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Intellectual Property Law

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UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Journal

1981

Articles 1 - 23 of 23

Full-Text Articles in Law

Updating The Communications Act: New Electronics, Old Economics, And The Demise Of The Public Interest, Peter J. Kokalis Jan 1981

Updating The Communications Act: New Electronics, Old Economics, And The Demise Of The Public Interest, Peter J. Kokalis

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Regulating Cable Television, Nicholas P. Miller, Alan Beals Jan 1981

Regulating Cable Television, Nicholas P. Miller, Alan Beals

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


New Communications Technology: The Emerging Antitrust Agenda, Michael Botein Jan 1981

New Communications Technology: The Emerging Antitrust Agenda, Michael Botein

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Cable Television, Government Regulation, And The First Amendment, Henry Goldberg, Robert W. Ross, Phillip L. Spector Jan 1981

Cable Television, Government Regulation, And The First Amendment, Henry Goldberg, Robert W. Ross, Phillip L. Spector

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Pirates Walk The Plank: The Unauthorized Interception Of Pay Telelvision Transmissions, John H. Works Jr. Jan 1981

Pirates Walk The Plank: The Unauthorized Interception Of Pay Telelvision Transmissions, John H. Works Jr.

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The purpose of this note is to discuss the unauthorized interception of subscription television transmissions and to explain how the Federal Communications Commission and the courts finally arrived at the conclusion that television piracy is illegal activity. Until recently, there has been very little litigation on this question, and the remedies available to the subscription television services. Subscription television companies have attempted to protect their signals either by scrambling them or by transmitting them over microwave frequencies. Pirates have sold equipment capable of either decoding scrambled signals or receiving microwave transmission. The author makes several recommendations on how the unauthorized …


Violence In Professional Sports: A Proposal For Self-Regulation, Don Eugene-Nolan Gibson Jan 1981

Violence In Professional Sports: A Proposal For Self-Regulation, Don Eugene-Nolan Gibson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Rewriting The 1934 Communications Act, 1976-1980: A Case Study Of The Formulation Of Communications Policy, Erwin G. Krasnow, Herbert A. Terry, Lawrence D. Longley Jan 1981

Rewriting The 1934 Communications Act, 1976-1980: A Case Study Of The Formulation Of Communications Policy, Erwin G. Krasnow, Herbert A. Terry, Lawrence D. Longley

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


After Richmond Newspapers: A Public Right To Attend Civil Trials, Doug Gummerman Jan 1981

After Richmond Newspapers: A Public Right To Attend Civil Trials, Doug Gummerman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the public and press have a First Amendment right of access to criminal trials. The 1980 decision left many questions unanswered, however. Among them is whether the public's right to attend will someday be extended to include civil trials. This note analyzes the Richmond decision, examines the history of the public civil trial, and arrives at an answer to this question. The currently-recognized exceptions to the open civil trial are then examined, with particular attention paid to the various state statutes which authorize trial closure in certain …


Communications Behind Bars: Are We Finally Applying The Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy Test To Custodial Conversations, Lynn Soodik Jan 1981

Communications Behind Bars: Are We Finally Applying The Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy Test To Custodial Conversations, Lynn Soodik

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note examines the propriety of surreptitious and nonjudicially authorized electronic surveillance of suspects, pretrial detainees, and incarcerated persons during conversations with persons other than interrogating police officers. After discussing the rationale courts have used to deny prisoners protections in their conversations, this note analyzes the California appellate court decision of Robinson v. Superior Court, which held that conversations between spouses are protected by the United States and California Constitutions. Robinson was granted a hearing by the California Supreme Court on June 25, 1980. The author urges that Robinson be upheld, but argues that the decision should be based solely …


The First Amendment And The Cable Television Operator: An Unprotective Shield Against Public Access Requirements, Michael I. Meyerson Jan 1981

The First Amendment And The Cable Television Operator: An Unprotective Shield Against Public Access Requirements, Michael I. Meyerson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article focuses on the question of whether state-imposed public access requirements violate the First Amendment rights of the cable television operator. The author rejects a traditional approach to this issue and suggests that the appropriate analysis asks whether the law abridges expression the First Amendment was meant to protect. That is, do cable access requirements abridge speech safeguarded by the First Amendment? The article demonstrates that such requirements do not hinder, but in fact further, fundamental First Amendment interests. Finally, the article shows that access requirements fulfill the standards of the constitutional tests for each classification into which they …


Extension Of The Federal Communications Commission's Jurisdiction To The Television Networks, Lance S. Davidson Jan 1981

Extension Of The Federal Communications Commission's Jurisdiction To The Television Networks, Lance S. Davidson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Federal Communications Commission's enabling statute, the Communications Act of 1934, provides no statutory authority for the regulation of the television networks. Nonetheless, with judicial approval, the FCC indirectly regulates the networks via its licensing authority over broadcast stations affiliated with the networks and has even promulgated rules by which it directly regulates the networks. This article reviews the case law focusing on the FCC's extension of its jurisdiction to the television networks and to cable television, which is similarly unreferenced in the Act. The article argues that the FCC should have consistent jurisdiction to regulate the cable and broadcast …


Literature And Libel, Marc A. Franklin, Robert Trager Jan 1981

Literature And Libel, Marc A. Franklin, Robert Trager

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article explores cases in which publications that purport to be fiction have led to claims of defamation. It begins with an analysis of the common law, which shows the central importance of proving that the defamation was "of and concerning" the plaintiff. Next, the article considers the impact of recent constitutional developments in the area of nonfiction defamation. The authors argue that fiction is entitled to no more and no less constitutional protection than nonfiction publications. They thus reject absolute privilege on the one hand and strict liability on the other. Then then develop analogies to the Times-Gertz privilege …


Stacked Competition And Phony Deregulation For At&(And)T: The Proposed Telecommunications Competition And Deregulation Act Of 1981, Louis B. Schwartz Jan 1981

Stacked Competition And Phony Deregulation For At&(And)T: The Proposed Telecommunications Competition And Deregulation Act Of 1981, Louis B. Schwartz

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Libel Law In The Twenty-First Century: Defamation And The Electronic Newspaper, Stephen R. Hofer Jan 1981

Libel Law In The Twenty-First Century: Defamation And The Electronic Newspaper, Stephen R. Hofer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


From Estes To Chandler: The Distinction Between Television And Newspaper Trial Coverage, David Tajgman Jan 1981

From Estes To Chandler: The Distinction Between Television And Newspaper Trial Coverage, David Tajgman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


State Action Immunity And Antitrust Issues In Cable Television Franchising, Stephen D. Susman, Mark L. D. Wawro Jan 1981

State Action Immunity And Antitrust Issues In Cable Television Franchising, Stephen D. Susman, Mark L. D. Wawro

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Municipal Ownership Of Cable Television: Some Issues And Problems, Michael J. Henderson Jan 1981

Municipal Ownership Of Cable Television: Some Issues And Problems, Michael J. Henderson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Unauthorized Pay Television Reception Under Section 605 Of The Communications Act, Allen N. Dixon Iii Jan 1981

Unauthorized Pay Television Reception Under Section 605 Of The Communications Act, Allen N. Dixon Iii

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


Abuse Of The Equal Opportunities Doctrine By Presidential Incumbents, Martine Safran Jan 1981

Abuse Of The Equal Opportunities Doctrine By Presidential Incumbents, Martine Safran

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note examines the history of the equal opportunity doctrine, 47 U.S.C. § 315, and its abuse by presidential incumbents during re-election campaigns. The author proposes that the FCC should adopt a news-worthiness criterion in enforcing the equal time doctrine, and discard the "legally qualified candidate's" public announcement requirement, and that the fairness and equal opportunities doctrines be incorporated into one statutory provision.


The Equal Time And Fairness Doctrines: Outdated Or Crucial To American Politics In The 1980s, Howard Downs, Karen Karpen Jan 1981

The Equal Time And Fairness Doctrines: Outdated Or Crucial To American Politics In The 1980s, Howard Downs, Karen Karpen

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Federal Communications Commission recently voted to urge congressional repeal of the equal opportunities and fairness doctrines. This article evaluates the arguments favoring repeal in light of the probable impact of the media on the political process in the 1980's. Instead of repeal of the doctrines, the authors advocate adoption of a "proportional time law," which would enable broadcasters to concentrate coverage on major political candidates, but also ensure some coverage of minor candidates.


Child Pornography, The First Amendment, And The Media: The Constitutionality Of Super-Obscenity Laws, James W. Moore Jan 1981

Child Pornography, The First Amendment, And The Media: The Constitutionality Of Super-Obscenity Laws, James W. Moore

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Child pornography statutes have been passed by Congress and most of the states. This note examines one such law, New York section 263.15, which has been declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals. The author contends that the law impinges on freedom of expression in ways unnecessary to achieve its purpose and should be declared unconstitutional.


Mandatory Programming Rules For Children's Television, Donna Roberson Jan 1981

Mandatory Programming Rules For Children's Television, Donna Roberson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.


The Regulatory Status Of Cable Television Leased Channels: Issues Of Common Carriage And Preemption, Nicholas P. Miller, W. Randolph Young, Robert H. Ruxin Jan 1981

The Regulatory Status Of Cable Television Leased Channels: Issues Of Common Carriage And Preemption, Nicholas P. Miller, W. Randolph Young, Robert H. Ruxin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

As cable television develops into a communications medium capable of providing a vast array of voice, data and television communications services, there is an increasing interest by local governments in requiring the cable operator to provide access to the cable system through leased channels. The article examines cable leased channels in terms of common carriage and the possible jurisdictional questions raised between the federal, state and local governments. Leased channel requirements can be implemented in such a way so as to impose a common carrier classification of not. Although common carrier obligations for leased channel services may be publicly beneficial, …