Law Commons^™

War.Com: Why The Battles Over Domain Names Will Never Cease, Deborah Howitt

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In this Note, the author discusses the history of disputes over Internet domain names and presents potential solutions to the problem. The author reviews the International Ad Hoc Coalition's proposal for additional top-level domains, and concludes that new domains will not provide an adequate solution to disputes over domain names.

The author provides an overview of trademark law, including the Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995, which created a federal cause of action for trademark dilution. Although the addition of this cause of action has made it easier for trademark owners to prevent the use by others of "famous" marks …

The Talent Agencies Act: Time For A Change, Edwin F. Mcpherson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Several years ago, the Talent Agencies Act was an effective tool for regulating unscrupulous agents and would-be agents, and the Labor Commissioner was a rigorous enforcer of the law. As recently as two to three years ago, the Act was interpreted and enforced uniformly and strictly, and wreaked havoc on the personal management profession. However, more recently the Labor Commissioner has left much of the enforcement and interpretation of the Act up to the courts. Superior Court judges do not understand (or do not care to understand) the Act, and appellate justices appear to be just as confused. The author …

Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds: A Call For A Return To An Equitable Talent Agencies Act Standard, Chip Robertson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This Note addresses the current conflict in case law surrounding the California Talent Agency Act. It examines the validity of the Wachs v. Curry incidental procurement exemption and Waisbren v. Peppercorn's strict rule prohibiting procurement without a license. The Note discusses the negative implications of the California Labor Commissions decision to abandon the Wachs incidental exemption and enforce the Waisbren holding. The author then suggests alternatives which may lead to more equitable solutions for artists, personal managers, and talent agents.

The Future Of The Multilateral Trading System In The Context Of Trips, Frederick M. Abbott

UC Law SF International Law Review

The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the coming into force of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) creates a new dynamic in the field of the international regulation of intellectual property rights (IPRs). The TRIPS Agreement establishes minimum IPRs protection standards on both the substantive and enforcement levels, and provides a trade-based mechanism for the enforcement of these standards. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) continues to play a major international IPRs role, serving as a forum for the negotiation of new rules, acting to administer IPRs conventions, and providing technical assistance …

Reclaiming Our Future: International Efforts To Eliminate The Threat Of Persistent Organic Pollutants, Elizabeth B. Baldwin

UC Law SF International Law Review

The evidence is mounting that persistent organic pollutants ("POPs") are causing increasingly detrimental health and environmental effects around the world and pose a major threat to global biodiversity. Exposure to POPs began with the onset of the chemical age over fifty years ago and has increased steadily with the worldwide distribution of pesticides and fertilizers.

As Ms. Baldwin describes, a concerted international effort is needed to deal with this threat, particularly because POPs banned in one country often find their way to another. In response to this worldwide problem, the international community is attempting to create a binding international instrument …

Allowing Sentence Bargains To Fall Outside Of The Guidelines Without Valid Departures: It Is Time For The Commission To Act, John M. Dick

UC Law Journal

This Note studies the effects that the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines have had on the practice of plea bargaining. In particular, the Note examines how the practice of sentence bargaining has been affected.

The Guidelines state that Rule 11(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure continues to govern the acceptance or rejection of plea agreements. On its face, Rule 11 (e) appears to give federal courts the absolute power to accept or reject plea bargain agreements that provide for specific prison sentences. However, the Guidelines also set forth general policy statements concerning the acceptance …

The Helms-Burton Act: Title Iii And International Claims, David Kaye

UC Law SF International Law Review

The Helms-Burton Act provides a right of action for U.S. nationals with Cuban property claims against those who "traffic" in such property. This Articles addresses whether Title III of the Act is consistent with principles of extraterritorial jurisdiction under international law.

Mr. Kaye describes the Cuban government's failure to abide by international law during its property confiscations in the period from 1959-61, and explains the Act's provisions to tailor a remedy for Cuban property claimants. In contrast to an OASIAJC opinion regarding Helms-Burton, Title III is consistent with international and domestic law on espousal, continuous nationality, the nature of claims …

Federal Courts As Weapons Of Foreign Policy: The Case Of The Helms-Burton Act, John Yoo

UC Law SF International Law Review

The Helms-Burton Act's validity must be tested not only against principles of international law and the obligations of international trading agreements, but the statute's use of the federal judiciary. Although the Act may be consistent with jurisdictional principles and agreements such as GATT and NAFTA, it may force federal courts into a role ill-suited for U.S. national security policy and inconsistent with basic constitutional principles.

Professor Yoo argues that whether Helms-Burton violates international law is insignificant to domestic enforcement of Congressional foreign policy objectives. Further, the national security exceptions to GATT and NAFTA provide sufficient latitude to permit the Act's …

International Law Rules And Historical Evidences Supporting China's Title To The South China Sea Islands, Jianming Shen

UC Law SF International Law Review

The islands in the South China Sea (Nanhai Zhu Dao), most notably the Xisha Islands (Paracels) and the Nansha Islands (Spratlys), have historically been China's territory. The Chinese people sailed to and discovered the chain of the South China Sea islands more than two thousand years ago. The Chinese dynasties started exercising jurisdiction at the latest in the Song era (960-1127 A.D.). China was the first to discover these islands, the first to name them, the first to engage in fishing and other production activities there, and the first to exhibit control and authority over the area. Given the lack …

Professor Rudolf B. Schlesinger, Charles D. Cramton

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Professor Rudolf B. Schlesinger, James R. Mccall

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Professor Rudolf B. Schlesinger: An Affectionate Tribute, David I. Levine

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Courts And The Creation Of A Spirit Of Moderation: Judicial Protection Of Revolutionaries In Argentina, 1863-1929, Jonathan M. Miller

UC Law SF International Law Review

Scholarship on Latin America has traditionally ignored the political role played by the judiciary. This gap may have some justification in the relative weakness of many Latin American judiciaries in recent decades, but leaves a serious void for understanding Latin American politics in earlier periods. This Article examines how the Argentine judiciary in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century protected the rights of government opponents who started armed uprisings with high political stakes. Far from acting as a tool of government oppression, the judiciary frequently challenged the government and placed sharp limits on its actions. The Argentine Supreme Court …

In Tribute, Richard M. Buxbaum

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Tribute, H. G. Prince

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Systems Of Regional Economic Integration, Stefan A. Riesenfeld

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is Codification In Decline, Stephen Mccaffrey

UC Law SF International Law Review

The International Law Commission of the United Nations is responsible for the codification and progressive development of international law. After some signal initial successes, the Commission has had difficulty producing products that are generally acceptable to states. This Article examines the reasons for this apparent decline and prospects for the future.

Some Thoughts On Comanagement, Eric Smith

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

The Door In The Woods, Keith Taylor

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Damage, Wendell Berry

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Asymmetric Rewards: Why Class Actions (May) Settle For Too Little, Bruce L. Hay

UC Law Journal

As the class action device is used with increasing frequency in damages actions, there is an increasing risk that class counsel may settle the claims of the class members for too little, or for less than their expected value at trial. One task of the courts is to protect against this danger, and this includes the policing of the "reasonableness" of the class counsel's fee in settlement. In doing so, however, Professor Hay argues that courts tend to ask the wrong question: they focus on the counsel's "take" from the settlement in absolute terms, rather than focusing on his "take" …

Providing Equal Access To Equal Justice: A Statistical Study Of Non-Prisoner Pro Se Litigation In The United States District Court For The Northern District Of California In San Francisco, Spencer G. Park

UC Law Journal

The recent growth in pro se litigation in the federal courts has prompted many questions as to how to respond to this trend. This study seeks to provide a statistical basis for answers to those questions. Based upon a sample drawn from pro se cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, this Note examines various aspects of pro se litigation including the types of claims filed by pro se litigants, whether or not pro se litigants request counsel, how pro se claims are disposed, and the relative burden of pro se …

Applying A Strict Discovery Rule To Art Stolen In The Past, Tarquin Preziosi

UC Law Journal

There is a great deal of un-recovered stolen art, and a great deal of confusion within and among jurisdictions as to when the applicable statute of limitations for stolen art begins to run. Holistic legal reform in this area is long overdue. Recent proposals, responding to current practices in the art world, call for the adoption of an art theft registry to help effectuate the return of stolen art and provide efficiency in the marketplace. However, a great number of objects fall outside the effective scope of these proposals: art that was stolen in the past, and those artworks which …

Information Property And The Internet, Henry V. Barry

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The concept of information as property is not new, but has gained new momentum with the development of the Internet. During the past century, courts have developed theories recognizing and protecting limited property rights in information, and prohibiting forms of information misappropriation. The author argues that the expanding use of the Internet generally, and the World Wide Web in particular, have resulted in a "misappropriation explosion" which, if unmoderated, could result in reduced access to information.

The author traces the evolution of property rights in information. Next, the author discusses the recent expansion in the law of misappropriation in federal …

Enforcement Of Use Limitations By Internet Services Providers: How To Stop That Hacker, Cracker, Spammer, Spoofer, Flamer, Bomber, Keith J. Epstein, Bill Tancer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

As the Internet continues its rapid growth and development, concerns regarding the potential for its misuse are also growing. Many of the abuses and misuses of the Internet defy simple solutions. Unacceptable uses of the Internet have triggered calls for regulation of cyberspace, harmed Internet users, and have sometimes resulted in liability for unwary Internet Service Providers. The authors considers the difficulties of Internet Service Providers and others who do business on or over the Internet caused by unacceptable Internet use, and proposes a set of solutions designed to protect their interests. Contractual use limitations, in conjunction with policies designed …

An Updated Consideration Of A Taxing Problem: The Harmonization Of State And Local Tax Laws Affecting Nonresident Professional Athletes, Marc Yassinger

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Professional athletes today can no longer merely concern themselves with their on-the-field performances. More and more states and cities, driven by growing deficits and the need to create more tax dollars, have made diligent efforts to focus their tax collection resources on visible individuals who earn sizable salaries in their jurisdictions. With their big salaries, nonresident professional athletes are easily identifiable targets who justify the effort. The author examines how the collection of taxes from nonresident professional athletes has created numerous problems, including inconsistent formulas employed by different jurisdictions, which has lead in some cases to double taxation.

This Note …

Race As A Hiring/Casting Criterion: If Laurence Olivier Was Rejected For The Role Of Othello In Othello, Would He Have A Valid Title Vii Claim, Heekyung Esther Kim

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This Note analyzes whether an actor or actress has a cause of action against casting directors and/or producers under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act for employment discrimination based on race. The author discusses what constitutes a violation of the Act and the procedural requirements a plaintiff must comply with in order to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. This Note then addresses how the law does not effectively deal with the issue and how this inapplicability of the law affects employment opportunities for minority actors and actresses. The author proposes that currently, the only appropriate remedy …

The Quality Of First Amendment Speech, Randall P. Bezanson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

One of the core axioms of First Amendment jurisprudence is that the quality of speech-its goodness or badness from a literary, artistic, or aesthetic perspective, or its effectiveness in communicating to an audienceshould bear no relationship to its protection under the First Amendment. This Article analyzes the Supreme Court's First Amendment doctrine across a wide range of fields: political speech, obscenity, commercial advertising, misrepresentation, entertainment, literature and the arts, and humor. The author demonstrates that the Court regularly, although implicitly and perhaps unconsciously, employs various qualitative criteria in determining whether and to what extent speech is protected under the First …

Has The Fda Bought The Winston Cup: A Takings Analysis Of The Proposed Ban On Sports Sponsorships By Tobacco Companies As Applied To Nascar, Andrew B. Dzeguze

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In 1996 the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the FDA would regulate all tobacco advertising, classifying tobacco as a drug. This Note explores the ramifications of this announcement as it relates to the ongoing sponsorship of NASCAR auto races by tobacco companies. Initially, this Note provides a brief history of NASCAR and its tobacco sponsorship. The Note then explores three legal theories for invalidating the FDA regulations: First Amendment defenses, lack of jurisdiction defenses, and takings claims. The author concludes that a takings claim provides the best method of challenging the FDA regulations, because it would not …

Copernican Revolution In Jurisprudence: In Loving Memory Of Rudolf B. Schlesinger, Mentor And Friend, Ugo Mattei

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.