Law Commons^™

Race Cartels: How Constructor Collaboration Is Curbing Innovation In Formula 1, Chandler C. Gerard-Reimer

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Formula 1 is in the midst of a copycat scandal: technology has made it possible for teams to reverse engineer clones of competitors’ race cars. This is a less than ideal state of affairs for the championship series, which prides itself on being the pinnacle of motorsport and automotive innovation, thanks in large part to the cars’ rapid rate of technological advancement. In order to address this problem, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Formula 1’s governing body, must increase independent innovation efforts by amending the technical regulations to restrict the extent of presently allowed inter-team collaboration. Worried that the …

Patents As Escalators, Amelia S. Rinehart

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

High technology companies commit time, effort, and resources to innovation. Over the course of a research and development project, an innovative company may face several sequential decisions regarding whether to continue to invest in the project and whether to commercialize the discoveries that have been made. Companies often seek patents early in the research and development process to receive the right to exclude others from practicing the invention. Given a current trend toward earlier and earlier patent filing, several scholars suggest that this strategy could leave many inventions underdeveloped; companies may treat patents like real options, deciding later where to …

Uneasy Lies The Head That Wears The Crown: Why Content's Kingdom Is Slipping Away, Jonathan Handel

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article examines the ongoing power struggle between the content industries (with a particular focus on Hollywood) and the technology industry. These two sectors are intertwined like never before, yet their fates seem wildly divergent, with content stumbling while distribution technology thrives.

The Article begins by illustrating that, even before the recession took hold, traditional paid content was in trouble, and that this was and is true across a range of distribution platforms and content types, including theatrical motion pictures, home video, network television, music, newspapers, books, and magazines. The Article next posits six reasons for content's discontent: supply and …