Law Commons^™

Obtaining Trademark Registration For Marks Containing Political Commentary: A Look Into Vidal V. Elster, Annick Runyon

University of Miami Law Review

For decades, courts have struggled with balancing trademark law with the First Amendment—specifically with cases challenging the denial of trademark registration of certain marks. Congress codified trademark registration through the Lanham Act, also known as the Trademark Act of 1946. This statute outlines the registration process and expands the rights of trademark owners. In recent years, a string of cases have ruled certain provisions of the Lanham Act that bar certain marks from registration unconstitutional.

Currently under review by the Supreme Court, the case Vidal v. Elster involves an applicant who was denied trademark registration for his mark “Trump Too …

No Flash Photography Please: An Analysis Of Corporate Use Of Street Art Under Section 120(A) Of The Awcpa, Sierra Epke

University of Miami Law Review

Street art and graffiti are pervasive artforms found throughout the world and throughout history. While the artforms have been associated with crime and vandalism in the past, they have increasingly been featured in different capacities from art galleries to corporate marketing campaigns. With street art’s growing recognition and popularity, corporations have begun to use the medium to target new customer bases. In some situations, the use of artwork in marketing campaigns is unsanctioned by the artist. Therefore, courts have now begun to examine the balance between copyright protection for street artists and the corporate use of street art. Section 120(a) …

“Sorry,” But I Didn’T Release It: How The Court’S Analysis Of The Fair Use Doctrine In Chapman V. Maraj Protects Innovation And Creativity In The Music Industry, Samantha Ross

University of Miami Business Law Review

The fair use doctrine is an important affirmative defense to copyright infringement when a particular use does not interfere with copyright law’s primary goal of promoting creativity for the public good. Artists and songwriters frequently experiment with copyrighted music without permission before seeking licensing approval from the original rights holders to “sample” or “replay” the work. In Chapman v. Maraj—a copyright infringement suit brought by Tracy Chapman against Nicki Minaj—the United States District Court for the Central District of California held that experimenting with a copyrighted musical composition for the purpose of creating a new work with an intent to …

Sound Familiar? Digital Sampling Is Taking Center Stage, Logan Zucchino

University of Miami Business Law Review

In 2018, Kendrick Duckworth, better known by his stage-name Kendrick Lamar, became the first non-classical or jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Equally as surprising, the album contained a magnitude of digital sampling. As digital sampling has become more prevalent since the 1980’s, courts have differed on how to handle the issue. By 2016, the Sixth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals established a circuit split on the issue, with one holding that unlicensed digital sampling is per se unlawful, and the other holding that a more lenient test is needed. Courts have continued to struggle with …

The Rearden Problem: Defining Ownership In A Changing Landscape, Jake Altobello

University of Miami Business Law Review

This paper will address the problem that is currently being confronted by the Walt Disney World Company; who owns the creative works made from software stolen from the original creator? Furthermore, does the court’s application of the “lion’s share” theory effectively further the Constitution’s intent to promote the growth of arts and sciences? By looking at the historical progression of intellectual property law and the holdings of key cases in copyright law, this paper will distill into a summary of key concerns the jurisprudence regarding associating property rights in intellectual property. By narrowing the key considerations of the court, this …

Counter-Ip Conspiracies: Patent Alienability And The Sherman Antitrust Act, Hannibal Travis

University of Miami Law Review

Anticompetitive collusion by intellectual property owners frequently triggered antitrust enforcement during the twentieth century. An emerging area of litigation and scholarship, however, involves conspiracies by potential licensees of intellectual property to reduce or eliminate opportunities by a property’s holders to profit from it, or even to recoup their investments in creating and protecting it. The danger is that potential licensees will collude with one another to suppress royalties or sale prices. This Article traces the history of such litigation, provides an overview of the scholarly and theoretical arguments against monopsonistic or oligopsonistic collusion against licensors of intellectual property, and summarizes …

Brazil’S New Path To Meaningful Intellectual Property Protection, Luiz Miranda

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Today in Brazil, it takes over eleven years to receive legal rights to an invention by means of a patent. This state of affairs provides inadequate intellectual property protection for inventors and businesses, hampering Brazil’s desire to accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth through a national patent system. But a new Joint Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil could mean rescue is on the way. Both governments agreed to engage in patent work sharing programs between the two patent offices, in hopes of increased efficiency. Yet, some scholars have …

A Passion For Fashion: The International Trade Commission Should “Step Up” Its Role In The Enforcement Of Design Patents, Nikki Rigl

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The National Security Implications And Potential Solutions For The Unintended Consequences Of The 1980 Bayh-­‐Dole Act On Brain-­‐Injured Veterans From The Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan, Colonel Noel Christian Pace

University of Miami National Security & Armed Conflict Law Review

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the “signature wound” seen in veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from which the U.S. now has over 20,000 young veterans living with TBI. However, some unintended consequences of the Bayh-­‐Dole Act of 1980, a law designed to tap the “secret weapon” of federally funded research & development (R&D) to help the U.S. return to competitiveness after the recession of the late 1970’s, are now preventing these heroes from getting the treatment and cures they need. This article reviews the history of American academia’s close cooperation with the U.S. government in solving military …

Inconsistency In Antitrust, Ramsi A. Woodcock

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Not In It For The Long Run: China's Solution For Compliance With Trips Requires More Than A Nine-Month Campaign, Devon Spencer

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Google Police: How The Indictment Of The Pirate Bay Presents A New Solution To Internet Piracy, Bernard A. Mantel

University of Miami Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property Rights And The Digital Era: Argentina And Brazil, Marcos J. Basso, Adriana C.K. Vianna

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property In The Western Hemisphere, Robert M. Sherwood

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Caribbean Basin Initiative: A Proposal To Attract Corporate Investment And Technological Infusion Via An Inter-American System Of Cooperative Protection For Intellectual Property, John Cyril Malloy Iii

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Common Law For The Ages Of Intellectual Property, Dan Rosen

University of Miami Law Review

This Article maintains that the rapid pace of technological advances requires that courts take an activist posture in intellectual property cases by updating the Copyright Act and the Patent Law instead of awaiting congressional response.

Section 301: The United States' Response To Latin American Trade Barriers Involving Intellectual Property, Judith H. Bello

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.