Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Facebook And Social Networks: The Government’S Newest Playground For Information And The Laws That Haven’T Quite Kept Pace, Danielle Levine

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

With the rise of social networking sites such as Facebook, individuals are sharing information about themselves at alarming rates. With such copious amounts of personal information on the Internet, it is unsurprising that the government is using social networking sites to gain access to data for use in criminal investigations and prosecutions. This paper examines the ways in which social networking sites and the government's search for information collide. Part I looks at Facebook and discusses the ways the government has used Facebook and similar social networking sites in its investigations. Part II outlines the statutory framework through which the …

Adding Injury To Insult: Injurious Speech On The Internet And Its Implications For The First Amendment, Shelly Rosenfeld

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Cyberbullying became a major news story after a MySpace message took a deadly toll on a teenager. This paper examines how injurious speech case law in traditional print and broadcast media balances protecting victims who suffer emotional or physical harm while still preserving publisher's First Amendment rights. These cases provide a framework within which the injurious speech jurisprudence can be applied to emerging forms of communication, including the Internet.

By exploring the injurious speech cases from broadcast and print, this Note deals with the following issues: Can a public figure sue the press for intentionally inflicting emotional distress? What are …

Legislative And Regulatory Strategies For Providing Consumer Safeguards In A Convergent Information And Communications Marketplace, Rob Frieden

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Federal Communications Commission desires to apply a single regulatory category to services and service providers, a process the Commission can achieve when ventures concentrate on one function and offer one readily identifiable service, such as telephony. However, technological convergence, digitization and the ability of the Internet to handle many different service types within a single bitstream now make it possible for companies to offer "quadruple play" bundles of wireless and wireline telephony, video, and Internet access services. Following Comcast Corp. v. FCC, the FCC must rethink how to best serve the public interest and safeguard consumers. Absent a legislative …

The Parents Television Council Uncensored: An Inside Look At The Watchdog Of The Public Airwaves And The War On Indecency With Its President, Tim Winter, Clay Calvert, Robert D. Richards

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article addresses the Federal Communication Commission's ("FCC") controversial and contested regulation of indecency on the broadcast airwaves. It pivots on an exclusive in-person interview conducted by the authors in Los Angeles in June 2010 with Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council ("PTC"). The PTC is perhaps the most vociferous-and controversial-public watchdog on broadcast indecency, with its members filing thousands and thousands of indecency complaints with the FCC each year. The article is especially timely because, in July 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Fox Television Stations v. FCC declared the FCC's indecency …

All Your Face Are Belong To Us: Protecting Celebrity Images In Hyper-Realistic Video Games, Krista Correa

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

As the law is currently structured, there is no clear protection for a celebrity who is personally offended (but not financially harmed) by another party's use of that celebrity's image. This lack of clarity is particularly problematic today due to the hyperrealism of nextgeneration video games. This article begins with a review of the legal rights and remedies currently available to a celebrity whose face or image is used by a game developer without the celebrity's consent. Part II of the article considers whether the current regime provides sufficient protection, while Part III turns to other sources of law and …

Storage And Privacy In The Cloud: Enduring Access To Ephemeral Messages, Sarah Salter

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The paper examines the distinction between "stored communications" and the greater privacy protection given to communications in the process of transmission under U.S. federal law. The issue arises in the context of voice mail, text messages, and email. Statutes examined include the Stored Communications Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act ("ECPA"), the Wiretap Act, and the language amending the Wiretap Act to eliminate storage from the definition of wire communication in the USA Patriot Act. Case discussions examine the development of the concept of "stored" communications. The emphasis is on recent cases after the USA Patriot Act and a decision …

A National Security Puzzle: Mosaic Theory And The First Amendment Right Of Access In The Federal Courts, Michael P. Goodwin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article examines the tension between sensitive national security information and transparency in the federal courts. Although courts are public institutions with long histories of public access, courts also have the power to restrict access to information if it poses a threat to national security. In a variety of contexts, restrictions on access have been justified by mosaic theory-the idea that even apparently innocuous information can be harmful to national security interests if pieced together by a knowledgeable observer, such as a foreign intelligence organization. This article traces the development of mosaic theory in the federal courts, and argues that …

Protecting A Jewel Of A Trademark: Lessons Learned From The Dae Jang Geum Litigation On Using U.S. Law To Protect Trademarks Based On Imported Popular Culture Icons, Robert J. Kang

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

U.S. trademark law protects trademarks that have achieved a sufficient degree of fame. This principle extends to trademarks based on foreign popular culture icons, such as Japan's "Hello Kitty." But while that principle seems obvious, caselaw on this subject has been minimal. Without clear judicial guidance confirming that such trademarks are protectable, American infringers may have felt emboldened to misappropriate them. However, in 2007 and 2008, a United States District Court presided over a trademark litigation involving "Dae Jang Geum," the name of the most popular Korean television drama in history. By analyzing the three most important orders issued in …

The Agony Of War And A World Without Law, Josh Zetlin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note analyzes Lewis Milestone's classic film A//.Quiet on the Western Front in order to illustrate the importance of law in society. Philosophers and legal theorists have pondered endlessly on the importance of law and the roles it serves. Building upon the concepts such as the "social contract," the creators of our legal system carved out particular areas of laws to satisfy specific societal wants and needs. Milestone's war epic reveals how war destroys these legal institutions. The chaos of war and unaccountability for immoral acts shatters the foundation of law, bringing great suffering to the characters in the film. …

Judicial Kryptonite: Superman And The Consideration Of Moral Rights In American Copyright, Sean Mcgilvray

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Superman is one of the most enduring and widely-recognized fictional characters of all time. But behind the scenes of his colorful adventures, a bitter struggle raged between his original creators and the publisher who currently owns the copyright. In a historic recent decision, the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted a summary judgment declaring that the heirs of the writer had recaptured a portion of the copyright in Superman through the Copyright Act's termination and recapture tight provisions. While, not expressly premised upon moral rights considerations, the judgment reflects many of the core values of …

Understanding And Regulating The Sport Of Mixed Martial Arts, Brendan S. Maher

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The past fifteen years have seen the emergence of a new sport in America and around the world: mixed martial arts ("MMA'). MMA is an interdisciplinary combat sport where participants engage in and combine a variety of fighting disciplines (e.g., kickboxing, wrestling, karate, jiu-jitsu, and so on) in a single match. In this Article, Professor Maher examines and analyzes the sport's evolution, tracing it from its shaggy, brutish beginnings to its current incarnation; articulates a pragmatic and comparative theory of sporting legitimacy; reviews and describes the state-based and administrative nature of MMA regulation; and highlights two reform possibilities of interest …

Cutting Cupid Out Of The Workplace: The Capacity Of Employees' Constitutional Privacy Rights To Constrain Employers' Attempts To Limit Off-Duty Intimate Associations, Anna C. Camp

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Romantic relationships among co-workers: should employers have the right to suppress such activity? Employers often view the widespread practice of dating among co-workers as highly problematic. In light of increased sexual harassment suits, many employers attempt to limit or eliminate intimate relationships among employees through the institution of "no-fraternization" policies. The strictest of these policies allow for legal termination of employees that violate the policy's terms, and can include total prohibition of intimate relationships among co-workers. Employees argue that such bans, which also affect employees' off-duty intimate association, should be held unconstitutionally invasive of employees' privacy rights or invalid on …

Technology And Copyright Law - Illuminating The Nfl's Blackout Rule In Game Broadcasting, Sonali Chitre

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Copyright is critical to protecting sports broadcasts, and new technology has evolved to disseminate these broadcasts to the many people that enjoy professional sports. Because of new digital rights in the copyright statute, the NFL has very strong copyright protections that cover Internet, satellite, television, and radio licensing of its broadcasts. A "blackout" blocks certain programs from being broadcast in a particular market. Attempting to incentivize fans to come to football games, the NFL "blacks out" games that are not sold out within seventytwo hours of game time within a seventy-five-mile radius of the stadium. The "blackout rule" has been …

Free Speech Or Trademark Protections: Do Advocacy Groups And Government Agencies Deserve Extra Protection, Max Landaw

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Since October 2009, the American judicial system has been posed with yet another lawsuit in the oft recurring battle between trademark protections and right to freedom of expression, specifically the right to parody. The Yes Men, a parody troop, in a stunt which confused numerous news outlets, held a press conference as "members" of the United States Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber responded by suing the Yes Men for, amongst other causes of action, trademark infringement pursuant to the Lanham Act. This note will first analyze the history of the debate between the conflicting right of free expression and consumer …

Will Twitter Be Following You In The Courtroom: Why Reporters Should Be Allowed To Broadcast During Courtroom Proceedings, Adriana C. Cervantes

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Thanks to micro-blogging and social networking tools, we no longer have to pick up a phone to call our friends and ask them what they are doing. Instead we turn to our laptop, BlackBerry, or iPhone to get instant information available to us through the Internet. Twitter is a key player in the Internet information exchange line-up and has made its way into one of the oldest and most archaic forums: the courtroom. The current law does not properly address whether reporters should be allowed to tweet, but this trend is becoming more prevalent. Twitter needs to be addressed with …

(M)Ad Men: Using Persuasion Factors In Media Advertisements To Prevent A Tyranny Of The Majority On Ballot Propositions, Chris Chambers Goodman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Mobile e-discovery spans the globe and creates a multitude of issues for litigants and the courts. The issue of privacy, jurisdiction, privilege, and consent intersect in the mobile space with users sending text messages, twittering, posting notes and videos on-line, and sharing pictures all in the span of a work day. Of course this is further complicated by the integration of the 24/7 workplace and the electronic discovery issues of retention, preservation, and production of the data that mobile devices create. This article examines these issues and provides an overview of some of the more common underlying mobile telecommunication technologies.

Applying The Rationales Of Patent Claim Construction Doctrines To Interpretation Of Patent Statutes, Grace Pak

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Statutory construction is often determinative in lawsuits. In that vein, which theory of statutory construction a court chooses to employ-whether textualism, intentionalism, or purposivism-is decidedly influential. This note argues that strict adherence to textualism in interpreting patent statutes leads to unsound results, while applying purposivism leads to sound results. To demonstrate, this note walks through the Supreme Court's textual approach in interpreting 35 U.S.C. § 271(0 in Microsoft v. AT&T, and contrasts that with the Federal Circuit's purposivist approach in interpreting the same statute. This note argues that the Federal Circuit's purposivist approach is more appropriate because it more closely …

More Than A Minor Inconvenience: The Case For Heightened Protection For Children Appearing On Reality Television, Katherine Neifeld

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Reality television is a genre that is both innovative in its use of traditional theatrical convention to display true life and paradoxical in its often perplexing definition of what is real. For minor children, however, the effects of participation in reality television production are heightened due to the unique nature of the genre. While protections for traditional child performers exist, the risks the minor participant on reality television faces are unique. The minor on reality television lacks formal recognition as a working child actor by the entertainment industry. Additionally, instead of playing a fictional character, the minor portrays his true …

Regulating Relationships Between Competing Broadcasters, Christopher S. Reed

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In response to mounting economic challenges in the media industry, some broadcasters have started entering into agreements whereby one station agrees to sell advertising, produce programming, or take over certain other functions of another station in the same market. Though such arrangements, often called local marketing or time brokerage agreements, are not particularly new in the broadcasting field, they have been used with increasing frequency in recent years.

This article examines the form and function of cooperative agreements among broadcasters and explores the reasons why such agreements are attractive business propositions for those who enter into them. It then describes …

Citizens United And The Future Of Fcc Content Regulation, Elizabeth Elices

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This paper examines the potential impact of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission upon content-based Federal Communications Commission regulations. Although Citizens United focused on Federal Election Commission regulations, the case reflects the various First Amendment doctrines favored by the current Court, and its reasoning may extend to other areas of regulated speech.

Part I of the paper will discuss several prominent areas of First Amendment doctrine as well as the roles of the FCC and the FEC. Part II will briefly desccribe the background and outcome of Citizens United. Finally, Part III will analyze several FCC regulations, primarily regarding content …

The New Digital Dating Behavior - Sexting: Teens' Explicit Love Letters: Criminal Justice Or Civil Liability, Terri Day

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This paper proposes a unique response to the explosive combination of teens, sex and technology. It discusses why most teen sexting does not meet the Ferber definition of child pornography; therefore, a civil remedy for the dignitary and emotional harm caused by the public dissemination of private sexual pictures is far superior to imposing criminal sanctions. The proposed statutory civil cause of action would hold parents vicariously liable for the harms caused by their children's sexting when done with actual malice. Recognizing that common law tort liability is legally unsustainable, this approach strikes a balance between protecting First Amendment rights …

What's Sex Got To Do With It - A Cinematic Critique On The Arguments Against Same-Sex Marriage, Scott Norton

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

For years, the same governmental interests have been presented to justify prohibitions on same-sex marriage. Supporters of the ban argue that marriage promotes procreation and child-rearing, neither of which can supposedly be done within the confines of a same-sex relationship. This note suggests the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry illustrates that in practice, these justifications have become antiquated. Instead of defining marriage as two individuals in a committed relationship, courts tend to inject social mores into their decisions regarding the legality of same-sex marriage.

C.B.C. Distribution And Marketing, Inc. V. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P.: The First Amendment Versus The Right Of Publicity In The Eighth Circuit, Surina Mann

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note examines the friction between the First Amendment and the right of publicity by examining the case of C.B.C. Distribution and Marketing, Inc. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., a case regarding fantasy league baseball. This note begins by discussing the legacy of the right of publicity, the policy goals that the right of publicity was devised to further, and several different tests that courts have designed to balance the right of publicity with the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. This note then goes on to illustrate the background of fantasy league baseball and critique the C.B.C. …

The Nation's Broadband Success Story: The Secrecy Of Fcc Broadband Infrastructure Statistics, Benjamin W. Cramer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Federal Communications Commission regularly promotes the competitiveness of the American broadband market and the availability of robust services to consumers. Since 2000, the Commission has reported on broadband deployment by zip code, and by late 2006 broadband was supposedly available in 99% of American zip codes, with those zip codes representing 99% of the population. However, the viability of the FCC's zip code-based measurement methodology has long been a matter of controversy, because until recently broadband was counted as "available" in a zip code even if as few as one household in the area has obtained service. This paper …

How Hands-On Will Regulation Of Hands-Free Be - An Analysis Of Sb 1613 And The Effectiveness Of Its Proposed Regulation, Jessica Croze

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In order to prepare for the consequences of this new law, it will be extremely valuable to understand how "hands-free laws" are regulated in other states. Comparing California's new regulations to these existing laws and recognizing the history behind its inaction are crucial. An analysis of these previous attempts to regulate cell phone use while driving will ease the adoption of this new legislation in California. Since California's legislation, Bill 1613, regarding the ban on hand-held cellular devices while driving, was enacted the resulting public effect may have failed to fulfill the intention of the law.

The Politics Of Power: A Social Architecture Analysis Of The 2005-2008 Federal Shield Law Debate In Congress, Cathy Packer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Would a federal shield law hamper the U.S. Department of Justice's power to combat terrorism and other crimes? Would the law protect the media from the chilling effects of federal subpoenas? Or would the law unwisely grant the already powerful media legal rights denied to other citizens? And who should have the power to decide whether to allow the media to refuse to comply with federal subpoenas? These and similar questions about how power should be distributed among branches of the federal government and the media were at the center of the Congressional hearings and debate on the proposed federal …

Is Free Riding Aided By Parody To Sneak Between The Cracks Of The Trademark Dilution Revision Act, Corina I. Cacovean

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Dilution as a form of intrusion on a trademark has been the object of intense consumer and competition discourses in United States. From the United States Supreme Court decision in Moseley v. VSecret Catalogue, in 2003, to the Fourth Circuit's decision in Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. v. Haute Diggity Dog, LLC, in 2006, the concept of dilution has become more sophisticated and its intersection with unfair competition and First Amendment law is far from being settled. This note is an attempt to answer the questions of whether the courts, by broadly interpreting the TDRA as being designed to protect freedom …

Intellectual Property Infringement: The Question Of Advertising Injury, Hilary Ditch

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Over the past several decades, business entities have increasingly relied on Commercial General Liability insurance for coverage and protection against the significant costs of defending against intellectual property lawsuits. However, despite this increased usage, the coverage provided for intellectual property infringement claims by Commercial General Liability insurance policies remains uncertain and indeterminate. This frustrating conclusion, reached by numerous courts, legal scholars and insurance practitioners, captures the current state of the law as it applies to coverage for intellectual property infringement claims. Consequently, many business entities seeking to apply their insurance policies to defend against intellectual property claims may face uncertainty …

Targeting Bad Behavior: Why Federal Regulators Must Treat Online Behavioral Marketing As Spyware, Heather Ng Osborn

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The FTC has sanctioned more than a dozen companies during the past two years for privacy violations involving the improper installation of spyware software on personal computers. The spyware software allowed companies to watch and control consumers' online activities, either without the consumer's knowledge or with the consumer's knowledge but without reasonable means for the consumer to stop it. The practice of online targeted advertising raises similar privacy issues as the use of spyware software because it also involves behind-the-scenes tracking, which most consumers never notice. Online targeted advertising allows marketing companies to engage in the same behavior as companies …

Trademark Battles In A Barbie-Cyber World: Trademark Protection Of Website Domain Names And The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, Kiran Nasir Gore

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Mattel's Barbie doll is more than just a trademarked toy produced for child consumption-Barbie has entered public discourse and taken on a life of her own as a cultural phenomenon. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has referred to Mattel's Barbie doll as "possibly the most famous toy in history." With this popularity, also comes unwanted attention. She has become an American icon and taken on additional meanings and status at a societal level; attracting the attention of artists, writers, academics, and commentators in a way that is beyond the scope of Mattel's trademark property rights. The tension between Mattel's …