Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Getting Down To (Tattoo) Business: Copyright Norms And Speech Protections For Tattooing, Alexa L. Nickow

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

What level of First Amendment protection should we afford tattooing? General public consensus formerly condemned tattoos as barbaric, but the increasingly diverse clientele of tattoo shops suggests that tattoos have become more mainstream. However, the law has struggled to adjust. The recent proliferation of municipal near-bans on tattooing has brought tattooing to the forefront of First Amendment debates, with cases such as Anderson and Coleman leading the way toward recognizing tattooing as pure speech. Tensions between formal and informal copyright norms in the tattoo industry further highlight the collaborative and expressive nature of the artist-customer relationship and its resulting products, …

Private Copyright Reform, Kristelia A. García

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The government is not the only player in copyright reform, and perhaps not even the most important. Left to free market negotiation, risk averse licensors and licensees are contracting around the statutory license for certain types of copyright-protected content, and achieving greater efficiency via private ordering. This emerging phenomenon, herein termed “private copyright reform,” presents both adverse selection and distributive justice concerns: first, circumvention of the statutory license goes against legislative intent by allowing for the reduction, and even elimination, of statutorily mandated royalties owed to non-parties. In addition, when presented without full term disclosure, privately determined royalty rates can …

Hero With A Thousand Copyright Violations: Modern Myth And An Argument For Universally Transformative Fan Fiction, Natalie H. Montano

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Copyright law is designed to protect the ownership and financial rights of the original author of a literary work. However, the internet has created new opportunities for amateur writers to create their own fan fiction based on such literary works. Borrowing from the ideas and characters of a work, fan fiction authors build upon and re-imagine these stories. Such fan works should be protected under the Fair Use Defense, but the power imbalance between amateur fan fiction authors and successful published authors often leads to the eradication of fan stories from the public domain.

This Comment argues that fan fiction …

Fifty Shades Of Transformation, Danielle Meeks

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Danielle Meeks explores the recent trend of publishing fan fiction, brought to the forefront by the popularity of the Fifty Shades trilogy. Creating a work within another author's copyrighted fictional universe for profit is analyzed under the fair use doctrine and by comparing substantial similarities between Fifty Shades and the Twilight series to determine if the trilogy is transformative enough to survive a potential lawsuit.

Up, Up & Away: How Siegel & Shuster's Superman Was Contracted Away & Dc Comic Won The Day, Dallas F. Kratzer Iii

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Explaining The Supreme Court's Interest In Patent Law, Timothy R. Holbrook

IP Theory

No abstract provided.

Not (Necessarily) Narrower: Rethinking The Relative Scope Of Copyright Protection For Designs, Sarah Burstein

IP Theory

No abstract provided.

Copyright And The Musical Arrangement: An Analysis Of The Law And Problems Pertaining To This Specialized Form Of Derivative Work, Joel L. Friedman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Droit De Suite: Only Congress Can Grant Royalty Protection For Artists, Lynn K. Warren

Pepperdine Law Review

Congress has enacted the 1976 Copyright Act which does not grant resale royalties to fine artists. It does, however, add a strong preemption provision that was not a part of the 1909 Act. This provision emphatically preempts any state law granting a right equivalent to a right granted by the federal statute to any work which is the subject matter of copyright. In its desire to increase protection for fine artists, the State of California has enacted the first droit de suite legislation in the United States, patterned after European copyright law, which extends resale royalties to fine artists. This …

Rohauer Revisited: "Rear Window," Copyright Reversions, Renewals, Terminations, Derivative Works And Fair Use , Richard Colby

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sufficiently Supervised Commissioned Workers: Mythical Beasts Sculpted From Old Law, Alexander Lambrous

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Descendible Right Of Publicity: Has The Time Finally Come For A National Standard?, J. Steven Bingman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Red Card: Using The National Football League’S “Rooney Rule” To Eject Race Discrimination From English Professional Soccer’S Managerial And Executive Hiring Practices, Jeremy Corapi

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Whose Streets: California Public Utilities Code Section 7901 In The Wireless Age, Michael W. Shonafelt

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In 1850, cutting-edge communications infrastructure took the form of telegraph poles and wires. The first Transcontinental Railroad would not be completed until the Golden Spike joined the rail lines at Promontory Point on May 10, 1869. The railroad right of way afforded an important avenue, allowing the new nation to be linked from coast to coast by the miracle of the telegraph's new technology. Today, 162 years later, the new technology is wireless broadband. An important avenue for its expansion and goal of universal coverage are the roads and highways of the state of California.

To meet exponential demand, wireless …

Smashing The Copyright Act To Make Room For The Mashup Artist: How A Four-Tiered Matrix Better Accommodates Evolving Technology And Needs Of The Entertainment Industry, Caroline Kinsey

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

With the rise of online blogging, social networking platforms, and videosharing sites such as YouTube and Yahoo Video, it is now possible for one individual to rival the span of entire media empires from one's basement computer. Commonly known as the Web 2.0 phenomenon, the combination of these technological advancements with video platforms that encourage users to "engage, create, and share content online" has fundamentally transformed the music industry. No longer are fans passive listeners, but instead, with the click of a mouse and access to the Internet, they become "publisher[s], TV network[s], radio station[s], movie studio[s], record label[s], and …

People V. Diaz, Senate Bill 914 And The Fourth Amendment, Caitlin Keane

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

After the Diaz decision in January, Senator Mark Leno, a Democrat representing San Francisco, took matters into his own hands and drafted Senate Bill 914. In short, the bill would have overturned the Court's decision and required law enforcement to obtain a search warrant from a neutral magistrate before searching arrestees' portable electronic devices. The bill passed with overwhelming support from both political parties in the State Assembly and State Senate and needed only Governor Brown's signature or tacit approval to become law. Governor Brown vetoed the bill in October 2011, stating, "[t]he courts are better suited to resolve the …

An Actual Problem In First Amendment Jurisprudence: Examining The Immediate Impact Of Brown's Proof-Of-Causation Doctrine On Free Speech And Its Compatibility With The Marketplace Theory, Clay Calvert, Matthew D. Bunker

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article analyzes the immediate impact on First Amendment jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court's "direct causal link" requirement adopted in 2011 in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. In embracing an empirically focused proof-of-causation doctrine, Brown marked the first time in the Court's history it had used the phrase "direct causal link" in any free speech case. But just one year later, in a very different factual context in United States v. Alvarez, the Court struck down a federal law making it a crime to lie about earning military medals. In December 2012, a federal judge used Brown's "direct causal …

Internet Freedom And Computer Abuse, Lothar Determann

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") has a bad reputation. It is associated with constitutional law challenges and community outrage. It played a role in the tragic suicide of Aaron Swartz, computer programmer, Internet activist and CFAA defendant. It has been decried as a basis for abuse of justice, which is ironic, given its title and focus on punishing abuse. It has been called "the worst law in technology" and "the most outrageous criminal law you've never heard of." It is loathed and feared as a threat to Internet freedom.

A particular concern is that the law could criminalize …

Finding The Groove: A Path Forward On Terminations Of Sound Recording Transfers, Adam Rich '12

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Minor Changes: Altering Current Coogan Law To Better Protect Children Working In Entertainment, Danielle Ayalon

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Coogan Law provides statutory authority designating income earned by a minor under an entertainment contract as the minor's property, rather than the property of the minor's parents. These statutes were first enacted in 1939, substantially revised in 2000, and subsequently amended in 2004. But despite these ongoing efforts to provide financial protection, the adverse interests of parents and their children persist. The concern that many child entertainers are not yet adequately protected invites close scrutiny of the law to assess whether changes are still required to assure children in the entertainment business have optimal protection.

This note examines the current …

Imposing A Duty In An Online World: Holding The Webhost Liable For Cyberbullying, Elizabeth M. Jaffe

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In light of fettle attempts by state legislatures to subdue the growing cyberbullying epidemic, the time has come to create a civil duty upon those who can control the problem-web hosts and webservers. While the general "foreseeable plaintiff' duty set forth by then-Chief Judge Cardozo in PaIsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. has controlled the duty of care owed to the person of another for the last century, Judge Andrews' dissent may hold the key to unlock this new societal problem: "Every one owes to the world at large the duty of refraining from those acts that may unreasonably threaten …

Stars In Their Eyes: The Dominance Of The Celebrity Brand And Intellectual Property Norms Protection Through Fan Goodwill, Naeha Prakash

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The widespread celebrity culture in today's society has signaled a shift from celebrity product endorsers to celebrity brands. Right of publicity and trademark laws leave a gap that does not adequately protect a brand as a whole. Rather, these laws make a distinction between the celebrity identity and the product, limiting protection of a brand that includes both components. Social norms found in the interaction between celebrities and fans can provide an alternate form of protection that reinforces ownership rights found in pure intellectual property. This article argues that a celebrity brand should foster fan goodwill to build a brand …

I Do Not Endorse This Message! Does A Political Campaign’S Unauthorized Use Of A Song Infringe On The Rights Of The Musical Performer?, Kimberlianne Podlas

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Performance Royalties For Sound Recordings On Terrestrial Radio: A Private Solution To A Public Problem, J. P. Urban

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

US copyright law provides for a digital performance right in sound recordings but does not provide for a performance right in sound recordings when broadcast over terrestrial radio. Proponents of this asymmetry posit that the difference relates to the promotional value of terrestrial radio to record labels, but this rationale has eroded in recent years. The recording industry experienced a drastic decline at the turn of the millennium, and record labels have attempted many creative approaches to bridging the profit gap. Major labels and radio conglomerates of late have begun negotiating private contracts that effectively extend the benefits of a …

The Overexpansion Of The Communications Decency Act Safe Harbor, Joey Ou

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Congress enacted the CDA as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, due to concerns over pornography on the Internet. Section 230 was added to support and encourage the proliferation of information on the Internet. However, this section of the CDA has since developed into one of the most influential cyberspace laws protecting websites and ISPs from liability. State and federal courts have interpreted section 230 protection expansively, conferring broad immunity upon websites, including immunity for violations of the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"). This is especially significant because "the Internet has become 'a unique and wholly new medium of worldwide …

Tethering Applications And Open Internet Rules For The Mobile Broadband: Lessons From The Fcc-Verizon Settlement, Matthew Tonner

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note investigates the regulation of mobile broadband using tethering applications as an example of how to apply net neutrality rules. Part II looks at the recent history of the FCC Open Internet regulations and the rapid advances in the speed, capabilities, and prevalence of mobile broadband as a primary means of Internet access. Part III discusses the 2012 settlement reached between Verizon and the FCC over Verizon's request that Google remove tethering apps from the Android Store. Following that, Part IV assesses the merits of the FCC's current approach to enforcing net neutrality policy via contractual provisions attached to …

Stretching Copyright To Its Limit: On The Copyrightability Of Yoga And Other Sports Movements In Light Of The U.S. Copyright Office's New Characterization Of Compilations, Alexander Bussey

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Enough Is Enough: The Case For Federal Regulation Of Sports Agents, James Masteralexis, Lisa Masteralexis, Kevin Snyder

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Guantanamo's Greatest Hits: The Semiotics Of Sound And The Protection Of Performer Rights Under The Lanham Act, John Tehranian

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As Bruce Springsteen and Ronald Reagan, Jackson Brown and John McCain, and Tom Morello and Paul Ryan can attest, the exploitation of creative works for political or commercial purposes that run contrary to artists' ideals can stir passions and trigger lawsuits. Yet for performers who are not authors of the exploited works, there is little meaningful legal relief provided by the federal Copyright Act. Instead, such performers--from featured singers and dancers to actors and other personalities known for their distinctive traits--have leaned on alternative theories for recovery, thereby raising the specter of liability outside of copyright law for such unwelcome …

The Impact Of Next Generation Television On Consumers And The First Amendment, Rob Frieden

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Consumers have access to an ever increasing inventory of video content choices as a result of technological innovations, more readily available broadband, new business plans, inexpensive high capacity storage and the Internet’s ability to serve as a single medium for a variety of previously standalone services delivered via different channels. They increasingly have little tolerance for “appointment television” that limits access to a particular time, channel and device. Access to video content is becoming a matter of using one of several software-configured interfaces capable of delivering live and recorded content anytime, anywhere, to any device and via many different transmission …