Communications Law Commons^™

A Soldier's Blog: Balancing Service Members' Personal Rights Vs. National Security Interests, Tatum H. Lytle

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Note examines the competing interests between ensuring military personnel's freedom of speech while protecting national security interests. The Author recognizes the necessity of protecting national security interests but emphasizes that military personnel's rights to free speech must be protected as long as such speech poses no threat to military security. In conclusion, clearer protections must be implemented to protect military personnel's right to free speech.

Who Controls The Internet? A Review, Deborah J. Salons

Federal Communications Law Journal

Book Review: Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World, Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, Oxford University Press 2006.

Ms. Salons reviews Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World, Oxford University Press, 2006. Authored by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, the book provides a history of the Internet and analyzes the nexus between globalization and government coercion. The book focuses on how these agents have shaped and developed the Internet as we are familiar with it today.

Immigration Reform In America: Past, Present, And Future, Thaddeus Coffman

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper examines immigration legislation throughout the history of the United States. The author has divided the focus of legislative activity into four main eras: the Laissez- Fair Era (1789-1875), the Anti-Asian Era (1876-1920), the National Origin Quotas Era (1921-1953), and the Illegal Immigration Era (1954-present). While these eras are not all inclusive, they are indicative of the main focus of legislation passed during their time. The author then compares the impact of major legislation passed during these eras to three current proposals aimed at addressing the increasing issue of illegal immigration: two versions of a guest-worker program and amnesty/legalization …

Editor's Note, Casey M. Holsapple

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Competition After Unbundling: Entry, Industry Structure, And Convergence, George S. Ford, Thomas M. Koutsky, Lawrence J. Spiwak

Federal Communications Law Journal

In the last few years, U.S. telecoms policy has shifted from encouraging the sharing of existing networks to facilitating the deployment of advanced communications networks. Given the large capital expenditures required for these networks, there can be only a few of such networks. In light of the natural forces that limit the number of facilities-based suppliers, it is vital for policymakers to investigate and implement rules that make markets more conducive to facilities-based entry and eliminate any existing rules that discourage deployment. The purpose of this Article is to provide a simple conceptual framework to evaluate the effect of particular …

Does Video Delivered Over A Telephone Network Require A Cable Franchise?, Robert W. Crandall, J. Gregory Sidak, Hal J. Singer

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Article examines whether, on legal or policy grounds, video services provided over a telephone network should be regulated as a traditional cable service or whether a different approach is warranted. The Authors find that municipal franchise requirements for video services provided over telephone networks would reduce consumer welfare. The Authors estimate that, even without considering any welfare gains owing to higher quality, the consumer welfare gains from entry exceed the potential loss in franchise fee revenue to municipalities by a factor of nearly three to one.

Necessary Knowledge For Communications Policy: Information Asymmetries And Commercial Data Access And Usage In The Policymaking Process, Philip M. Napoli, Michelle Seaton

Federal Communications Law Journal

Communications policymaking increasingly relies upon research derived from large-scale databases manufactured and marketed by commercial organizations. One byproduct of this situation is that substantial inequalities in access to these data arise. These information asymmetries can result in research that fails to reflect the policy considerations of the full range of interested stakeholders. This Article explores these issues via a case study of the FCC's 2003 media ownership proceeding and offers suggestions for how existing disparities in access to policy-relevant data might be addressed.

Conflict, Terrorism And The Media In Asia, Rebekah L. Bina

Federal Communications Law Journal

Book Review: Conflict, Terrorism and the Media in Asia (Benjamin Cole ed., RoutledgeCurzon 2006) [hereinafter Cole].

The fourth and latest release in a series of publications on the impact of media and changes in societal culture in Asia, this book provides a study of the subnational conflicts across Asia and the global "War on Terror." The authors examine the condition of free press, access to media, and diversity in news reporting to explore how media is used as a tool to facilitate ideological coalition, shelter populations, and maintain political stability.

Market Definition, Merger Review, And Media Monopolization: Congressional Approval Of The Corporate Voice Through The Newspaper Preservation Act, Amy Kristin Sanders

Federal Communications Law Journal

In this Article, the Author examines the Newspaper Preservation Act, a federal antitrust exemption for newspapers, in light of the changing landscape of media ownership. After doing so, she argues that federal merger review for media companies should be revised to include a broader definition of 'geographic market' and a more restrictive definition of 'failing firm' to discourage the corporatization of the media.

Echelon's Effect: The Obsolescence Of The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Legal Regime, Matt Bedan

Federal Communications Law Journal

The technological progress of the past thirty years has vastly increased the surveillance capabilities of the global intelligence community. At the same time, the law governing the use of this technology and its consequent information has remained largely static. This lack of adjustment, for better or worse, has rendered federal foreign intelligence surveillance law irrelevant in many respects.

Masthead Vol.59 No.2 (2007)

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Telecommunications Economy And Regulation As Coevolving Complex Adaptive Systems: Implications For Federalism, Barbara A. Cherry

Federal Communications Law Journal

Satisfying the constraints for sustainable regulatory telecommunications policies is more challenging for regulatory regimes based on competition than monopoly. In an earlier paper, Johannes Bauer and I used complexity theory to improve our understanding of the requirements for sustainable telecommunications policies, showing that regulation has a diminishing capacity to achieve specifically desired outcomes and greater attention must be paid to the adaptability of policies and policymaking processes themselves. The present Article examines the implications of the complexity theory perspective for federalism. Federalism is a distinctive (patching) algorithm that confers system advantages for adaptability through diversity and coupling of policymaking jurisdictions-mechanisms …

Internet 3.0: Identifying Problems And Solutions To The Network Neutrality Debate , Robert M. Frieden

ExpressO

What Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) can and cannot do to diversify services lies at the core of the debate over network neutrality. In prior generations ISPs had little incentive or technological capability to deviate from plain vanilla best efforts routing for content providers and from standard “all you can eat” subscription terms for consumer access to the World Wide Web. The next generation Internet has the technological capability and ISPs have the commercial motivation to offer “better than best efforts” routing and premium services for both content providers and consumers seeking higher quality of service and more reliable traffic delivery. …

Fuck, Christopher M. Fairman

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Freedom Of Speech In The Changining World Of Internet Domain Name Registration And Dispute Resolution: How The Increasing Influence Of National Governments In Domain Name Policy Threatens Free Speech On The Internet, Sean P. Shecter

ExpressO

The conflict between a private organization running the domain name system and the sovereign rights of states to regulate the internet brings to the forefront a key legal issue: the extent to which governments should control freedom of speech within the existing domain name system. The vacuous response to freedom of speech concerns in both the development of the domain name system and customary international law allowed for the increased influence of national governments. With national governments increasing their control over local domain names, significant gaps may develop in the protection of freedom of speech on the internet. Thus, nations, …

Conference Program

Reclaiming the First Amendment: Constitutional Theories of Media Reform (2007)

No abstract provided.

Surfing Past The Pall Of Orthodoxy: Why The First Amendment Virtually Guarantees Online Law School Graduates Will Breach The Aba Accreditation Barrier, Nicholas C. Dranias

ExpressO

The impact of the constitutional dilemma created by the ABA’s aversion to Internet schooling is widespread. Currently, 18 states and 2 U.S. territories restrict bar exam eligibility to graduates of ABA-accredited law schools. Additionally, 29 states and 1 U.S. territory restrict admission to practice on motion to graduates of ABA-accredited law schools.

Although numerous lawsuits have been filed in ultimately failed efforts to strike down bar admission rules that restrict eligibility to graduates of ABA-accredited law schools, none has challenged the ABA-accreditation requirement based on the First Amendment’s prohibition on media discrimination. This Article makes that case.

Despite accelerating technological …

Space Program And Business In India - Legal Perspectives, Shashi Sharma

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Content On The Fly: The Growing Need For Regulation Of Video Content Delivered Via Cellular Telephony, Jacob M. Chapman

ExpressO

Technological advancements in the last twenty years have substantially altered the ways in which people work, communicate, and are entertained. Many of these advancements have occurred in areas generally thought to fall under the regulatory purview of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). These advancements have included the personal computer, the internet, digital cable, direct broadcast satellites (DBS), and cellular phones. Of all these increasingly available and inexpensive technologies, perhaps the most ubiquitous is the cellular phone. Thus far, the FCC has struggled to apply its public interest mandate to the ever shifting sands of technological development with varying degrees of …

Network Neutrality And Industry Structure, T. Randolph Beard, George S. Ford, Thomas M. Koutsky, Lawrence J. Spiwak

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In its attempt to establish rules that preserve the "openness" of the Internet, the federal government has recently considered implementing various regulatory constraints on the behavior of broadband service providers in order to ensure that consumers can freely access third-party applications over broadband networks without the fear that the network provider will deteriorate transmission to third-party services in favor of their own. Adopting these proposed "Network Neutrality" requirements, however, could exacerbate the very highly-concentrated industry structure by increasing industry concentration, and plausibly even rendering monopoly. Such forced commoditization of broadband access will leave consumers unambiguously worse off.

Antitrust And Sports League Franchise Relocation: Bringing Raiders I Into The Modern Era Of Antitrust Law, Brett Gibbs

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Sports relocation is traumatic for die-hard sports fans. History and long-standing tradition are often thrust aside in pursuit of lucrative offers of stadium financing. Scholars often cite the leading case on sports relocation, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum v. National Football League (Raiders I), for the proposition that restrictions on sports franchise relocation are illegal under the Sherman Act. However, since Raiders I, there have been two significant developments in antitrust law: the in-depth rule of reason approach and the "small but significant increase in price" approach. In light of these developments, sports leagues should not blindly rely on Raiders I, …

Who Owns A Home Run - The Battle Of The Use Of Player Performance Statistics By Fantasy Sports Websites, Jason Shane

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Fantasy sports are becoming increasingly popular, and with the increase in popularity comes an increase in legal scrutiny. Fantasy sports trade on the statistics of professional athletes. This raises the question: who owns these statistics? Copyright law, the right to publicity and the First Amendment are all implicated. Ultimately, the public interest in this information trumps assertions of ownership by both the professional athletes and the leagues in which they play.

Fisher Of Genes: Patentability Of Expressed Sequence Tags, Joshua Kim

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The patentability of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs), small fragments of DNA that scientists use to identify genes, has been a topic of heated debate in intellectual property law and the scientific community. Much of the debate encompasses the far-reaching consequences of effectively placing control of thousands of ESTs into the hands of a few patent holders. In re Fisher, a recent Federal Circuit decision, was anticipated to settle the question of EST patentability, but may have failed to establish a decisive standard. A more workable standard calls for a clearer articulation of specific utility requirements as well as non-obviousness standards …

The Fourth Amendment And Cell Phone Location Tracking: Where Are We, Kevin Mclaughlin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Cell phones are a way of life in our society. While most people readily use their cell phones, they don't realize that cell phones also provide signals to track their location. This manner of cell phone tracking may be a violation of the Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. Under the test developed in Katz and its progeny, depending on a number of factors, cell phone tracking may qualify as a reasonable search. However, because cell phone tracking appears to implicate a number of core Fourth Amendment doctrines, it appears to constitute an unreasonable search.

Evolution In Slow Motion: Opting Into A Digital World, Kristin Richards

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Google's "Library Project" which allows users to view snippets from books that have been scanned from library collections is the subject of two recently filed lawsuits. This article takes an in-depth look at the "Library Project" in light of modem copyright law. The "Library Project" presents courts with the difficult task of balancing consumers' desire for information on demand and authors' legal rights.

An Economic Model For The Incentive/Access Paradigm Of Copyright Propertization: An Argument In Support Of The Orphan Works Act, Sami J. Valkonen, Lawrence J. White

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article proposes an economic model of the incentive-access paradigm for copyright designed to correspond to the goal of maximizing societal welfare.

The article begins with a discussion on the foundations of copyright and the objectives of the Constitution's Copyright Clause. The article adopts the majority view that the Constitution mandates that the copyright regime is designed to optimize the positive welfare impacts from copyright protection. Under this view, similarly as antitrust "protects competition, not competitors," the copyright regime should protect creativity, not creators. The result of this underlying policy objective is that the level of copyright propertization becomes a …

New Architectures For Music: Law Should Get Out Of The Way, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Copyright law is constitutionally justifiable only to the extent that it provides incentives for creative effort by reducing the risk of free riding. Technological advances repeatedly have revolutionized the economics of music creation, production and distribution. The latest developments in recording, digital compression, e-commerce and file sharing technologies are only the latest in a long line of disruptive technological developments. These technologies reduce the risk of free riding, thereby justifying a narrowing of the scope of copyright protection for music. The paper carefully examines the elements of production and consumption functions for music, explaining how greatly reduced barriers to entry …

Network Neutrality Or Bias - Handicapping The Odds For A Tiered And Branded Internet, Rob Frieden

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article takes an in-depth look at the clash between "Bellhead" and "Nethead" cultures in the complex world of internet access pricing and cost recovery schemes. In examining Bellhead business models, Rob Frieden identifies what constitutes reasonable price discrimination and what represents unfair trade practice. This article concludes that most Bellhead cost recovery models are lawful even though they will actually be a reduction in perceived value proposition for most consumers.

The First Great Telecom Debate Of The 21st Century, H. Russell Frisby Jr., David A. Irwin

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

No abstract provided.

The Fcc Complaint Process And Increasing Public Unease: Toward An Apolitical Broadcast Indecency Regime, Kurt Hunt

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

[...]I propose depoliticizing the broadcast indecency regime by utilizing polling to determine the average broadcast viewer's opinion, divorced from all the pressures inherent in relying on the complaint process as a proxy. In section II, I will discuss the background and development of the broadcast indecency doctrine from the days of the Federal Radio Commission in the 1920s through the present day. I will also explain why the apparent increasing public unease is misleading, and why valid First Amendment concerns are steamrolled by the fiery nature of the debate. In section III, I will explain why the FCC's reliance on …