Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Draft Of Fair Use As Market Failure: A Structural And Economic Analysis Of The Betamax Case And Its Predecessors - 1982, Wendy J. Gordon

Scholarship Chronologically

In the recent and much publicized Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Sony Corp. of America (Betamax) case, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that persons who make videotapes of copyrighted television programs in the privacy of their homes should be considered to be copyright infringers. Basic to the court's reasoning was a misunderstanding of the "fair use" doctrine. Called "the most troublesome [doctrine] in the whole law of copyright," "fair use" renders noninfringing certain uses of copyrighted material that might technically violate the statute, but which do not violate the statute's basic purposes.

Antitrust Problems In International Technology Transfers—United States V. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 648 F.2d 642 (9th Cir. 2981), Christina Marie Ager

Washington Law Review

In 1970 the Department of Justice brought an antitrust action against Westinghouse Electric Corporation and two Japanese corporations, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) (together Mitsubishi). The government alleged violations of section 1 of the Sherman Act. Since 1923 the defendants or their predecessors had a series of technology-sharing agreements under which Westinghouse granted licenses of its Japanese patents to Mitsubishi. It excluded its counterpart patents in the United States and Canada from the agreements. The government contended that Mitsubishi had become so dependent on Westinghouse technology because of the technology-sharing agreements that it could not …

General Motors Corporation V. Devex Corp., Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Parallel Importation Of Trademarked Goods: A Comparative Analysis, Kaoru Takamatsu

Washington Law Review

This Article reviews how major countries and common markets, including the United States, Japan and the European Community, have dealt with the problem of parallel importation. It then suggests common criteria to solve this problem in each nation. It concludes that the proper results in parallel importation cases will be reached if the problem is analyzed in terms of the major functions of trademarks.

Copyright Law—Who Gets The Picture?—Universal City Studios, Inc., V. Sony Corp. Of America, 659 F.2d 963 (9th Cir. 1981), Cert. Granted, 50 U.S.L.W. 3982 (No. 81-1687), Debra A. Sitzberger

Washington Law Review

In Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Sony Corp. of America, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit defined the scope of copyright protection afforded audiovisual material broadcast on public airways. The plaintiffs, Universal City Studios, Inc. and Walt Disney Productions, Inc., produced and owned the copyrights to thirty-two publicly broadcast motion pictures. The case arose when the defendant recorded these movies for private use on a Sony "Betamax" brand home videotape recorder (VTR). The plaintiffs sued this defendant for direct copyright infringement. They also sued the manufacturer, distributor, advertiser, and retail sellers of the Betamax VTR for …

Report To The Copyright Office By The American Association Of Law Libraries, James S. Heller

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Xi. Patent, Copyright & Trademark Law

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Courts In Broadcast Regulatory Policy-Making, Lawrence D. Longley, Erwin G. Krasnow, Herbert A. Terry

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In the early decades of broadcast regulation, the regulatory process was dominated by (and largely restricted to) three major participants--Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the industry itself. This balance of forces has now been altered by the increased involvement of three new participants in broadcast regulatory policy making the public, in the form of citizen groups; the White House, by means of special advisory bodies, appointment powers, budgetary control, and active communication-oriented divisions of Cabinet level agencies; and the courts, in the form of judicial opinions prescribing and precluding FCC policy initiatives. These three new activist participants in …

Media Access To Videotape Evidence In Criminal Trials, Geoffrey Robinson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

A peripheral but hotly contested issue in the Abscam trials was whether the media could copy and broadcast the videotapes entered into evidence. This issue requires balancing of the defendant's fair trial rights against interests closely analogous to those protected by the First Amendment. This note suggests the lines upon which analysis of the conflicting interests should run, and argues for a strong presumption in favor of access.

A Media Labor Law Symposium: Introduction, David Tajgman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Control Of, And Access To, On-Line Computer Data Bases: Some First Amendment Issues In Videotex And Teletext, Henry Beck

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Information stored in centralized data banks is now accessible by home computer over telephone and cable networks, and through over-the-air broadcasting. The proprietors of these data banks may be said to "publish" their information each time an end-user retrieves information from their data bases. If taken seriously, this concept of "electronic publication" raises important first amendment questions.

After a brief introduction to the nature of the new medium, this article discusses some of the first amendment issues involved in access to stored information bases and the "mirror image" problem of controlling such stored information. Because many of the potential first …

As Interactive Cable Enters, Does Privacy Go Out The Window, Gary Selvin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Interactive cable will provide consumers with the ability to bank, shop, attend classes, respond to polls, view programs and attend to other daily activities from the home through a television set linked to a computer. Storage of this personal information poses a privacy concern relating to the government's ability to search the records as part of criminal investigations. The author analogizes current law in forecasting possible judicial treatment of Fourth Amendment protection and suggests possible methods for establishing a clear standard which would maximize subscriber protection.

Federal Preemption Of State Obscenity Law Applied To Broadcasting, William Hanks, Steve Coran

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

With the expansion of cable and free-air subscription television into more markets, interstate transmission by satellite and by broadcasting have frequently included R-rated movies. This increases the likelihood that states will apply obscenity laws and other laws related to program content to television programming. This article argues that state obscenity laws applied to broadcasting are preempted by federal law. There are several grounds for concluding that Congress intended to preempt: (1) the Communications Act empowered the FCC to establish a nationwide telecommunications system, and it is probable that state obscenity laws would conflict with each other and with federal broadcast …

Cable Television Secured Financing, Robert G. Weiss, Alan G. Benjamin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Lenders financing cable television construction and operation commonly use the cable television system itself as collateral. This article focuses on the documentation requirements and the legal impediments to realization of anticipated cash flow. Documentation includes the security agreement and the financing statement; this article also examines documentation in relation to the municipal franchise. Legal impediments include rate controls, recent developments in antitrust law and competition from alternative technological systems such as subscription television, direct broadcast satellite, multipoint distribution service, satellite master antenna television, low power television and home view networks.

People Ex Rel. Gow V. Mitchell Brothers: California Gropes For A Civil Obscenity Standard, Peter F. Frost

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of civil nuisance actions to restrain the exhibition of obscenity. Authorities have split over whether civil or criminal procedural standards should govern such actions. The California Court of Appeal, in People ex rel. Gow v. Mitchell Brothers Theatre, has addressed some of these issues. The author examines the court's reasoning regarding the appropriate remedies and standard of proof in such actions. In addition, the author addresses the propriety of a jury trial, concluding that a jury trial should be a matter of right in the determination of obscenity.

Mississippi's Prohibition Of Alcoholic Beverage Advertising: A Constitutional Analysis, Charlotte K. Ito

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Mississippi prohibits alcoholic beverage advertising to further its interest in promoting temperance. This note applies the first amendment commercial speech standard to the advertising ban and concludes that the alcoholic beverage advertising ban is an unconstitutional restraint of free speech. Further consideration of the interplay between the first and twenty first amendments indicates that to the extent that the ban violates first amendment interests, it is unsupported by the twenty first amendment.

Feature Film Secured Financing: A Transactional Approach For Lender's Counsel, Robert G. Weiss, Alan G. Benjamin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The authors describe the legal techniques that can be used by a secured lender's counsel to reduce the risks attendant upon the interim financing of feature films. The authors tell counsel how to accomplish the essential and inter-related tasks of (1) defining, perfecting and protecting a security interest in the feature film and related collateral; (2) assuring timely and on-budget delivery of the feature film; and (3) assuring receipt of promised presale advances used to "take out" the interim lender.

Copyright Infringement: An Argument For The Elimination Of The Scenes A Faire Doctrine, Don M. Tamura

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note deals with a relatively obscure aspect of copyright law-the scones a faire doctrine. In recent years it has gained popularity as a defense for potential infringers. The note first discusses the background of copyright law and the elements of a copyright infringement action. Then, two major theories and a procedural methodology are outlined before the scones a faire doctrine is defined and analyzed. After comparing the doctrine with the established theories of copyright protection, the author concludes that the doctrine is seriously flawed and conflicts with the other theories.

Divorce In The Entertainment Industry - Some Special Problems, Ovvie Miller

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Lawyers representing divorce clients in the entertainment industry are often presented with cases where the parties have substantial variations in annual income. Claims involving characterization and valuation of unique assets such as "right of publicity" also arise regularly. The legal background of these matters is reviewed from the perspective of California and New York law. The author offers practical advice to the lawyer who may have a case where these issues are presented.

The Irs, The Ins And The Foreign Entertainer, Richard D. Fraade, David B. Gardner, Allan Stewart

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article discusses the interrelationship between the immigration and tax laws as they affect foreign entertainers and athletes. A survey of the types of visas available and the effect of those classifications upon taxation is examined. Additionally, the article outlines the reporting requirements of foreign entertainers, and emphasizes careful planning in structuring immigration and tax matters.

The Copyright Notice Requirement - Deliberate Omission Of Notice, Warren L. Patton, John C. Hogan

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article discusses the effect, under the current Copyright Act, of deliberate omission of copyright notice from a published work. The authors assert that although Congress intended to minimize the significance of the notice requirement in the new statute, an ambiguity in the statutory language has resulted in an uncertainty about the copyright status of a work when the author deliberately omits the copyright notice. The article discusses the conflict between Professor Nimmer's opinion on the issue and the decision of a federal district court in O'Neill Development, Inc. v. Galen Kilburn, Inc. The authors conclude that notice within five …

Labor And The Media In The Eighties, Robert M. Segal

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Double-Breasted Operations - Construction Tool Being Used In Broadcast Industry, Mary Ellen Krug

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Personal Contracts For Bargaining Unit Employees - An Analysis Of Media Labor Implications, Victor Strimbu

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Can A Computer Be An Author - Copyright Aspects Of Artificial Intelligence, Timothy L. Butler

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note discusses the impact of current advances in computer science upon traditional copyright notions of authorship and originality. Finding that certain works created largely by computer are outside the ambit of federal copyright law, yet in need of protection for traditional policy reasons, the author explores several alternatives for providing copyright protection. A solution is proposed wherein the court presumes human authorship in machine created works, then, after ascertaining that the work meets the other requirements of federal copyright law, determines which individual is most deserving of copyright ownership.

A New Test For Trademark Dilution - Why North Carolina Should Adopt Section 12 Of The Model State Trademark Bill, Philip Summa

Campbell Law Review

This comment will attempt to do three things: provide a useful definition of dilution; propose a clear test that can be applied to quickly determine whether, under Section 12 or the common law, a dilution case exists, and, if so, how it should be decided; and show why a state such as North Carolina should provide anti-dilution protection to its citizens.

Vdts As A Health Problem: The Newspaper Guild's Experience, David J. Eisen

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Closed To The Media: The Defendant's Right Of Privacy In The Preliminary Examination, Joseph A. Wynne

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note examines the standard of probable cause as the sole justification for prosecutorial intrusion on the individual's privacy. It argues that, given California's express constitutional guaranty of a right to privacy, the defendant in a criminal prosecution should not be forced to defend himself in a public forum until after probable cause for a trial has been established at the preliminary examination.

Addressing The Reprographic Revolution: Compensating Copyright Owners For Mass Infringement, Rosalind S. Kurz

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article addresses the unique problems created by the reprographic revolution. Part I discusses recent legislative attempts to relieve the strain placed on existing copyright law by developing reprographic technologies. Using the recent Betamax case as an example, part II criticizes judicial efforts to apply traditional copyright doctrine to issues involving reprographic technologies. Finally, part III proposes a framework for devising, an enforcement scheme to protect copyright holders' rights without denying the public the many benefits offered by reprographic technologies. The Article outlines an approach tailored to meet the special problems associated with each of the three basic reprographic technologies: …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A Cargo Container Used to Ship Packaged Units is not a "Package" for Purposes of Limiting the Carrier's Liability for Loss under COSGA

Exemption from Compulsory Military Service will not Act as a Bar to Citizenship for an Alien if the Classification was later Changed to Make Him Eligible to Serve

Indeterminate Detension of an Excludable Alien in a Maximum Security Prison, Pending Unforeseeable Deportation, violates International Law

Patentholders do not Violate Antitrust Laws by Licensing only Foreign Patents even though the Patent Dependency created Limits Domestic Competition

Arbitral Tribunal lacks Jurisdiction to Hear the Claims of a Corporation Qualifying …