Law Commons^™

Regulation Through Intimidation: Congressional Hearings And Political Pressure On America's Entertainment Media, Kenneth A. Paulson

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This paper explores how Congress has shaped and limited the content of films, comic books, popular music, and television over the past century. Specifically, this report focuses on the path to "self-regulation" and industry-wide codes for these four media, and how government used pressure and influence to spur the adoption of standards.

The Curb Center At Vanderbilt: Panel Discussion On Federal Regulation And The Cultural Landscape, Office Of The Ustr, And Popular Media, Bill Ivey

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This is the Curb Center's first conference. I'm delighted that it's on this topic because it really goes to the heart of what this center is all about. That is, we are looking at a specific kind of content in the U.S. cultural policy world. We are looking at policies and practices of America's arts industries, at legislation, and regulation as the combined sources of U.S. cultural policy. We are also going at it with, I think, a very special and novel kind of process. We are determined to be dedicated to the process of connecting scholars and industry leaders …

A Whole Different Ball Game: Ticket Scalping Legislation And Behavioral Economics?, Jasmin Yang

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Baseball is the sport most closely intertwined with American culture.' In many ways, the scandals associated with baseball, such as antitrust, segregation, and labor disputes, parallel and reflect the nation's development. In helping to shape the nation's collective identity, baseball's history is a sentimental reminder of a time when people were less concerned with profit and more interested in democratic access. And despite its somewhat tarnished image, many people want to champion and maintain the purity of the game. In jarring contrast, ticket scalpers personify the intersection of America's love for baseball with its love of profit. They represent pure …

A Traitor In Our Midst: Is It Your Tivo?, Teresa W. Chan

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I of this Note provides a backdrop of the different aspects of privacy law, focusing on the federal statutory schemes that are applicable to the issue of information gathering and the different possible uses of that information as a violation of privacy rights that have appeared in similar technology cases up to this point in time. This section will also focus on the capabilities of TiVo in more depth.

Part II of the Note examines both of TiVo's questionable actions: first, whether gathering information to sell to advertisers and networks in the form of aggregate data violates privacy rights; …

Adult Entertainment And The First Amendment: A Dialogue And Analysis With The Industry's Leading Litigator, Clay Calvert, Robert D. Richards

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article gives Cambria the legal spotlight, at a time when conservatives control the White House and Congress, to discuss the never-ending tension between the First Amendment freedom of speech, which sometimes, although certainly not always, protects the $10 billion adult entertainment industry in the United States and the voices of censorship who would squelch such content. It is a tension that clearly affects many people, given the sheer popularity of sexually explicit speech and the mainstreaming today of adult content; sales and rentals of adult videos in 2002 totaled more than $4 billion, according to the Adult Video News. …

The Music Industry's Failed Attempt To Influence File Sharing Norms, Steven A. Hetcher

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Digitization and related technologies such as file-sharing software and wireless communications are revolutionizing how intellectual content is distributed and consumed. At the same time, the ways in which consumers have chosen to use this technology are challenging how characteristics of intellectual property ownership are defined. Some of the important rights promised to owners under the Copyright Act may begin to appear as little more than formal guarantees if the explosive trend toward unauthorized copying continues to expand. As a result, the content industry has viewed the ever-expanding footprint of digital media as a mixed blessing. While this technology promises vastly …

United States' Trade Policy And The Exportation Of United States' Culture, Beverly I. Moran

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The United States trade deficit grows larger each year.' What the trade deficit means and what is to be done in response to its growth shifts with administrations and over time. Nevertheless, since World War II, the United States' general position on international trade has been unbridled support for free access to free markets.

Now, the world economy is changing and our economy is responding. When the international trade regime we work under began cross border trade meant steel and oil and cotton. Now, our Gross Domestic Product and employment comes from services as much as anything else. Just as …

Too Much Of A Good Thing: Deciphering Copyright Infringement For The Musician, Joseph K. Christian

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Imitation may indeed be flattering, but at least in the world of music, too much imitation is illegal. Copyright law protects "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. "It guarantees the owner of a copyrighted work the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, display, and publicly perform the work, among other rights. To the owner of a copyright in music, that means that no one else may perform the musical work, or make or distribute copies of the original manuscript or a recording of the work, without the permission of the copyright owner.'

Typosquatters, The Tactical Fight Being Waged By Corporations, And Congress' Attempt To Fight Back In The Criminal Arena, David A. Gusewelle

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part II of this Note presents an overview of domain names as well as a general overview of cybersquatting and trademarks. Part III analyzes some of the measures Congress has taken against cybersquatting and the case law under those measures. Part IV gives a general overview of typosquatters, who constitute a subgroup of cybersquatters. Part V discusses the TDNA and issues that have been addressed through U.S. v. Zuccarini. Part VI asks whether the TDNA is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. Part VII questions whether criminal liability is appropriate and argues for a higher culpability standard in § 2252(B)(b) …