Law Commons^™

The Age Of Innocence: The First 25 Years Of The National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1906 To 1931, W. Burlette Carter

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In 2006, the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA"), the most powerful body in intercollegiate athletics, celebrates its 100th anniversary. In this article, the author undertakes to survey the NCAA's first twenty five years, offering a revealing snapshot of the beginning of intercollegiate athletics in the United States. As with the author's prior articles on this subject, this article continues the unique approach of using the proceedings of the NCAA and contemporaneous media articles to make its case. In so doing, the article challenges commonly held assumptions about the origins of present intercollegiate athletics policy, providing a much-needed history to frame …

A Study Of Juror Expectations And Demands Concerning Scientific Evidence: Does The "Csi Effect" Exist?, Hon. Donald E. Shelton, Young S. Kim, Gregg Barak

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article is the first empirical study of jurors designed to investigate the existence and extent of the "CSI effect." The authors conducted a survey of 1027 persons who had been called for jury duty in a Michigan state court during a nine-week period in June, July and August, 2006. This survey examined the summoned jurors' demographic information, television viewing habits, their expectations that the prosecutor would produce scientific evidence and whether they would demand scientific evidence as a condition of a guilty verdict.

This study of juror expectations and demands about scientific evidence in relationship to other types of …

Cracks In The Great Wall: Why China's Copyright Law Has Failed To Prevent Piracy Of American Movies Within Its Borders, Jordana Cornish

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note examines the current state of China's intellectual property rights protection as it relates to movie piracy. Part I examines the different types of film piracy occurring in China and the current severity of the problem for the United States motion picture industry. Part II traces the history of copyright law in China and examines China's commitments under the international copyright treaties it has signed with the United States and other nations through its recent accession to the WTO. Part III discusses why movie piracy in China is still on the rise despite these commitments and highlights why cultural, …

Is The Suite Life Truly Sweet? The Property Rights Luxury Box Owners Actually Acquire, Amanda Schlager

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I of this Note offers a look at the rising trend of luxury boxes, with a discussion of what separates a license from a lease. Part II will look at the property rights frequently given to one who "leases" a luxury box and will analyze what interest in land he actually receives. Part III presents the implications of misnomers in luxury box leasing and presents possible repercussions for both luxury box owners and those to whom the owners would lease them. It also suggests a better method for creating and governing these arrangements. Finally, it asserts that because of …

Bloggers As Reporters: An Effect-Based Approach To First Amendment Protections In A New Age Of Information Dissemination, Stephanie J. Frazee

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Numerous questions and concerns are presented by the Apple case and by the rising prominence of blogging in general. What protections are afforded to bloggers when they are relying on confidential sources to disseminate information? What protections should be afforded? How can a court determine when bloggers are acting as reporters in the first place? And, what protections do traditional reporters get in similar situations? This note will attempt to answer these questions with the purpose of the First Amendment (as well as the practicality and risks of extending its protections) in mind. The next section will follow the development …

Scuffling For A Slice Of The Ringtone Pie: Evaluating Legal And Business Approaches To Copyright Clearance Issues, Carmen K. Yuen

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

A cell phone goes off, but instead of "Brring," you hear the disco swirls of ABBA's "Money, Money, Money." The tune is rather revealing about the potential of the U.S. ringtone market. Consumers are enjoying an increased selection of MP3-quality ringtones, but the music industry is grappling with a host of legal complications. The new ringtone format is unprecedented, and copyright law offers little clarification on which royalties are due to whom. As a result, labels, publishers, ringtone companies and performing rights organizations are avoiding litigation, and negotiating innovative deals instead. Are private business solutions enough to resolve the ringtone …

Revenue Sharing And The Salary Cap In The Nfl: Perfecting The Balance Between Nfl Socialism And Unrestrained Free-Trade, Clay Moorhead

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note argues that the League must reform the current revenue sharing model in order to correct the widening revenue gap between the lowest and highest revenue teams, which if not adequately addressed soon could severely impair the future popularity and success of the NFL. Part II describes the emergence of revenue sharing in the NFL; its evolution due to past challenges initiated by profit-oriented owners; and the details of the current revenue sharing system in place today. Part III establishes how the emergence of unshared "local revenue" has eroded the NFL's collective mentality, thereby causing a variety of problems …

State Regulation Of Unsolicited Bulk Commercial E-Mail And The Dormant Commerce Clause, Jeffrey D. Zentner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will analyze the implications of the dormant Commerce Clause as applied to Virginia's stringent anti-spam law, under which two spammers have already been convicted of felony spamming. Part I will lay out the background of anti-spam legislation, case law involving other state statutes, and a brief history of United States Supreme Court dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence. Part II will examine the validity of state spam regulation under the Federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and current dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence, using Virginia's anti-spam law as an example. Finally, Part III will examine the shortcomings of the CAN-SPAM Act and …

A Need For Heightened Scrutiny: Aligning The Ncaa Transfer Rule With Its Rationales, Jonathan Jenkins

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will explore the traditional rationales offered by the NCAA in implementing the Transfer Rule and suggests that these rationales are not served by the current Rule. Part I frames the environment in which the Transfer Rule exists by tracing the history of the NCAA. Part II explores the traditional rationales offered for justifying the Transfer Rule. In McHale v. Cornell University, the NCAA suggested that the purposes of the Transfer Rule are "(1) to prevent transfers solely for athletic reasons, (2) to avoid exploitation of student-athletes, and (3) to allow transfer students time to adjust to their new …

Not All Copyright Infringers Are Created Equal: Why Federal Income Tax Is A Proper Deductible Expense For Non-Willful Copyright Infringers, Christine Ballard

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Case law is sparse on the issue of tax deductibility for non-willful infringers and, as such, cases representing copyright, patent, and trademark infringement have been used interchangeably in an attempt to develop a rule. It is necessary to point out, however, that there are different standards for obtaining and protecting these three different types of intellectual property. As such, this Note will first analyze the remedies available for copyrights, patents, and trademarks to determine whether different standards should apply regarding the deductibility of taxes from gross infringing revenue when determining actual damage awards. Next, this Note analyzes arguments that have …

Equal Protection In The World Of Art And Obscenity: The Art Photographer's Latent Struggle With Obscenity Standards In Contemporary America, Elaine Wang

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I of this article describes the initial hurdles that all visual art forms, including photography, face with respect to First Amendment protection given the power of visual imagery and the three-pronged test for obscenity set forth in Miller v. California. Of particular relevance is the "serious artistic value" prong of the Miller test and the problems inherent in determining who is to judge as well as how one might judge whether a work, particularly a photograph that may be construed to have a non-artistic function, possesses "serious artistic value."

Part II addresses the overall approach to photography in three …

A Winner Is Who? Fair Use And The Online Distribution Of Manga And Video Game Fan Translations, Jaime E. Muscar

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note examines the legality of fan translations of Japanese comic books, known as manga, and video games distributed over the Internet, with special consideration given to the application of the fair use doctrine. Technology related to the distribution of media online grows exponentially compared to the law governing this technology. Although much recent litigation has limited the online distribution of traditional media, both copyright holders and courts have largely ignored a fringe segment of this distribution. This fringe includes manga and video games. Manga can be easily shared online by scanning images, and video games are now frequently converted …

"Did You Want Fries With That?" The Unanswered Question Of Federal Product Placement Regulation, Raghu Seshadri

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note argues that the structure of existing FCC and FTC regulatory regimes is not effective in addressing challenges posed by certain types of product placement. Thus, a specific disclosure requirement targeting non-visual product placement is needed. Part I presents an overview of the existing federal regulatory structure governing product placement, and the current arguments for and against affirmative disclosure requirements. Parts II and III identify the various categories of product placement and argue that non-visual placement presents unique challenges that are absent in other categories of product placement. Finally, Part IV argues that the current regulatory regime is insufficient, …

D.I.Y. After Dastar: Protecting Creators' Moral Rights Through Creative Lawyering, Individual Contracts And Collectively Bargained Agreements, Rick Mortensen

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I examines the scope of Dastar and argues that it is sufficiently narrow to permit some false attribution claims based on section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. As support, Part I examines district court cases after Dastar as well as pre-Dastar attribution cases that are still arguably good law. Part II examines the Second Circuit case of Gilliam v. ABC, Inc., in which the Monty Python comedy troupe successfully enjoined ABC from showing a mutilated copy of its work, as a model for pursuing right of integrity claims. Part II will show that this case is still good law, …

Is The Ada Short-Sighted? An Analysis Of Sightline Regulations In Movie Theaters, Michael D. Driver

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In Part I, the history of disability law in the United States will be discussed, following the decision of Brown v. Board of Education until the passage of the ADA. The purpose and contents of the ADA will, in pertinent part, then be discussed, as will the language of the Act that caused the circuits to split and the language of the Act as it now stands. The contents of the circuit court cases from the First, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits will be analyzed, separating the circuits into majority (First, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits) and minority (Fifth Circuit) positions. …

Celebrities In The Courtroom: Legal Responses, Psychological Theory And Empirical Research, Jared Chamberlain, Monica K. Miller, Alayna Jehle

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article sets out to answer a basic question about celebrities in the legal system: does celebrity status influence the outcome of a trial? Part I focuses on the legal aspects surrounding the treatment of celebrities in the courtroom. For example, there is some evidence that celebrities receive preferential treatment in court, while there is other evidence that celebrities are held to higher standards than non-celebrities. Part II examines psychological theories suggesting that status and authority influence jurors' decision-making processes. In Part III, a review of relevant past psychological research provides an empirical basis to make conclusions about celebrity influence …

Creative Industries In Developing Countries And Intellectual Property Protection, Lauren Loew

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

International intellectual property law (hereafter referred to as IP law) has an increasingly important significance for international trade and relations. From the music industry to the drug industry, intellectual property is a lucrative market, and both individuals and corporations have a lot to lose from the infringement of intellectual property rights. For example, music is a $40 billion worldwide industry. According to the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA), the music industry loses approximately $4.2 billion each year to worldwide piracy. Although these facts bring to light the economic losses of industries and individuals from IP infringement, the global community …

Conducting The Constitution: Justice Scalia, Textualism, And The Eroica Symphony, Ian Gallacher

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The goal of this article is a very modest one: to use one piece of music, the first movement of Beethoven's Eroica symphony, to consider how legal scholars, using the doctrinal principles they have developed to interpret the Constitution, would interpret the piece as conductors. This article makes no pretense of offering a new genre of legal hermeneutics; there is no suggestion here that a "law and musicology" movement will provide a comprehensive analytical framework which we can use to solve problems of Constitutional interpretation. Rather, this article suggests that musical interpretative "doctrines"--if so loose a collection of practices merits …

Video Game Music: Where It Came From, How It Is Being Used Today, And Where It Is Heading Tomorrow, Michael Cerrati

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article addresses the many facets of the video game industry and the exceptional role that music has played and continues to play in this expanding industry. Part I tracks the history of music's role as video games developed over the years. Part II discusses the manner in which music is obtained for use in video games and the contractual setting in which this takes place. Part III comments on the current state of the video game industry, exploring ways to shift the paradigm from one that is publicity-driven, to one that recognizes the importance of music. The final section, …

Frozen In Time? New Technologies, Fixation, And The Derivative Work Right, Patrick W. Ogilvy

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will explore the adequacy of the scope of the derivative work right as it applies to new technologies and discuss how that right should be expanded to compensate for technological developments not foreseen when the current Copyright Act was enacted in 1976. The note will also provide a recommendation that could resolve all of the issues raised throughout. Part I provides a more detailed background of the jump-and-skip technology being used as an example to represent all referencing works. Part II first discusses and analyzes the present state of the derivative work right. It then addresses the purposes …

The "Public Use" Of Private Sports Stadiums: Kelo Hits A Homerun For Private Developers, Cristin F. Hartzog

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I of this note briefly discusses the principle of eminent domain and the evolution of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Takings Clause. Part II analyzes the application of the Court's interpretations of the "public use" requirement of the Takings Clause on the issue of whether it is proper for a state to exercise its power of eminent domain pursuant to a stadium development project. Finally, Part III offers a solution to the conflict between property owners' interests in keeping their land and cities' interests in creating economic growth.

Rider Beware: Relying On The Courts And A Nationalized Rating System To Address The Duty Of Care Owed To Amusement Park Attraction Guests, Tobias Butler

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note explores the history of amusement park attraction regulation, including both the legislative and judicial treatment, and highlights the deficiencies in court approaches in light of "common carrier" law. First, is a brief history of thrill attractions in America as well as regulation of these attractions by both the legislature and judiciary. Specifically it will discuss the major approaches courts have taken in applying or refusing to apply the "common carrier" definition to these attractions. Second, it will analyze why any standard less than "utmost care" does not provide sufficient power for the courts to create a consistent standard …

Porn In Their Words: Female Leaders In The Adult Entertainment Industry Address Free Speech, Censorship, Feminism, Culture And The Mainstreaming Of Adult Content, Clay Calvert, Robert D. Richards

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I provides brief biographical information about each of the five women interviewed for this article. Part II then describes the interview and editing processes used by the authors, including details about when and where the interviews took place and the transcription process of the tapes used to record them. Next, Part III--the heart of the article--sets forth the views, opinions and comments of each of the five women, divided into three theme-based sections: 1) free speech and censorship of sexual content; 2) feminism and victimization; and 3) mainstreaming of adult entertainment and shifts of cultural mores. Finally, Part IV …

Distinctly Delineated Fictional Characters That Constitute The Story Being Told: Who Are They And Do They Deserve Independent Copyright Protection?, Jasmina Zecevic

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I of this paper discusses the characteristics that make literary characters especially difficult to protect. Part II describes the historical treatment of literary characters and the two main tests used to determine whether they are entitled to independent copyright protection. Part III demonstrates that the two tests currently used are not adequate tools for determining when copyright law protects literary characters. Part IV explores the possibility of using trademark and unfair competition laws to offer partial protection to fictional characters. Part V presents an argument that literary characters do not need independent protection because they are already sufficiently protected …

Spam Vs. Ms. Piggy: An Entertainment Law Cautionary Tale, Candi Henry

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In terms of blockbusters, 1996 was a good year for film. Action-packed movies like Twister, Independence Day, and Mission Impossible competed for ticket sales with popular comedies Jerry Maguire, The First Wives Club, and The Birdcage. The critical favorite, The English Patient, also made a strong showing. Together, those films grossed almost $1.2 billion in domestic ticket sales alone, yet it was the modestly-performing family flick, Muppet Treasure Island that arguably made the biggest impact in entertainment law that year. That impact was not, however, the result of a landmark ruling. Rather, Hormel Foods Corporation v. Jim Henson Productions serves …

The Privacy Gambit: Toward A Game Theoretic Approach To International Data Protection, Horace E. Anderson Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article briefly explores several scenarios in which economic actors compete and cooperate in order to capture the value in personal information. The focus then shifts to one particular scenario: the ongoing interaction between the United States and the European Union in attempting to construct data protection regimes that serve the philosophies and citizens of each jurisdiction as well as provide a strategic economic advantage. A game theoretic model is presented to explain the course of dealings between the two actors, including both unilateral and bilateral actions. Part I ends with an exploration of opportunities for seizing competitive advantage, and …

Warring Ideologies For Regulating Military Blogs: A Cyberlaw Approach For Balancing Free Speech And Security In Cyberspace, Julia E. Mitchell

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I of this note provides an overview of the use of media during war. It also reviews case law relating to the military's limited right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment. Part II analyzes the problems of regulating milblogs in terms of societal costs and the technological challenges of regulating behavior on the Internet. This note argues that the military's "unexceptionalist" approach toward regulation, wherein it applies the traditional principles embodied in the UCMJ to milblog regulation, undermines its goal of maintaining operational security and impedes the free flow of ideas. Finally, Part II introduces an "exceptionalist" …