Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Music As Speech: A First Amendment Category Unto Itself, David Munkittrick

Federal Communications Law Journal

Perhaps the most ubiquitous of art forms, music accompanies daily activities from shopping to jogging. Music permeates modem society, and there is little question it constitutes an integral mode of expression. Despite recognition of music's worth, however, there is little explanation of music in First Amendment jurisprudence. A rationale for First Amendment protection begins with analysis of the particular medium of speech. Through a foray in musical aesthetics and the history of musical censorship, this Note discusses the role of music in political, societal, and individual experience. Music has had an important role in political events, from the fall of …

The Sound Of Money: Securing Copyright, Royalties, And Creative "Progress" In The Digital Music Revolution, Armen Boyajian

Federal Communications Law Journal

Academics and popular critics alike want to distill, reform, or altogether destroy U.S. copyright law as we know it. Much of this stems from animosity toward the old-guard record industry's alleged practices of overcharging consumers, underpaying royalties to artists, and suing teenagers and grandmas. But what those calling for reform all seem to neglect is a tiny but inevitable fact: for the first time in history, composers and recording artists can keep their copyrights.

Tangible media sales are being replaced by P2P file sharing, retail downloads, and streaming Webcasts. Digital technologies and wireless networks have opened prime channels for music …

Who Needs Tickets? Examining Problems In The Growing Online Ticket Resale Industry, Clark P. Kirkman

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet has dramatically changed the methods by which people purchase tickets to events. In the past decade, the secondary ticket market has grown exponentially, and today the online ticket resale industry is valued at approximately $4 billion. Although there are consumer benefits to this industry growth, some of the industry practices have precipitated a consumer backlash. This was typified in 2007 when many parents, hoping to purchase tickets to the Hannah Montana "Best of Both Worlds Tour," watched as tickets sold out online in only a few minutes or less. Coupled with this episode was the Ticketmaster v. RMG …

Paying The Price For Sports Tv: Preventing The Strategic Misuse Of The Fcc's Carriage Regulations, David Hutson

Federal Communications Law Journal

Cable companies and sports leagues have embarked upon parallel courses of vertical integration by creating and acquiring interests in cable sports networks. Cable companies carry regional sports networks (RSNs) on basic cable tiers. Some league-owned networks have sought high prices for carriage on basic tiers, causing some cable companies to balk because of the price increase they would have to pass on to consumers. The 1992 Cable Act prohibits cable companies from discriminating in carriage terms between affiliated and nonaffiliated networks. Cable companies that own RSNs are, therefore, left vulnerable to discrimination complaints by league-owned networks. This Note argues that …

Business Solutions To The Alien Ownership Restriction, Greg Snodgrass

Federal Communications Law Journal

The alien ownership restriction on broadcast licenses has had a profound effect on the entertainment industry over the past few decades. While the origins of the restriction were based on national security fears that no longer apply, the restriction is unlikely to be repealed without significant lobbying. Given the unlikelihood of repeal, this Note concludes that entertainment conglomerates should apply a two-pronged approach to overcome the barrier imposed by the ownership restriction. First, conglomerates should build powerful nonbroadcast superstations. Second, conglomerates should push the FCC to gradually loosen its application of the restriction. While this is not a perfect solution, …

Performing Art: National Endowment For The Arts V. Finley, Randall P. Bezanson

Federal Communications Law Journal

In this modified version of a chapter in his forthcoming book, ART AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2008-09), Professor Bezanson begins to probe the nature of art and its relation to the first amendment free speech guarantee. The essay uses the Finley v. NEA case, and specifically its discussion of Finley's performance art, to critique the Supreme Court's very approach to the Finley case, and to view the issues from the perspective of art, artistic freedom, and the Supreme Court's role in fashioning constitutional protection for art as art, and not simply as cognitive speech.

Rocking Wrigley: The Chicago Cubs' Off-Field Struggle To Compete For Ticket Sales With Its Rooftop Neighbors, Ronnie Bitman

Federal Communications Law Journal

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is one of the most unique and beloved baseball stadiums in the country. In recent years, however, the owners of several rooftop viewing platforms near the stadium provided the Cubs with unwanted off-field competition for ticket revenues. This Note discusses the intersection of sports, property rights, and copyright law in the context of recent dilemmas and litigation by professional sports organizations and teams. Although this Note briefly touches on the Lanham Act, the Author's focus remains on copyright law and the FCC's support for proprietary rights in sports.

The Availability Of The Fair Use Defense In Music Piracy And Internet Technology, Sonia Das

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Note examines the development of the fair-use defense to other new technologies, such as the VCR and photocopier, and concludes that courts generally make the fair-use defense available in cases involving copying using new technology. Such uses of the technology have contributed, rather than deterred, to both the bettering of the technology itself and increasing the use of a copyright work. Ultimately, the increased uses reward the copyright holder. Next, this Note applies fair-use cases to new technology in the music industry, namely the increase availability of music on the Internet and a device known as the Rio, which …

Copyright And Antitrust: The Effects Of The Digital Performance Rights In Sound Recordings Act Of 1995 In Foreign Markets, Connie C. Davis

Federal Communications Law Journal

The licensing of copyrighted nondramatic works by performance rights societies has long been recognized as a potential source of antitrust violations. In 1995, the Congress passed the Digital Performance Rights in Sound Recordings Act in an effort to deal with the licensing problems associated with nondramatic musical works. The DPRSRA created a right in sound recordings to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission as well as establishing compulsory licensing scheme. However, the DPRSRA failed to address the problem of licensing of nondramatic works in foreign markets. This Note identifies the anticompetitive licensing scheme practiced …

Flag On The Play? The Siphoning Effect On Sports Television, Phillip M. Cox Ii

Federal Communications Law Journal

The tradition of watching the Sunday afternoon football game in front of the television began in 1939. Since then, sports broadcasting has become one of the most powerful revenue-building tools for both media and sports leagues alike. Sports programming is increasingly available only through cable and pay-per-view television, which limits viewers' access to free broadcast televised sporting events. Legislators have now directed the Federal Communications Commission to study the effects of paid access to sports broadcasts, with an eye toward protecting viewers' rights to free access to sports on television.

This Note explains the impact of the Sports Broadcasting Act …

Strange Fixation: Bootleg Sound Recordings Enjoy The Benefits Of Improving Technology, David Schwartz

Federal Communications Law Journal

Entrepreneurs have manufactured unauthorized sound recordings since the'turn of the century. At first, most of these recordings were counterfeits and copies of existing recordings. Starting in the late 1960s, a new genre of unauthorized recording, the "bootleg," found eager listeners, particularly among fans of rock music. Bootlegs offered music that was unavailable elsewhere such as concert recordings and unfinished studio recordings. The widespread availability of compact discs and ever improving recording technology means that some new bootlegs sound better than ever.

This Note explores the history of bootlegs and how copyright law has tried to come to grips with the …

The Sensitive Society, James F. Fitzpatrick

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Stolen From Stardust And Air: Idea Theft In The Entertainment Industry And A Proposal For A Concept Initiator Credit, Robert M. Winteringham

Federal Communications Law Journal

In the entertainment industry idea theft is rampant. Because copyright protects only fixed expressions, a legal remedy does not always exist to stop the unattributed and unrewarded use of plot ideas. By incorporating elements from existing copyright and contract law, this Note proposes the creation of a "concept initiator" credit to protect fully developed ideas even where copyright cannot attach. The Author argues that the credit and the three-part test to determine when the credit applies will protect ideas from theft without drastically increasing the number of frivolous lawsuits.

Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing, Baby : The Right Of Publicity And The Singing Voice, Russell A. Stamets

Federal Communications Law Journal

The right of publicity has allowed celebrities and their licensees to commercially exploit "personality" through ever greater and subtler methods. Two celebrated cases involving entertainers Bette Midler and Tom Waits have expanded the right of publicity to the amorphous realm of vocal performance. The indeterminacy of this new right and the significant damages awarded in the leading cases have left commercial interests confused and hesitant. This Note argues that this new right unjustly rewards a small group of celebrity performers while reducing the economic incentives that encourage the development of new performers. This Note further argues that the right in …

Sports Broadcasting And The Law, Robert Alan Garrett, Philip R. Hochberg

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Sports Anti-Siphoning Rules For Pay Cable Television: A Public Right To Free Tv?, M. Agnes Siedlecki

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.