Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Using Public Disclosure As The Vesting Point For Moral Rights Under The Visual Artists Rights Act, Elizabeth M. Bock

Michigan Law Review

In 2010, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit confronted the novel question of when moral rights protections vest under the Visual Artists Rights Act. In Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc. v. Bichel, the First Circuit determined that the protections of the Visual Artists Rights Act begin when a work is "created" under the Copyright Act. This Note argues that this decision harms moral rights conceptually and is likely to result in unpredictable and inconsistent decisions. This Note proposes instead that these statutory protections should vest when an artist determines that his work is complete and presents …

Sampling, Looping, And Mashing . . . Oh My!: How Hip Hop Music Is Scratching More Than The Surface Of Copyright Law, Tonya M. Evans

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

This article examines the deleterious impact of copyright law on music creation. It highlights hip hop music as an example of a genre significantly and negatively impacted by 1) the per se infringement rule applied in some instances to cases involving unauthorized sampling of sound recordings; and 2) traditional (and arguably erroneous) assumptions in copyright law and policy of independent creation and Romantic authorship. For decades hip hop producers have relied on the innovative use of existing recordings (most of which are protected by copyright), to create completely new works. Specifically, cuttin’ and scratchin’, digital sampling, looping and (most recently) …

Benay V. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.: New Standard Needed For Determining Actual Use, Brian Casido

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note examines Benay v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., and the substantial-similarity standard under a California breach of an implied-in-fact contract claim and a federal copyright infringement claim. The standard used in Benay will hinder the free flow of ideas by deterring producers from accepting an author’s screenplay for fear of breaching an implied-in-fact contract. Part I of this Note summarizes the history and development of the protection of rights to creative works. Part II provides the facts and procedural history of Benay v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Part III analyzes and criticizes the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Benay …

Fashion Law – A Guide For Designers, Fashion Executives, And Attorneys, Cory Greenberg

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Cory Greenberg writes a comprehensive book review of Fashion Law: A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives, and Attorneys by Guillermo C. Jimenez and Barbara Kolsun. Fashion Law is divided into four sections: Introduction, Intellectual Property Issues, Commercial Operations and Expansions, and International Aspects. Greenberg provides an objective review of each section of the book and comments on the growth of fashion in the legal world.

In A Post Graham World: Choreographing Dance Rights In The World Of Media, Technology And Social Networking, Michelle N. Burkhart

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Michelle Burkhart writes an article diagramming the Choreographing Dance Rights in today’s social media world. Her article highlights the famous Martha Graham case and in detail describes: Works for higher art; and responsiveness within the dance community. Burkhart provides an interesting take on how technology has drastically changed the world of dance.

Billy-Bob Teeth Saves Porn Star: Coping With Defective Work-For-Hire Registrations, Thomas G. Field

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “This paper begins by briefly reviewing statutory provisions that determine initial copyright ownership, govern title transfers, establish requisites to infringement litigation, and bar untimely suits.

It then examines Billy-Bob Teeth and Jules Jordan Video and explains how, in the latter case, the Ninth Circuit applied rationales adopted by the Seventh Circuit in the former case to overturn a JMOL unfavorable to an "adult film" star.

The third part of the paper reviews use of the copyright statute of limitations to resolve competing ownership claims.

The last part of the paper, flagging important differences between § 201(b) and § 204(a), …

Technical Knockout: How Mixed Martial Arts Will Change Copyright Enforcement On The Web, Keith Black

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Huddle Up: Using Mediation To Help Settle The National Football League Labor Dispute, Jeremy Corapi

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Heavy Metal Alloys: Unsigned Rock Bands And Joint Work, Michael S. Young

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This note uses humorous illustrations culled from the history of popular heavy metal music to facilitate examination of the effectiveness of joint authorship analysis by modern federal courts. The note carefully considers a variety of common contributions made by band members in the absence of any written or verbal agreement about authorship, and concludes (1) that a more equitable regime would do away with the requirement that a co-author make an "independently copyrightable" contribution, and (2) that courts must take greater care not to transform "will to control" into "intent to be a sole author."

More Speech: Preempting Privacy Tourism, Stephen Bates

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Many commentators have decried the phenomenon of "libel tourism," where a plaintiff brings a libel suit in a country that affords minimal protection to free expression, even though the defendant and the publication at issue have little connection to the country. In particular, London has often been called the libel capital of the worldfirst, because British libel law strongly favors plaintiffs; and second, because a British court will accept jurisdiction over a libel suit if only a few copies of the publication have circulated there. In 2010, the United States responded to the threat of libel tourism by enacting the …

The Better Angels Of Our Fanfiction: The Need For True And Logical Precedent, Stacey M. Lantagne

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Music sampling has become a well-respected form of art. So why isn't the same true of fanfiction, which follows similar parameters? Without the benefit of a true and well-reasoned legal precedent, fanfiction has existed in a gray area dominated by highly emotional arrguments. However, most of the emotional arguments offered against fanfiction actually support a finding that fanfiction is fair use. Authors would be better served by stripping the emotion from the discussion.

Legislative And Regulatory Strategies For Providing Consumer Safeguards In A Convergent Information And Communications Marketplace, Rob Frieden

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Federal Communications Commission desires to apply a single regulatory category to services and service providers, a process the Commission can achieve when ventures concentrate on one function and offer one readily identifiable service, such as telephony. However, technological convergence, digitization and the ability of the Internet to handle many different service types within a single bitstream now make it possible for companies to offer "quadruple play" bundles of wireless and wireline telephony, video, and Internet access services. Following Comcast Corp. v. FCC, the FCC must rethink how to best serve the public interest and safeguard consumers. Absent a legislative …

The Parents Television Council Uncensored: An Inside Look At The Watchdog Of The Public Airwaves And The War On Indecency With Its President, Tim Winter, Clay Calvert, Robert D. Richards

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article addresses the Federal Communication Commission's ("FCC") controversial and contested regulation of indecency on the broadcast airwaves. It pivots on an exclusive in-person interview conducted by the authors in Los Angeles in June 2010 with Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council ("PTC"). The PTC is perhaps the most vociferous-and controversial-public watchdog on broadcast indecency, with its members filing thousands and thousands of indecency complaints with the FCC each year. The article is especially timely because, in July 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Fox Television Stations v. FCC declared the FCC's indecency …

File Sharing Is Dead! Long Live File Sharing! Recent Developments In The Law Of Secondary Liability For Copyright Infringement, Christian E. Mammen

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In the past several years, courts have issued a number of rulings on the issue of online service providers' secondary liability for copyright infringement in connection with online file sharing. Overall, it appears that the larger, more established providers who "play fair" with content owners tend to fare better than brasher, more rebellious providers. Is this correct because more rebellious providers are guiltier than the established ones? Or is there a double standard at play? Could the brash, rebellious "bad guys" ever win the protection of the safe harbor? It is difficult to make a direct apples-to-apples comparison, because each …

Is Your Furniture Spying On You?: Covert Use Of Gps In Advertising, Brandy Worden

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Advancements in technology have been paired with advertising. The result is personalized, but at times intrusive, advertising tactics. The Note uses an advertising campaign titled "The Real Good Experiment" ("the Experiment") as a case study to examine how advertising invades our personal spheres, and also how the legal framework should be fortified to protect consumer privacy.

The subjects of the Experiment brought furniture that had been seemingly abandoned into their homes only to later discover that the furniture had GPS devices hidden within them. The Note considers various categories of legal protection available when advertising invades consumer privacy. The Note …

Effective Reader Privacy For Electronic Books: A Proposal, Jennifer Elmore

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Historically, reader privacy has been heavily protected in the United States. Numerous library laws, bookstore laws, and Supreme Court opinions have affirmed and upheld reader privacy for traditional paper books. However, electronic readers and electronic books are becoming increasingly popular. These new devices are undoubtedly beneficial; however, with this new technology comes increased privacy concerns. The electronic format allows the reading and purchasing habits of consumers to be tracked in a way that was formerly impossible with traditional books. Electronic readers often track which books are purchased, which pages are read, and more. Additionally, the laws that apply to traditional …

All Your Face Are Belong To Us: Protecting Celebrity Images In Hyper-Realistic Video Games, Krista Correa

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

As the law is currently structured, there is no clear protection for a celebrity who is personally offended (but not financially harmed) by another party's use of that celebrity's image. This lack of clarity is particularly problematic today due to the hyperrealism of nextgeneration video games. This article begins with a review of the legal rights and remedies currently available to a celebrity whose face or image is used by a game developer without the celebrity's consent. Part II of the article considers whether the current regime provides sufficient protection, while Part III turns to other sources of law and …

Born To Be Used In The Usa: An Alternative Avenue For Evaluating Politicians' Unauthorized Use Of Original Musical Performances On The Campaign Trail, Matthew J. Cursio

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Ncaa And The Right Of Publicity: How The O'Bannon/Keller Case May Finally Level The Playing Field, Julia Brighton

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note explores the potential impact of litigation pending against the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA"), the national governing body that.oversees college sports. The NCAA and its licensing partners make enormous profits from the sale of collegiate-branded merchandise. College athletes, on the other hand, are prevented from making money from commercial use of their names and likenesses by the NCAA's strict rules regarding amateurism. Former collegiate stars Ed O'Bannon and Sam Keller have accused the NCAA of profiting beyond the bounds of fairness by securing for itself and its member universities the exclusive right to all of the proceeds from …

I Can Has Lawyer? The Conflict Between The Participatory Culture Of The Internet And The Legal Profession, Lucille A. Jewel

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Internet allows citizens to comment on public affairs with an amplified and unfiltered voice, creating an open, community-based "participatory culture" where robust debate flourishes. However, many of the ideals and practices of participatory culture clash with the traditional legal culture as it exists in the United States. This cultural conflict can be seen in emerging narratives, in the form of web blogs and lawyer emails that go "viral," in which lawyers comment on the lack of humanism within big law firm hiring and firing practices; expose the alienating work environments experienced by low-level contract attorneys; or criticize judges who …

Cultural Losses And Cultural Gains: Ethical Dilemmas In Wwii-Looted Art Repatriation Claims Against Public Institutions, Erin L. Thompson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Alongside their campaign of physically exterminating the Jewish population of Europe, the Nazis carried out a highly organized plan of cultural genocide which involved the confiscation or forced sale of hundreds of thousands of pieces of art. Although a sizable number of these works were returned to their owners or their heirs by the Allied forces after the war, many disappeared into the hands of private possessors. Many remain hidden in private collections, but a number of these artworks were given to or purchased by museums or other public institutions. In recent decades, the heirs of Holocaust victims have been …

You Don’T Own Me: Why Work For Hire Should Not Be Applied To Sound Recordings, 10 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 695 (2011), William Henslee, Elizabeth Henslee

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Many recording artists and songwriters never reap the rewards of their work. America’s first professional songwriter died in poverty at the age of thirty-seven. At the Congressional level the situation has described recording artists as “one group of creators who get ripped off more than anybody else in any other industry”. As we approach 2013, there will be a new line of cases that deal with authors of sound recordings attempting to terminate their copyright assignment to the record companies. While the most efficient and frugal solution would be legislative action, the most probable outcome is expensive, fact-intensive litigation. Congress …

New Business Models For Music, Henry H., Perritt Jr.

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Drawing A Line In The Sand: Copyright Law And New Museums, Megan M. Carpenter

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Over the last twenty years, audience attendance at museums, galleries, and performing arts institutions in the United States has decreased dramatically. Major museums and galleries are considering ways to add engaging and meaningful value to the user experience with technology, from incorporating user-generated content to creating multimedia installations billed as "collaborative" works.

In 2010, the Dallas Museum of Art's Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea exhibition featured landscapes from 1850 to the present, as well as a sound installation composed by students and faculty at a local university, which played on speakers throughout the show and responded directly to the …

Trademark's Unfair Nominative Fair Use Defense: Protecting E-Commentary From Censorship By Corporate Monoliths, Tom Abeles

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article is concerned with the problem when an in-house attorney with vast resources and experience sends a cease and desist letter to a smaller review site, who may not have the resources to hire an attorney. A modest website may surrender to the request of a powerful corporation, especially if the cease and desist letter was overly intimidating. Website owners who are unfamiliar with trademark law present an attractive target in this situation and may not see a nominative fair use defense, which is not strong enough to protect these types of users. Review sites providing useful commentary or …

A Modern Library Class Action: The Google Book Settlement And The Future Of Digital Books, Courtney Nguyen

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In this modern age, electronic readers, devices used to read digital copies of books, are fast saturating the market. The Google Books Library Project ("Project") is but one source of digital books, albeit a hotly contested one. Since inception the Project has encountered sundry problems, ranging from copyright disputes to accusations of monopoly and unfair competition. Though Google has settled with several author's groups, the legality of the Project and the resulting Settlement Agreement is still challenged.

This note posits that in light of the ongoing legal problems and other troubles the Project faces, a private settlement agreement is not …

Facebook And Social Networks: The Government’S Newest Playground For Information And The Laws That Haven’T Quite Kept Pace, Danielle Levine

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

With the rise of social networking sites such as Facebook, individuals are sharing information about themselves at alarming rates. With such copious amounts of personal information on the Internet, it is unsurprising that the government is using social networking sites to gain access to data for use in criminal investigations and prosecutions. This paper examines the ways in which social networking sites and the government's search for information collide. Part I looks at Facebook and discusses the ways the government has used Facebook and similar social networking sites in its investigations. Part II outlines the statutory framework through which the …

Adding Injury To Insult: Injurious Speech On The Internet And Its Implications For The First Amendment, Shelly Rosenfeld

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Cyberbullying became a major news story after a MySpace message took a deadly toll on a teenager. This paper examines how injurious speech case law in traditional print and broadcast media balances protecting victims who suffer emotional or physical harm while still preserving publisher's First Amendment rights. These cases provide a framework within which the injurious speech jurisprudence can be applied to emerging forms of communication, including the Internet.

By exploring the injurious speech cases from broadcast and print, this Note deals with the following issues: Can a public figure sue the press for intentionally inflicting emotional distress? What are …

Leaks, Leakers, And Journalists: Adding Historical Context To The Age Of Wikileaks, Sandra Davidson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The United States government has charged Pfc. Bradley Manning with leaking to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks unprecedented amounts of classified information. Prior to publishing the Afghan War Logs, WikiLeaks provided the documents to The New York Times and other newspapers around the world. This article begins by reviewing how Manning reportedly leaked the documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as diplomatic cables. It then traces decades of legal precedents surrounding leaks, leakers, and journalists in the United States, suggesting similarities and differences between the past and present. This article thus provides a historical context for the …

Paris Hilton Avoids Getting Slapped: The Application Of California's Anti-Slapp Statute To A Right Of Publicity Claim In Hilton V. Hallmark Cards, Lindsay C. Hanifan

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal

No abstract provided.