Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Ley Federal Del Procedimiento Contencioso Administrativo., Bruno L. Costantini García

Bruno L. Costantini García

Ponencia sobre la Ley Federal del Procedimiento Contencioso Administrativo, impartida por Bruno L. Costantini García.

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Through The Looking Glass: Runaway Productions And "Hollywood Economics", Adrian H. Mcdonald

ExpressO

This paper uses the issue of runaway production as a looking glass into the complex world of Hollywood economics and politics. As such, a broad overview of Hollywood's business practices, history, and technology are discussed so the reader can understand how runaway production (a major issue itself) is one piece of the Hollywood puzzle. Specifically, this paper attempts to study runaway productions from the Law and Economics approach described in Judge Richard Posner's text on the subject. Events in 2006 illustrate the continuing importance of runaway productions and CEIDR's August 2006 report is discussed in this paper.

Recently expanded, this …

The Press As Interest Group: Mainstream Media In The United States Supreme Court, Eric B. Easton

ExpressO

This study explores the influence that news media organizations exert on the United States Supreme Court as parties and amici curiae. The study found, inter alia, that the media succeed more often than not, although by a relatively small margin, with far greater success in content-related than in newsgathering cases. Media organizations have been more successful as parties than as amici, and more successful against state and local government entities than against the federal government.

Primer Congreso Nacional De Organismos Públicos Autónomos, Bruno L. Costantini García

Bruno L. Costantini García

Memorias del Primer Congreso Nacional de Organismos Públicos Autonomos

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Fair Use And The First Amendment: Corporate Control Of Copyright Is Stifling Documentary Making And Thwarting The Aims Of The First Amendment, Paige Gold

ExpressO

Documentary motion pictures constitute a crucial part of contemporary public debate, because in today’s highly consolidated mass media environment, documentaries offer the kinds of independent voices that the First Amendment was designed to protect. However, current intellectual property practices are chilling speech by forcing documentary filmmakers to tailor their films to accommodate new, strict licensing practices. When filmmakers are compelled to edit their work to meet insurance requirements, it harms the interests of not just the filmmaker, but also the public. Thus, the “clearance culture,” in which anything and everything that could possibly lead to a lawsuit must be cleared, …

The Rave Act: A Specious Solution To The Serious Problem Of Increased Ecstasy Distribution: Is It Unconstitutionally Overbroad, Erin Treacy

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The RAVE Act was designed to thwart use and distribution of the illegal street drug ecstasy by holding the owner of a nightclub or other venue criminally responsible for any illegal drug-related activities that occur at an electronic music concert held on his or her property. This article argues that the RAVE act is unconstitutionally overbroad because it has a real and substantial impact on the First Amendment rights of electronic music concert performers and attendees. The article further argues that the RAVE act has driven electronic music concerts underground, making them less regulated than if held in legitimate commercial …

The Conceptual Game In Copyright, Lior Zemer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article examines the nature of copyright as a concept and discusses the benefits that can be derived from understanding copyright as a vague conceptual framework, or, alternatively as an arsenal of competing interpretations and permutations, rendering its meaning essentially contested. The best way to make meaningful progress in the way we approach and think of copyright is by admitting into our discourse on copyright alternative approaches to ownership which emphasizes the public interest. We can protect the integrity of the copyright discourse by ensuring that no single voice can exclude other voices, and allow sufficient conceptual flexibility to permit …

Catching A Black Cat In A Dark Room: Evaluating The Shortcomings Of Federal And State Anti-Spyware Legislation, Josh Sugnet

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note analyzes state anti-spyware legislation and the latest federal anti-spyware bill, considering criticism raised and evaluating their potential to be effective in stopping spyware. The note concludes that these laws are best aimed at regulating the use of adware, the allegedly more legitimate commercial type of spyware, but do little to protect users from more malicious types of spyware authored by hackers and cyber-criminals. Also, the federal government must regulate the software industry to ensure that a competitive market for technological solutions to these security problems exists. Only by coupling law enforcement with effective industry regulation can the federal …

Digitized Scholarship And The Library Concept: Allowing The History Of The Library Exemption To Inform How We View Google's Digitized Library, Kodj Gbegnon

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Google Inc., one of the most visible portals on the Internet, strives to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." However, Google's Print Library database, which copies millions of books into a database and offers snippets of those books free of charge, may exceed the current confines of copyright law. After an in-depth look at Google's digitization projects and specific criticisms from library specialists, this article argues that the library exception to copyright infringement must be re-conceptualized to include commercial information enterprises such as Google's Print Library.

Amending Its Anti-Paparazzi Statute: California's Latest Baby Step In Its Attempt To Curb The Aggressive Paparazzi, Lisa Vance

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The financial rewards of celebrity photos have driven the paparazzi to increasingly dangerous tactics, often endangering celebrities and others in their pursuit of a valuable photo. In response to this danger, California amended its anti-paparazzi statute in 2005. The amended statute provides stiff penalties, including punitive and treble damages, and allows a celebrity to recover these damages for assault. However, assault requires the intent to cause apprehension of imminent contact, and much of the outrageous conduct of the paparazzi does not evidence this sort of intent. If California is serious about curbing improper behavior by the paparazzi, it should penalize …

Rationalizing Software Patents: Suggestions For A Livable System, Shane Glynn

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In examining the historical development of software as patentable subject matter, the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and Federal Circuit, the Patent and Trademark Office's regulations and guidelines, and the application of these rules in the legal and business community, this article explores the deficiencies of the current US software patent system. The article argues that by increasing patent examiners' knowledge of computer science and publishing domestic patent applications to allow competitors to search for relevant prior art, the US software patent system can be significantly improved.

I Always Feel Like Someone Is Watching Me: A Technological Solution For Online Privacy, David Goldman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article develops the concept for a technological solution to the problem of online privacy. While most proposals endeavor to come to a consensus upon either a common definition or a common value system for privacy, the author instead proposes that the ultimate goal of an automated transaction should simply be to make optimal use of the online market. Rather than define privacy, the government should instead encourage trust, which will result in the maximum benefits for the economy as a whole.

The Economics Of Build-Out Rules In Cable Television, George S. Ford, Thomas M. Koutsky, Lawrence J. Spiwak

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Firms that wish to offer wireline, multichannel video programming services in direct competition with cable incumbents are being faced with calls by those incumbents and policymakers to "build-out" to entire communities as a pre-condition to receiving a franchise. This article argues that build-out mandates are actually counter-productive and serve primarily to deter new entry, increase the profits of incumbents, and harm consumers. Using both a theoretical model and an empirical simulation, the article demonstrates that build-out rules cause new video entrants to bypass certain communities entirely and to sharply lower the number of communities in which new network construction would …

At The Intersection Of Comic Books And Third World Working Conditions: Is It Time To Re-Examine The Role Of Commercial Interests In The Regulation Of Expression, David Kohler

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article examines how a speaker's commercial interests factor into evaluating First Amendment protection. The author criticizes the current state of the law in the United States, which forces courts to draw categorical distinctions between commercial and noncommercial speech which are largely artificial, unwieldy, and likely unworkable. The article suggests a new approach that largely jettisons any attempt to draw broad categorical distinctions based on the underlying commercial motivation for communication and, instead, evaluates such expression in the same way that other kinds of fully protected speech are evaluated.

Idea Protection In California: Are Writers Too Readily Compensated For Their Screenplays, Kelly Rem

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article argues that the current scope of idea protection in the film industry favors writers over producers. By undervaluing the rights of the producers, the current state of the law could have a chilling effect on film production that is damaging to society as a whole. Requiring a showing of a common element between a writer's work and a producer's alleged copy of the writer's work, and presenting a similarity of subject matter and story line, will strike a better balance between these competing interests.

From Hockey Gloves To Handcuffs: The Need For Criminal Sanctions In Professional Ice Hockey, Tracey Oh

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Citing recent on-ice incidents, this article argues that the level of violence in the National Hockey League (NHL) has grown out of control. The NHL's sanctions have been unable to deter the steadily increasing amount of violence in the sport. The article argues that allowing courts to intervene and impose criminal sanctions against on-ice offenders would send a strong message to the players, and promote a sense of social responsibility.

Catching Up To Our Biometric Future: Fourth Amendment Privacy Rights And Biometric Identification Technology, Rudy Ng

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

As biometric identification technology companies strive to make their products more accurate, faster, and more affordable for the mass market, the public is likely to see an increase in the use of biometrics in the future. While emerging biometric identification technology such as iris scanning and face recognition technology may be a fast, cutting-edge way for law enforcement to keep track of convicted felons and suspected terrorists, the government should not be allowed to unreasonably intrude on individual privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment. Ultimately, the legislature and the courts will need to weigh society's need to feel secure against …

Locking Down The Library: How Copyright, Contract, And Cybertrespass Block Internet Archiving, Rebecca Bolin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Internet archiving has kept millions of websites from disappearing completely. Yet this ambitious effort, the largest archiving project in history, is neither legal nor comprehensive. Archives are rampant copyright infringers with no recourse to traditional library and affirmative defenses. Further, sophisticated authors have started "protecting" their creations with restrictive contracts, technical restrictions, and the shaky cybertrespass doctrine. Our legal regime has strayed from the constitutional values underlying copyright. Despite the social value in preserving cultural expression, the law has evolved to encompass a de facto right to withdraw and opt out of history itself.

Faulting San Andreas: The Call To Arms For Sensible Regulation Of Violent Video Games, Jessica Williams

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Video game violence has escalated to shocking limits. Murder and sex are glorified in modern games. California Assembly Bill 1179 is the latest attempt to curb the sale of video games encouraging this type of violence. Because it is improbable that current social science research will be able to prove the causal connections necessary to satisfy the Brandenburg standard for regulating free speech, AB 1179 violates the First Amendment rights of California's citizens. In the future, increased parental controls and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's active role in enforcing compliance with its rating system will be the most effective means …

A Minor Conundrum: Contracting With Minors In Canada For Film And Television Producers, Bob Tarantino

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Concerns surrounding the enforcement of a contract with minors have plagued the entertainment industry, particularly in the areas of film and television. Amidst a confusing hodgepodge of laws, various North American jurisdictions have responded with a series of judicial decisions and legislative initiatives. These changes have increased marketplace certainty for the benefit of film producers and the minors with which they do business. The Canadian province of Ontario, however, remains without the benefit of such a regime of laws, creating uncertainty in Ontario's film and television marketplace. If Ontario wishes to develop as a major film and television production center, …

Blocked Airwaves: Using Legislation To Make Non-Compete Clauses Unenforceable In The Broadcast Industry And The Potential Effects Of Proposed Legislation In Pennsylvania, Cristin T. Kist

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Stern Penalties: How The Federal Communications Commission And Congress Look To Crackdown On Indecent Broadcasting, Geoffrey Rosenblat

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

National Cable & Telecommunications Ass'n V. Brand X Internet Services: A War Of Words, The Effect Of Classifying Cable Modem Service As An Information Service, David P. Manni

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.