Law Commons^™

Virtual Prostitution: New Technologies And The World's Oldest Profession, David Cardiff

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The various developing technologies that will allow entertainment consumers to receive video on demand will provide increased choice and interactivity. These technologies will also be capable of providing interactive video pornography, thus refocusing the public debate regarding obscene and indecent communications. This Note explores the capabilities of these new technologies, vis-A-vis pornographic communications, in the context of the traditional nuisance-based jurisprudence that has evolved in response to more traditional means of disseminating pornography, and in the context of the various new laws, including the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which are intended to restrict access to, and punish purveyors of, …

Pinning The Blame In Cyberspace: Towards A Coherent Theory For Imposing Vicarious Copyright, Trademark And Tort Liability For Conduct Ocurring Over The Internet, Ian C. Ballon

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Vicarious liability, or the principle that under certain circumstances it is fair and just to hold unrelated third parties liable for conduct which they did not initiate or perhaps even condone, is both a logical outgrowth of, and impediment to, the ongoing rapid expansion of the Internet. Online infringers and tortfeasors may be more likely than others to be effectively "judgment proof," because their conduct was undertaken anonymously, they cannot satisfy a damages award, or they are located beyond the jurisdiction of a convenient and economical U.S. venue for litigation. As a consequence, and as Internet use has increased and …

Regulating Competition In The Information Age: Computer Software As An Essential Facility Under The Sherman Act, David Mcgowan

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This Article examines the application of the antitrust laws to computer software markets, beginning with a discussion of the different economic approaches underlying the antitrust and copyright laws. The Article contends generally that antitrust does not provide the analytical tools necessary to determine the optimal scope of copyright protection. The Article then examines more particularly the increasingly common argument that access to software code-including at least some form of copying-may be an "essential facility" under the antitrust laws. In this regard the Article discusses the analytical confusion surrounding the essential facilities concept and argues that application of the concept should …

The Application Of Securities Laws In Cyberspace: Jurisdictional And Regulatory Problems Posed By Internet Securities Transactions, Kenneth W. Brakebill

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This Note examines the impact of the Cyberspace revolution upon our current American system of securities regulation. The Author discusses several recent technological innovations, including the advent of electronic media to deliver corporate information to investors, the use of the Internet to consummate public stock offerings, and the creation of on-line securities trading systems to match buyers and sellers, and addresses the response of securities regulators to these novelties. In large part, the author will explore the legal uncertainty that has been thrust upon the American courts, federal and state regulators, and investors in light of the growing use of …

Making The World Wide Web Safe For Democracy: A Medium-Specific First Amendment Analysis, Andrew Chin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The World Wide Web, a vast speech domain that may ultimately swallow all current forms of telecommunications media, presents urgent First Amendment issues. Most significantly, the structure of linked documents on the Web has served to concentrate speech power and impoverish democratic discourse. As extensive surveys by the author and others demonstrate, commercial speech dominates the Web and political discourse on the Web has become balkanized.

Using a quantitative model, it is possible to isolate and identify the characteristics of Web sites that contribute to robust public debate. These findings suggest a range of structural policies that would support the …

At The Interface Of Patent And Trademark Law: Should A Product Configuration Disclosed In A Utility Patent Ever Qualify For Trade Dress Protection, Kevin E. Mohr

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Patent law seeks to advance technological innovation by encouraging invention with a limited-duration monopoly. In return, the inventor discloses his invention, and it becomes free for the public to use upon the patent's expiration. Trademark law seeks to avoid consumer confusion by granting to the trademark owner for an indefinite period a monopoly in the use of the mark in connection with its goods. Where a product is protected by a utility patent and the product owner also seeks to protect the product's shape or design by relying on trademark law, these policies can collide. This can result in the …

Trade, Competition, And Intellectual Property--Trips And Its Antitrust Counterparts, Eleanor M. Fox

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the interface between TRIPS' protection of intellectual property rights and antitrust law, and the extent to which TRIPS invites a counterpart agreement that would internationalize intellectual property antitrust rules.

Professor Fox argues that TRIPS does not call for internationalizing antitrust law, and that even developing countries, which might find a greater need for antitrust protection against abuse of dominance after TRIPS, might be better served by developing and enforcing a national antitrust law of their own.

She argues that TRIPS does, however, contemplate some limits to antitrust, lest antitrust enforcement impair protections guaranteed by TRIPS. Professor Fox …

The Single Publication Rule: One Action Not One Law, Debra R. Cohen

Journal Articles

Recovery in one action under one state's law for violation of the right of publicity-the right to control the commercial use of one's identity-arising out of multistate publication2 seems to be the trend of the nineties. When Samsung ran a nationwide print advertisement for VCRs depicting a robot dressed to resemble her, Vanna White sued for violation of her right of publicity.3 Under California law she recovered $403,000. 4 When a SalsaRio Doritos radio commercial imitating Tom Waits's distinctive raspy and gravelly voice aired nationwide, he sued Frito Lay for violation of his right of publicity.5 Under California law he …

The First Amendment Under Pressure, Daniel Schorr

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

What Are The Limitations On Freedom Of The Press, Daniel Schorr

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

The Communications Decency Act And The Indecent Indecency Spectacle, David Kushner

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This essay situates the Communications Decency Act in contemporary jurisprudence and our postmodern culture. The author analyzes why both the proscription of indecency in cyberspace and the prescription of television ratings are unconstitutional. More importantly, the essay argues that cyberspace must be viewed as a post modern spectacle. The production forces of late capitalism have commodified sex and violence, making them the principal fruits of desire in cyberspace. These cultural urges, in conjunction with the convergence of telecommunications technologies, render the CDA and like forms of censorship fundamentally unenforceable. The essay concludes by suggesting the serious implications for First Amendment …

The Shirts Off Their Backs: Colleges Getting Away With Violating The Right Of Publicity, Vladimir P. Belo

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The popularity of college athletics is at an all-time high in the United States. Colleges and universities have capitalized on the enthusiasm through marketing merchandise aimed at taking advantage of the growing popularity. Recently, colleges have begun using the popularity of individual student-athletes by marketing clothing featuring uniform numbers of high-profile players on their tiams. This Note examines this latest trend in college sports merchandising.

This Note suggests that the marketing of this type of merchandise may violate student-athletes' common law and statutory rights of publicity. This Note chronicles the development of right of publicity law, concluding that a college …

Seeing Beyond The Smoke And Mirrors: A Proposal For The Abandonment Of The Commercial Speech Doctrine And An Analysis Of Recent Tobacco Advertising Regulations, Scott Joachim

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This Note examines the Supreme Court's struggles both in defining commercial speech and identifying the parameters of the commercial speech doctrine. The author analyzes a series of Supreme Court cases and concludes that the doctrine rests on an ill-defined notion of commercial speech and on illusory assumptions regarding the distinctions between commercial speech and more highly protected discourse such as political speech. The author concludes that the Court should abandon the commercial speech doctrine and provide commercial speech the full protections enjoyed by political speech. The Note next outlines President Clinton's and the FDA's recent tobacco advertising regulations and analyzes …

An Analysis Of The Nature And Impact Of Legal Complexities Facing United States Corporations Considering Investment Into The New South Africa, Philip R. Mcdougall

LLM Theses and Essays

Due to sanctions imposed against South Africa’s Apartheid government, the South African economy suffered as little international investment was made in the country. With these sanctions lifted following the democratic elections of 1994, South Africa is now an alluring country for international investment. Despite this attractiveness, U.S. corporations face many legal concerns before entering the South African economy. An analysis of these issues is made in the context of American and South African law with solutions proposed in an effort to avoid deterring foreign investment. These concerns include political and non-economic risks that often hinder investment in the African continent, …

The Effect Of Bankruptcy On Executory Contracts In General And On Licensing Agreements Of Intellectual Property In Particular, Alexandra Baumgartner

LLM Theses and Essays

11 U.S.C. § 365(a) provides that a bankruptcy trustee, subject to the court’s approval, may assume or reject any executory contract. What section § 365 does not provide is a clear definition for the term “executory contract.” This thesis covers the different definitions of executory contracts proposed by courts and scholars and common grounds for assumption and rejection by the trustee. The author in particular analyzes how § 365 interacts with licensing agreements. If a licensor files for bankruptcy and the license agreement is rejected, the licensee’s rights to use the licensed intellectual property are in jeopardy. This situation is …

The Continental Moral Rights Doctrine And Its Applicability In The United States Copyright System, Oswaldo Jose Quintana

LLM Theses and Essays

In the last half of the twentieth century, international copyright protection has become of much greater concern as the copyright industry has become supranational. Treaties enacted in the last ten years such as the Berne Convention Implementation Act, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, provide the highest copyright protection available at the international level. Global piracy has declined in the last several years because of these provisions. However, the adherence by the United States to these treaties has caused controversy; some maintain that it represents a major overhaul of federal law …

Global Technological Integration, Intellectual Property Rights, And Competition Law: Some Introductory Comments, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Implications Of The New Regime For Global Competition Policy: Intellectual Property Rights, Economic Power, And Global Technological Integration, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Free Trade In The Americas: Nafta Case Studies, Claudio Grossman

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Trademark Parody: Lessons From The Copyright Decision In Campbell V. Acuff-Rose Music, Gary Myers

Faculty Publications

Parodies have long provided many of us with amusement, entertainment,and sometimes even information. An effective parody can convey one or more messages with powerful effect. The message may be a political statement, social commentary, commercial speech, a bawdy joke, ridicule of a brand name, criticism of commercialism, or just plain humor for its own sake. Often someone's ox is being gored, or someone feels that a property right has been infringed. The party so injured often contemplates a lawsuit, and an array of legal theories are available to further that impulse. Perhaps copyright infringement is the claim, if some protectable …

Prospects And Limits Of The Patent Provision In The Trips Agreement: The Case Of India, Martin J. Adelman, Sonia Baldia

Sonia Baldia

No abstract provided.

Patentes De Invencion (Tesis De Maestria), Gabriel Martinez Medrano

Gabriel Martinez Medrano

Tesis de Maestria con la que obtuve el Master en Derecho y Economia de las Nuevas Tecnologias (UNMDP) presentada en 1996 y calificada con 10 puntos.

Rising Temperatures: Rising Tides, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Transboundary environmental problems do not distinguish between political boundaries. Global warming is expected to cause thermal expansion of water and melt glaciers. Both are predicted to lead to a rise in sea level. We must enlarge our paradigms to encompass a global reality and reliance upon global participation.

1995 Patent Law Decisions Of The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit, Lawrence M. Sung

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property Protection In The Asian-Pacific Region: A Comparative Study, Paul C.B. Liu, Andy Y. Sun

Maryland Series in Contemporary Asian Studies

No abstract provided.

Hilton Davis And Jury Trials,, William Alsup, Carolyn Wiggin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Congress' creation of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982 led to a boom in patent litigation that has continued into the 1990's. As this boom has continued, the role of juries in patent infringement cases has been criticized, with commentators suggesting jury bias in favor of patent holders. In particular, critics of patent infringement jury trials have argued that the doctrine of equivalents favors plaintiffs by allowing juries too much discretion in finding a patent infringement when there has been no literal infringement.

In 1995, the Federal Circuit's decision in Hilton Davis Chemical Co. v. Warner-Jenkinson …

The Copyright Term Extension Act: Is Life Plus Seventy Too Much, Jenny L. Dixon

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Copyright Term Extension Act, if enacted, will increase the term of copyright protection to include the life of the author plus seventy years. Proponents of this legislation argue that such an increase is necessary for the United States to remain competitive in international intellectual property matters. This Note examines that proposition in light of the United States copyright tradition, the international copyright agreements currently in effect, and the negative impact the extension could have upon users of the public domain.

Caught In The Web: Entrapment In Cyberspace, Jennifer Gregg

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Cyberspace presents a new forum for criminal activity, including the distribution of child pornography. Law enforcement has responded with creative undercover techniques to catch on-line pedophiles and other lawbreakers. But who is policing the police? This Note applies existing entrapment law to police deception in this novel setting, discusses the current state of the law, and demonstrates that the judicially created doctrine is inadequate to curb police abuses. It suggests that legislative action is needed to modify entrapment law to accommodate the special aspects of cyberspace, and identifies the threshold issues which such legislation must address.

Viet Nam Or Bust: Why Trademark Pirates Are Leaving China For Better Opportunities In Viet Nam, Graziella M. Sarno

Penn State International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Copying To Compete: The Tension Between Copyright Protection & Antitrust Policy In Recent Non-Literal Computer Program Copyright Infringement Cases, 15 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 171 (1996), Mark L. Gordon

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

A conflict exists between copyright law and antitrust policy. The conflict arises because pursuant to the Copyright Act, a copyright owner basically has a monopoly on the work's circulation throughout the market. Copyright protection benefits the owner and the public. Antitrust laws have the same goals. However, the antitrust laws balance these goals with competition in the market. Furthermore, computer programs complicate matters because the programs create a different problem than with other types of works. The Copyright Act states that "expression" is copyrightable and "ideas" are not. Computer programs, however, combine expression and ideas. Three types of copying are …