Entity: A Recipe For Success For New Professional Sports Leagues, Karen Jordan

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note begins by introducing some of the more recently founded professional sports leagues, identifying their background and single-entity structures. It then provides a general background of antitrust issues in sports, followed by explanations of the possible defenses, including the single-entity structure. Next, it discusses Fraser as a potential landmark case for professional sports leagues, showing how its lessons contribute to the current mode of antitrust analysis. Finally, this Note illustrates why single-entity structuring may be essential for leagues in their infancy, but of little use to well-established professional sports leagues.

The Recording Artist Agreement: Does It Empower Or Enslave, Lynn Morrow

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In June 2000, Courtney Love, the controversial lead singer of the rock group Hole, lambasts, among other things, record company profits. In an essay entitled "Courtney Love Does the Math," she maintains that a recording artist agreement is itself a form of music piracy. She tells a compelling story about a band and a record company. As a result of a bidding war between the major labels, the band was given what is considered a huge deal-a twenty percent artist royalty and a million dollar advance. Providing a breakdown of how the million dollars was spent, Ms. Love calculates that, …

Selecting A Sports Agent: The Inside For Athletes & Parents, Charles B. Lipscond, Peter Titlebaum

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The goal of this Article is to educate and enlighten athletes, their families, and their coaches as to what they should know to make the best possible choice when selecting an agent. Identifying the individual best equipped to provide professional guidance to a high school or collegiate athlete contemplating a professional sports career is an extremely difficult task. Nevertheless, information is power, and that power belongs in the hands of the athlete. Thus, in the course of this Article, we will explore all the necessary topics and questions to help guide an athlete and his or her parents in selecting …

Why Traditional Insurance Policies Are Not Enough: The Nature Of Potential E-Commerce Losses & Liabilities, Anna Lee

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

There are two general categories of insurance policies: first-party policies and third-party/liability policies. First-party polices provide benefits directly to policyholders for losses suffered by the policyholders. For example, fire damage to the policyholder's plant or financial loss resulting from the interruption of the policyholder's business would be covered under the first-party insurance. Generally, these first-party losses are covered under policies such as "all risk," "named peril," "business interruption," or "expense to reduce loss" coverages. Among these various types of first-party policies, "all risk" insurance policies provide the broadest coverages.

Third-party or liability policies provide protection for claims against the policyholder …

Framing And Blaming In The Culture Wars: Marketing Murder Or Selling Speech?, Clay Calvert

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article uses the Pahler legal battle as a case study to examine the current culture wars that have placed the Hollywood recording and entertainment industries in the legal crosshairs of both legislative and judicial efforts to redefine popular teen culture. The first section demonstrates how the theories at issue in Pahler mirror the tactics used in the recent war against tobacco industry advertising that also allegedly targeted minors. Next, the Article situates Pahler within the context of Congressional hearings in the fall of 2000 that focused attention on the alleged Hollywood marketing of products featuring violent content to minors. …

Chillin' Effect Of Section 506: The Battle Over Digital Sampling In Rap Music, Ronald Gaither

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Digital samples are to rap music as precedent is to the practice of law. Lawyers, mindful of the principle of stare decisis, mine court opinions for arguments to support legal theories. Similarly, rappers use the lyrics and musical arrangements found in previously recorded works to spin out new and creative pieces. But where-as no one worries when a lawyer quotes pieces of old case law to fashion her arguments in a novel case, rappers' heavy reliance on digital sampling routinely puts their community front and center in a debate over copyright infringement...

Considering the severity of most criminal penalties for …

Changing Horses In Mid-Stream: The Copyright Office's New Rule Makes Broadcasters Pay For "Streaming" Their Signals Over The Internet, Samuel Fifer, Gregory R. Naron

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

With traditional, over-the-air broadcasts, radio stations do not have to start paying license fees to rights holders if they get a bigger transmitter or technology allows their signal to reach more listeners. That much, not even the RIAA will dispute. So why should it matter if stations use the Internet to reach additional listeners? The law shouldn't be interpreted to discourage radio stations from using new Internet technology to do the same thing they're doing now--especially since Congress itself expressly said it did not want to "[hamper] ... new technologies" or "impose new and unreasonable burdens" on broadcasters. And make …