Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …