Law Commons^™

Book Review Of How To Fix Copyright By William Patry, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Restoring The Natural Law: Copyright As Labor And Possession, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

In this Article, Professor Yen explores the problems associated with viewing copyright solely as a tool for achieving economic efficiency and advocates for the restoration of natural law to copyright jurisprudence. The Article demonstrates that economics has not been solely responsible for copyright’s development and basic structure, but has rather developed along lines suggested by neutral law, despite modern copyright jurisprudence. The Article considers the consequences of extinguishing copyright’s natural law facets in favor of the blind pursuit of efficiency and concludes by exploring the implications of restoring natural law thinking to copyright jurisprudence.

Early Scholarship Offers And The Ncaa, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

Over the last few years, many NCAA Division I universities have begun offering athletic scholarships to progressively younger student-athletes. Both student-athletes and institutions have much to gain from early informal athletic scholarships. This Article argues, however, that the costs of these early scholarships outweigh the benefits for both student-athletes and institutions. Although the NCAA has laudably begun the process of curbing informal scholarship deals with underclassmen, this Article argues that existing practices are unlikely to change unless the NCAA adopts regulatory strategies fundamentally different from simple prohibitions of the sort recently considered and rejected. Real reform will be difficult to …

Early Scholarship Offers And The Ncaa, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

Over the last few years, many NCAA Division I universities have begun offering athletic scholarships to progressively younger student-athletes. Both student-athletes and institutions have much to gain from early informal athletic scholarships. This Article argues, however, that the costs of these early scholarships outweigh the benefits for both student-athletes and institutions. Although the NCAA has laudably begun the process of curbing informal scholarship deals with underclassmen, this Article argues that existing practices are unlikely to change unless the NCAA adopts regulatory strategies fundamentally different from simple prohibitions of the sort recently considered and rejected. Real reform will be difficult to …

A Preliminary First Amendment Analysis Of Leglisation Treating News Aggregation As Copyright Infringement, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

The newspaper industry has recently experienced economic difficulty. Profits have declined because fewer people read printed versions of newspapers, preferring instead to get their news through so-called "news aggregators" who compile newspaper headlines and provide links to storied posted on newspaper websites. This harms newspaper revenue because news aggregators collect advertising revenue that newspapers used to enjoy. Some have responded to this problem by advocating the use of copyright to give newspapers the ability to control the use of their stories and headlines by news aggregators. This proposal is controversial, for news aggregators often do not commit copyright infringement. Accordingly, …

Commercial Speech Jurisprudence And Copyright In Commercial Information Works, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Third Party Copyright After Grokster, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

This Article studies the construction of third party copyright liability after the recent Supreme Court case Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. This inquiry is important because third party copyright liability has become a controversial area of law that affects the viability of entire industries. Unfortunately, the law governing third party copyright liability is unclear. Grokster involved a claim of third party liability against defendants whose technology supported the sharing of music over the Internet, and it represents the Supreme Court’s attempt to bring coherence to the relevant law.

Grokster is a difficult case to understand. It added a new …

Sony, Tort Doctrines, And The Puzzle Of Peer-To-Peer, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

This Article analyzes and reconstructs the law of third party copyright liability as it applies to providers of peer-to-peer technology. By doing so, the Article accomplishes three things. First, it identifies doctrinal tension between broad third party copyright liability endorsed by lower courts and the Supreme Court's skepticism of such liability as expressed in Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios. Second, it describes how existing interpretations of the law fail to direct judicial attention to important considerations that ought to influence the third party copyright liability of peer-to-peer providers. Third, it uses concepts borrowed from common law torts …

What Federal Gun Control Can Teach Us About The Dmca's Anti-Trafficking Provisions, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

This article studies the so-called "anti-trafficking provisions" of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by drawing insight from federal gun control. Among other things, the anti-trafficking provisions criminalize the distribution of technology that circumvents the encryption schemes sometimes used to protect digital files. This prohibition even applies to the sale of circumvention technology for lawful purposes. Not surprisingly, this result has generated controversy. Consumer advocates and civil libertarians have argued that it is wrong to criminalize the sale of technology that has lawful use, particularly when that criminalization makes it difficult - if not impossible - for the public to …

Western Frontier Or Feudal Society? Metaphors And Perceptions Of Cyberspace, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

The Article examines how metaphors influence perceptions of cyberspace. Among other things, the Article studies the comparison of cyberspace to the American western frontier and the metaphor's construction cyberspace as a "place" whose natural characteristics guarantee freedom and opportunity. This supports an often-made claim that cyberspace is different from real space, and that government should generally refrain from regulating the Internet.

The Article surveys the basis of the western frontier metaphor in academic history and popular culture and concludes that the metaphor misleads people to overestimate cyberspace's "natural" ability to guarantee freedom and opportunity. The Article accomplishes this in part …

A Personal Injury Law Perspective On Copyright In An Internet Age, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

A Preliminary Economic Analysis Of Napster: Internet Technology, Copyright Liability, And The Possibility Of Coasean Bargaining, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

This Article offers a preliminary economic analysis of whether it is desirable to hold Napster, Inc. liable for copyright infringement committed by Napster users. The Article does so because the recording industry's recent lawsuit against Napster, Inc. offers a prominent example of the claim that the efficient production and distribution of copyrightable subject matter require broad injunctive relief against providers of certain Internet technology. If this argument is accepted, profound consequences for the Internet's development may follow because copyright liability against Napster will give the recording industry significant control over Napster and - by application of precedent - other similar …

Praising With Faint Damnation--The Troubling Rehabilitation Of Korematsu, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

The Danger Of Bootstrap Formalism In Copyright, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Foreword: Making Us Possible, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Unhelpful, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

A Statistical Analysis Of Asian Americans And The Affirmative Action Hiring Of Law School Faculty, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurship, Copyright, And Personal Home Pages, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

The Interdisciplinary Future Of Copyright Theory, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Advice For The Beginning Legal Scholar, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

The Legacy Of Feist: The Consequences Of A Weak Connection Between Copyright And The Economics Of Public Goods, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

When Authors Won't Sell: Parody, Fair Use, And Efficiency In Copyright Law, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

The Art And Craft Of Teaching: Art Resting On Craft, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

A First Amendment Perspective On The Idea/Expression Dichotomy And Copyright In A Work's "Total Concept And Feel", Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

It's Not That Simple: An Unnecessary Elimination Of Strict Liability And Presumed Damage In Libel Law, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review Of The Zoning Of Adult Entertainment: A Search For The Purposeful Suppression Of Protected Speech, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

No abstract provided.