Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Law

Copyright's Vicious Triangle: Returning Author Protections To Their Rational Roots, Robert Shepard Apr 2014

Copyright's Vicious Triangle: Returning Author Protections To Their Rational Roots, Robert Shepard

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Copyright protections encourage the production of intellectual property by temporarily restricting free public access, a constitutional design that Justice Stephen Breyer has called a “two-edged sword.” Yet, the Copyright Clause really enshrines a triangular relationship among authors, consumers, and commodifiers, a third constituency that has always interposed itself between author-creators and consumer end-users. Though the Copyright Triangle is nothing new, a fundamental reordering of these constituencies is in progress, with digital commodifiers such as Google assuming a dominant role. Though they sometimes proclaim themselves champions of free public access to culture, these commodifiers have instead aggrandized themselves at the expense …


Abracadabra! - Why Copyright Protection For Magic Is Not Just An Illusion, Janna Brancolini Jan 2014

Abracadabra! - Why Copyright Protection For Magic Is Not Just An Illusion, Janna Brancolini

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

In early 2012, a Dutch magician did something unthinkable within the secretive and tight-knit magic community: he posted a YouTube video of himself performing a fellow magician’s illusion, and offered to reveal the secret to his viewers for a $3,050 fee. The illusion, however, was not just any old trick; it was the signature move of Raymond Teller, one half of the famous magic duo “Penn & Teller.” In April 2012, Teller took the unusual step of filing a lawsuit in federal court, alleging copyright infringement and unfair competition, to protect the secret behind his illusion. It is not clear, …


Attack Of The Clones: Copyright Protection For Video Game Developers, Brian Casillas Jan 2014

Attack Of The Clones: Copyright Protection For Video Game Developers, Brian Casillas

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

This comment focuses on the case Tetris Holding, LLC v. Xio Interactive, Inc. and uses it to explore how video game developers’ original innovations are protected under copyright law so as to fully restrict those wishing to “clone” these innovations for their own financial gain. The comment begins by outlining relevant copyright concepts and statutes, using case examples, and detailing the analytical framework courts use to evaluate claims asserted under copyright law. It then discusses the accommodations by both the video game industry as well as online marketplaces in order to protect original content from being cloned. After evaluating these …


Batches Of Mismatches Regarding Laches: A Copyright-Focused Analysis Of Laches When The Statute Of Limitations Has Not Yet Run, Scott M. Salomon Jan 2014

Batches Of Mismatches Regarding Laches: A Copyright-Focused Analysis Of Laches When The Statute Of Limitations Has Not Yet Run, Scott M. Salomon

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

This comment analyzes the Circuit split regarding whether laches can bar copyright infringement claims prior to the statute of limitations running and offers a recommendation for a resolution when the United States Supreme Court rules in Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The comment is split into five sections. First, it provides background information, including historical and general information on copyright, laches, the statute of limitations, and the difference between equitable and legal remedies. Next, the comment analyzes cases from each Circuit to understand where they lie on the spectrum of the Circuit split, ranging from complete prohibition of laches to allowing …


Adapt Or Die: Aereo, Ivi, And The Right Of Control In An Evolving Digital Age, Johanna R. Alves-Parks Jan 2014

Adapt Or Die: Aereo, Ivi, And The Right Of Control In An Evolving Digital Age, Johanna R. Alves-Parks

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

The advent of the Internet has had a great effect on the production, distribution, and consumption of television programming. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to ABC, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. and will now review the issue of unlicensed digital distribution of copyrighted programming in its Spring 2014 term. This Comment will first briefly examine the origins and interconnection between television and digital media, culminating in a discussion of the repercussions of allowing unlicensed over-the-top retransmissions of network broadcast programming to continue to stream over the Internet. It will then examine the decisions in WPIX v. IVI, Inc., ABC, Inc. v. …