Law Commons^™

An Evolving Ncaa Leading To An Expanding Client List, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 463 (2014), Frank Battaglia

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

On the heels of the popular March Madness National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) Basketball tournament, and following Northwestern University student-athletes’ success in unionizing, the extent of student-athlete publicity rights is now more contentious than ever. The divide between an ever-profiting NCAA and exploited NCAA student-athletes has sparked an evolving class-action lawsuit by former student-athletes, who challenge the licensing of their images and likenesses. This lawsuit has become a landmark test of the NCAA’s governance and notions about amateurism in college athletics. The outcome of this case will be a possible sign that compensation for both current and former student-athletes may …

Rediscovering Cumulative Creativity From The Oral Formulaic Tradition To Digital Remix: Can I Get A Witness?, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 341 (2014), Giancarlo F. Frosio

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

For most of human history, the essential nature of creativity was understood to be cumulative and collective. This notion has been largely forgotten by modern policies that regulate creativity and speech. As hard as it may be to believe, the most valuable components of our immortal culture were created under a fully open regime with regard to access to pre-existing expressions and re-use. From the Platonic mimesis to Shakespeare’s “borrowed feathers,” the largest part of our culture has been produced under a paradigm in which imitation—even plagiarism—and social authorship formed constitutive elements of the creative moment. Pre-modern creativity spread from …

They’Re Playing Our Song! The Promise And The Perils Of Music Copyright Litigation, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 555 (2014), William R. Coulson

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Music copyright cases are unique, costly, difficult, and complex. It was no different in the case where Ray Repp, a music composer for a Catholic publishing house, filed suit against Andrew Lloyd Webber, the famed British composer most famous for such Broadway hits as Cats and Phantom of the Opera. Repp alleged that Webber’s “Phantom Song,” the theme music for the Phantom of the Opera musical, infringed Repp’s song “Till You,” which he wrote and copyrighted almost a decade earlier. Webber in turn claimed that Repp’s “Till You” was in fact a copy of an even earlier Webber song, “Close …

Streaming Into The Future: Why Legislation And Technology Have Opened Pandora’S Box For The Recording Industry And The Webcasting Services, 13 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 649 (2014), Rachael Stack

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Today, music is everywhere, but this was not always the case. Listeners are surrounded by endless access to libraries and playlists from the advancement in technology. With the rapid technological advancements, Copyright law has been left behind at a stand still. Since the enactment of the Copyright Act, sound recordings have received less favorable treatment compared to their music counterpart. Sound recording copyrights are afforded digital performance royalties when broadcasted on popular Internet streaming services, like Pandora. In the last few years, music streaming has become more popular among listeners and thus, more sound recording royalties have been distributed; but, …

Food Art: Protecting "Food Presentation" Under U.S. Intellectual Property Law, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 1 (2014), Cathay Smith

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

In 2006, a scandal broke in the culinary world. It was alleged that Robin Wickens, chef at (now closed) Interlude restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, had copied dishes by renowned American chefs Wylie Dufresne, Jose Andres, and Grant Achatz. It is not uncommon for chefs to borrow recipes from other chefs, and there has been a long culture of sharing in the cuisine industry. However, what made Wickens’ actions scandalous was that he had purportedly copied the artistic presentation and plating of other chefs’ dishes, not just their recipes.

This Article examines whether chefs can protect the artistic presentation or plating …

The Consistently Inconsistent "Instance And Expense" Test: An Injustice To Comic Books, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 91 (2014), Thomas Deahl Ii

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Joe Simon once said that “we always felt, we wuz robbed.” He is not alone. This article will discuss Jack Kirby’s estate’s case against Marvel and how the current state of the law robs creators of the rights to their own works. The evaluation of case law will show that the application of the ‘instance and expense’ test creates an injustice of inconsistent results in litigation, where creators attempt to regain control of their works. If the court continues to inconsistently apply the law to these work-for-hire cases, then the Supreme Court or Congress needs to address the intended purpose …

Twilight: The Unveiling Of Victims, Stalking, And Domestic Violence, 21 Cardozo J. L. & Gender 39 (2014), Susan L. Brody

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us: Defining The Line Between Personal And Professional Context On Social Media, 35 Pace L. Rev. 398 (2014), Raizel Liebler, Keidra Chaney

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow individuals and companies to connect directly and regularly with an audience of peers or with the public at large. These websites combine the audience-building platforms of mass media with the personal data and relationships of in-person social networks. Due to a combination of evolving user activity and frequent updates to functionality and user features, social media tools blur the line of whether a speaker is perceived as speaking to a specific and presumed private audience, a public expression of one’s own personal views, or a representative viewpoint of an entire …