Law Commons^™

The Problem Of Modern Monetization Of Memes: How Copyright Law Can Give Protection To Meme Creators, Mark Marciszewski

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Some legal questions answered in this article on the horizon for the courts and lawyers is how should courts apply copyright law to popular media made by small scale creators and shared on the internet, otherwise known as "memes."

Part II of this article will focus on validity of potential copyright protection in internet memes. It will start by describing the increased monetization surrounding memes and how this monetization calls for greater interest for meme creators to protect their work. It will then describe the merits of individual copyright interests in internet memes.

Part III of this article will focus …

Weird Science! It’S My Creation . . . Is It Really? Or: Crafting A New Universal Trademark Standard For User-Created Avatars, Ryan Esparza

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

In modern trademark law the process of registering a valid trademark is straightforward. In the United States the Lanham Act is the ruling law of trademark law. The Lanham Act grants protection to the owner of a registered mark which is distinctive and used in commerce. Assuming all the requirements are met, the owner of a mark can use the mark within its discretion and enjoy the protection under the Lanham Act. As trademark law has continued to evolve, the law has expanded to protect previously unforeseen categories. The two most obvious examples which demonstrate the evolution of protection under …

Wide Right: How Isp Immunity And Current Laws Are Off The Mark In Protecting The Modern Athlete On Social Media, Dominick J. Mingione

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

“[Y]our tranny looking dad is a disgrace to American football,” “I would rape the shit out of her,” and “[The] [B]ears are easier than you on prom night,” are just a sampling of some of the alarmingly harassing tweets received by Chloe Trestman between the night of November 9, 2014 and November 10, 2014. Who is Chloe Trestman, and what could she have possibly done to warrant such abuse? Chloe’s father is Marc Trestman, the head coach of the Chicago Bears. And the twitter vitriol, or “twitriol,” directed toward Chloe was in response to the Bears’ blowout loss to their …

Transforming “Transformative Use”: The Growing Misinterpretation Of The Fair Use Doctrine, Caile Morris

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Starting in late 2012, and continuing into late 2013, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York wreaked havoc on the traditional interpretation of the copyright infringement defense known as “fair use.” Two cases stemming from the advent of the Google Books Project are Author’s Guild, Inc. v. HathiTrust and Author’s Guild, Inc. v. Google, Inc. These cases adopted a controversial interpretation of the fair use defense, codified in 17 U.S.C. § 107, when each case determined that the mass digitization of thousands of books constituted fair use merely because the digitization was what is known …

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum, Volume 4, Issue 1, Winter 2014

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Thank you for downloading the first digital edition of the Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum. As you scroll through the pages of this issue, you may notice the Forum has a new look. Recognizing the significant advancements in technology that have revolutionized the legal field in the past few years, the Volume 4 Editorial Board sought to update and adapt the Forum to be accessible digitally, formatting the issue for tablets and e-readers. As you read, take advantage of clickable Tables of Contents and links to online sources throughout the issue.

A Sure Thing? Online Gaming And Canada, Ryan M. Rodenberg, John T. Holden

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The legal status of gaming activities on First Nations land within Canada is complicated. The foci of this paper are two-fold. First, we trace the origin and expansion of First Nations gaming. Second, we analyze the potential of First Nations as hubs for the growing global e-gaming industry, with an emphasis on Internet poker and online sports wagering. We conclude by positing that the Canadian regulatory scheme presents an opportunity to First Nations in connection with e-gaming.

The Creative Commons: A Supplement To Copyright In Today’S Technological Culture, Frank Polcino

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

In his article “The Creative Commons: A Supplement to Copyright in Today’s Technological Culture”, Frank Polcino discusses the relatively new licensing approach for copyrightable works, which originated from a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable corporation called Creative Commons.

Social Media In Sports: Can Professional Sports League Commissioners Punish 'Twackle Dummies'?, Daniel J. Friedman

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

Daniel J. Friedman writes an article discussing the rise and popularity in social media use by professional athletes. He then discusses some of the new problems that have arisen due to social media misuse and the power of the Commissioner to restrict and punish the players for misuse. The article culminates with a case study hypothetical related to content based social media misuse and whether the Commissioners of professional sports league can punish a player for the content of their social media messages.

Combating Online Trademark And Copyright Infringement: Ice And Doj Domain Name Seizures New Tools In The Government’S Efforts To Combat Online Ip Infringement, Tanya Dunbar

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

The ICE seizures and proposed legislations to codify ICE-style seizures have led many to question the legitimacy of ICE’s seizures and decry the bills as censorship. Tanya Dunbar’s article explores the reasons for the government’s actions, the seizure mechanism the government employs, and the controversy surrounding domain name seizures. Where possible, the Ms. Dunbar offers solutions to some of the controversial issues that may arise.