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Panhandling And The First Amendment: How Spider-Man Is Reducing The Quality Of Life In New York City, Steven J. Ballew Jan 2016

Panhandling And The First Amendment: How Spider-Man Is Reducing The Quality Of Life In New York City, Steven J. Ballew

Brooklyn Law Review

Recently, New York and other cities have taken steps to regulate panhandling activity in their communities. These regulations are informed by Broken Windows policing, which emphasizes addressing quality-of-life issues as a strategy for reducing crime. Yet government-imposed limitations on panhandling raise concerns about whether such measures violate panhandlers’ First Amendment rights. This note explores whether it is possible to separate the act of panhandling—defined as approaching a stranger in public and requesting immediate and gratuitous cash payment for oneself—from expression that is protected by the First Amendment. It concludes that, based on a concurrence from Justice Kennedy in International Society …


You(Tube), Me, And Content Id: Paving The Way For Compulsory Synchronization Licensing On User-Generated Content Platforms, Nicholas Thomas Delisa Jan 2016

You(Tube), Me, And Content Id: Paving The Way For Compulsory Synchronization Licensing On User-Generated Content Platforms, Nicholas Thomas Delisa

Brooklyn Law Review

The changing landscape of digital media technology makes it increasingly difficult for owners of copyrighted music to monitor how their works are being exploited across the Internet. This is especially true of user-generated content (UGC) platforms—websites and applications such as Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat, where content is created or uploaded predominantly by users. These services pose a special problem to copyright owners because, instead of content being uploaded from a single source that is easily sued and has deep pockets, content is uploaded by users. Users are a troublesome group because they are innumerable, sometimes anonymous, and mostly click on …


Parody And The Fair Use Defense: The Best Way To Practice Safe Sex With All Your Favorite Characters, Jessica N. Schneider Jan 2016

Parody And The Fair Use Defense: The Best Way To Practice Safe Sex With All Your Favorite Characters, Jessica N. Schneider

Brooklyn Law Review

The copyright fair use test balances the copyright holder’s right to exclude others from using its work against the secondary user’s First Amendment right, yet this test is often too unpredictable and favors misappropriation, even the most commercial kind. The test is weakest when used to determine the legality of sexual parodies. The sexual nature of the parody should receive statutory consideration in the balancing test because vulgar and lewd speech is often deemed “low value” speech, and therefore the secondary user’s First Amendment right is weaker compared to the copyright owner’s right to exclude. Courts already consider the sexual …