Law Commons^™

Copyright And The Vagueness Doctrine, Bradley E. Abruzzi

Bradley E Abruzzi

The Constitution’s void-for-vagueness doctrine is itself vaguely stated. The law does little to describe at what point vague laws — other than those that are entirely standardless — might be unconstitutionally vague. Rather than explore this territory, the Supreme Court has identified three “collateral factors” that affect its inclination to invalidate a law for vagueness, including (1) whether the law burdens the exercise of constitutional rights, (2) whether the law is punitive in nature, and (3) whether the law overlays a defendant-protective scienter requirement. Against this backdrop, it is fair to say that copyright law, in its current configuration, does …