Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in Law
Mergers, Antitrust, And The Interplay Of Entrepreneurial Activity And The Investments That Fund It, Gary Dushnitsky, D. Daniel Sokol
Mergers, Antitrust, And The Interplay Of Entrepreneurial Activity And The Investments That Fund It, Gary Dushnitsky, D. Daniel Sokol
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
This Article addresses the potentially negative implications of proposed antitrust legislation on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in general, with a particular focus on the venture capitalists (VCs) that fund it. First, it offers a review of how antitrust merger law currently works and how proposed legislative changes to antitrust may threaten the innovative Venture Capital (VC)-backed ecosystem that has made the United States the center of global innovation across many different industries. Accompanying this review are some empirical observations. Second, recognizing that the understanding of innovative entrepreneurial activity calls for a deep appreciation of those who back it, the Article also …
Race Cartels: How Constructor Collaboration Is Curbing Innovation In Formula 1, Chandler C. Gerard-Reimer
Race Cartels: How Constructor Collaboration Is Curbing Innovation In Formula 1, Chandler C. Gerard-Reimer
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
Formula 1 is in the midst of a copycat scandal: technology has made it possible for teams to reverse engineer clones of competitors’ race cars. This is a less than ideal state of affairs for the championship series, which prides itself on being the pinnacle of motorsport and automotive innovation, thanks in large part to the cars’ rapid rate of technological advancement. In order to address this problem, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Formula 1’s governing body, must increase independent innovation efforts by amending the technical regulations to restrict the extent of presently allowed inter-team collaboration. Worried that the …
Franchise Participants As Proper Patent Opponents: Walker Process Claims, Robert W. Emerson
Franchise Participants As Proper Patent Opponents: Walker Process Claims, Robert W. Emerson
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
Franchise parties may be sued for patent infringement, or they may seek to sue others for an antitrust injury as the result of a fraudulently obtained patent. Indeed, franchisors and franchisees may simultaneously fall under both categories-sued for infringement but aggrieved because the very basis of that suit is illegitimate in their eyes. These franchise parties may turn for relief to a patent-validity challenge authorized in the seminal case Walker Process Equipment, Inc. v. Food Machine & Chemical Corp. Franchise participants-franchisees and franchisors alike-may be the ideal Walker Process claimants. When these types of cases occur, the damages within the …
The Ncaa On Notice: How Utilizing Principles Of Federalism Could Relieve Antitrust Pressure, Grant Newton
The Ncaa On Notice: How Utilizing Principles Of Federalism Could Relieve Antitrust Pressure, Grant Newton
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was founded to protect athletes from injury and to provide an avenue for the pursuit of sport alongside the pursuit of education. The NCAA maintains that accomplishing each of those goals requires the preservation of amateurism through a cap on the amount of funds universities may disburse to athletes. Historically, value judgments saved the NCAA from antitrust challenges because courts found that the NCAA's rules furthered the organization's purpose. As antitrust law has developed over the past fifty years, however, courts have become increasingly determined to avoid value judgments in antitrust challenges. Thus, it …
Linking The Public Benefit To The Corporation: Blockchain As A Solution For Certification In An Age Of "Do-Good" Business, Margaret D. Fowler
Linking The Public Benefit To The Corporation: Blockchain As A Solution For Certification In An Age Of "Do-Good" Business, Margaret D. Fowler
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
As part of its now-infamous emissions scandal, Volkswagen spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising geared toward environmentally conscious consumers. The scandal is an example of "greenwashing," which, along with the corresponding term "fairwashing," represents the information asymmetry present in product markets that involve claims of social and environmental responsibility in companies' production practices. As consumers and investors demand responsible production practices from both traditional corporations and entities organized under the newer corporate form known as public benefit corporations (PBCs), it becomes even more important to verify that those entities' supply chains are, in fact, meeting standards for the …
Promoting Access Over Ownership: Realigning Antitrust And Intellectual Property Law To Usher In An Era Of Collaborative Consumption, Adrian Kuenzler
Promoting Access Over Ownership: Realigning Antitrust And Intellectual Property Law To Usher In An Era Of Collaborative Consumption, Adrian Kuenzler
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
Following the US Supreme Court's endorsement of the promotion of consumer welfare as the single goal of antitrust and intellectual property laws, many courts have reasserted their commitment to the market access doctrine for antitrust and intellectual property law liability. These courts have rejected the Court's submission in GTE Sylvania to adhere to a strict output/profitability test concentrating predominantly on the positive and negative welfare effects regarding allegedly infringing conduct. This Article examines several important antitrust and intellectual property law decisions and locates within them a common flaw to express an intelligible, distinct doctrinal function for giving precedence to market …
Us Government Antitrust Intervention In Standard-Setting Activities And The Competitive Process, Alden F. Abbott
Us Government Antitrust Intervention In Standard-Setting Activities And The Competitive Process, Alden F. Abbott
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
The private sector historically has driven the setting of technical standards in the United States, with the federal government only intervening in response to perceived violations of specific statutes, such as antitrust laws. This concern is reflected in case law and in advice proffered by US antitrust enforcers. Recently, however, US enforcers have turned their attention primarily to the alleged misuse of monopoly power over patents that cover technologies embodied in standards. This new focus threatens to undermine innovation and departs from sound antitrust enforcement policy. American antitrust enforcers should redirect their priorities away from alleged single-firm, patent-related abuses associated …
Entering The Innovation Twilight Zone: How Patent And Antitrust Law Must Work Together, Jeffrey I.D. Lewis, Maggie Wittlin
Entering The Innovation Twilight Zone: How Patent And Antitrust Law Must Work Together, Jeffrey I.D. Lewis, Maggie Wittlin
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
Patent law and antitrust law have traded ascendancy over the last century, as courts and other institutions have tended to favor one at the expense of the other. In this Article, we take several steps toward stabilizing the doctrine surrounding these two branches of law. First, we argue that an optimal balance between patent rights and antitrust enforcement exists that will maximize consumer welfare, including promoting innovation and economic growth. Further, as Congress is the best institution to find this optimum, courts should enforce both statutes according to their literal text, which grants absolute patent rights but allows for more …
Decertifying Players Unions: Lessons From The Nfl And Nba Lockouts Of 2011, Nathaniel Grow
Decertifying Players Unions: Lessons From The Nfl And Nba Lockouts Of 2011, Nathaniel Grow
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
This Article analyzes the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) lockouts of 2011, focusing in particular on the role union dissolution played in each work stoppage. Although the existing academic literature had generally concluded that players unions in the four major US professional sports leagues were unlikely to disband during a labor dispute, the unions in both the NFL and NBA elected to dissolve in response to lockouts by ownership. This Article provides an explanation for why the prior literature misjudged the role that union dissolution would play during the 2011 work stoppages. It argues that previous …
Solidifying The Defensive Line: The Nfl Network's Current Position Under Antitrust Law And How It Can Be Improved, Ethan Flatt
Solidifying The Defensive Line: The Nfl Network's Current Position Under Antitrust Law And How It Can Be Improved, Ethan Flatt
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
In the United States, the broadcasting of professional sporting events is a multi-billion dollar industry, and the National Football League (NFL) alone earned more than $3 billion from television contracts during its 2008 season. Considering the massive revenues that broadcast rights can generate, it is no surprise that some major professional sports leagues have recently developed their own television networks. While it was not the first league-owned television network, the NFL Network has certainly generated the most attention. Since it started broadcasting a select number of NFL regular season games in 2006, the NFL Network has been subject to media …
The Recording Industry, Minimum Advertised Pricing Policies And Non-Price Vertical Restraints Of Trade, M. Courtney Mccormick
The Recording Industry, Minimum Advertised Pricing Policies And Non-Price Vertical Restraints Of Trade, M. Courtney Mccormick
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
This Note argues that the recording industry's cooperative advertising programs do not run afoul of federal antitrust laws and, in fact, promote interbrand competition. It examines the implications of the cooperative advertising programs adopted by record companies in light of current federal antitrust law. Contrary to claims made by the FTC, the recording industry's actions can withstand antitrust scrutiny because Minimum Advertised Pricing ("MAP") policies serve pro-competitive business purposes. As will be discussed in further detail below, the recording industry has a legitimate interest in pursuing policies that help traditional music retailers stay in business in the face of crippling …
Changes In The Ticket Distribution Industry: Is This The Beginning Of The End For Ticketmaster?, Joycelyn Stevenson
Changes In The Ticket Distribution Industry: Is This The Beginning Of The End For Ticketmaster?, Joycelyn Stevenson
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
This Note aims to explore the legal underpinnings of consumer frustration with Ticketmaster and the rest of the ticket distribution industry as it moves into the electronic age. First, this Note introduces Ticketmaster and examines its use of exclusive dealing agreements with local venues. It then discusses the relevant federal antitrust statutes affecting the industry and the market in which distributors operate. It also analyzes the role exclusive dealing agreements play in stifling competition. Next, this Note discusses the challenges--both legal and economic--to the industry's most visible member. It then discusses Ticketmaster as a possible product of competition in light …
Forming A Single Entity: A Recipe For Success For New Professional Sports Leagues, Karen Jordan
Forming A Single Entity: A Recipe For Success For New Professional Sports Leagues, Karen Jordan
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
This Note begins by introducing some of the more recently founded professional sports leagues, identifying their background and single-entity structures. It then provides a general background of antitrust issues in sports, followed by explanations of the possible defenses, including the single-entity structure. Next, it discusses Fraser as a potential landmark case for professional sports leagues, showing how its lessons contribute to the current mode of antitrust analysis. Finally, this Note illustrates why single-entity structuring may be essential for leagues in their infancy, but of little use to well-established professional sports leagues.