Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Copyright Infringement: An Argument For The Elimination Of The Scenes A Faire Doctrine, Don M. Tamura

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note deals with a relatively obscure aspect of copyright law-the scones a faire doctrine. In recent years it has gained popularity as a defense for potential infringers. The note first discusses the background of copyright law and the elements of a copyright infringement action. Then, two major theories and a procedural methodology are outlined before the scones a faire doctrine is defined and analyzed. After comparing the doctrine with the established theories of copyright protection, the author concludes that the doctrine is seriously flawed and conflicts with the other theories.

Divorce In The Entertainment Industry - Some Special Problems, Ovvie Miller

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Lawyers representing divorce clients in the entertainment industry are often presented with cases where the parties have substantial variations in annual income. Claims involving characterization and valuation of unique assets such as "right of publicity" also arise regularly. The legal background of these matters is reviewed from the perspective of California and New York law. The author offers practical advice to the lawyer who may have a case where these issues are presented.

Fair Use And Audiovisual Criticism, Brian S. O'Malley

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The doctrine of fair use, recently codified at 17 U.S.C. § 107, has long been recognized as a defense to infringement actions where excerpts of a copyrighted work were used in a criticism of that work. Two recent

cases, however, Iowa State University v. ABC and Roy Export v. CBS, have rejected defenses of fair use of audiovisual excerpts. This note traces the history of the fair use doctrine as it has been used in cases involving criticism, and as it has been applied to visual and audiovisual materials. The author proposes a "subject of the criticism" analysis for examining …

The Author, The Irs And Prepublication Expenditures, David Walton

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Authors have customarily deducted expenditures incurred in preparing a book for publication. The IRS has taken the position that such expenditures should be capitalized and then amortized. In the recent case of Faura v. Commissioner, the Tax Court allowed authors to deduct prepublication expenditures rather than capitalize them. In 1976, section 280 was added to the Internal Revenue Code by the 1976 Tax Reform Act. This section appears to require authors to capitalize prepublication expenditures for books. The Tax Reform Act of 1976 also contained section 2119 which allows authors to deduct prepublication expenditures until regulations are promulgated concerning them. …

A Media Labor Law Symposium: Introduction, David Tajgman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Music And The Law: A Comprehensive Bibliography Of Law-Related Materials, Gail Fleming Winson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Personal Contracts For Bargaining Unit Employees - An Analysis Of Media Labor Implications, Victor Strimbu

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Direct Broadcast Satellites: Fcc Adopts Open Skies Policy For Space Age Technology, Jeff Edward Johnson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The direct broadcast satellite (DBS) is a new telecommunications device which will allow individual home reception of satellite transmissions. The Federal Communications Commission has recently authorized the expeditious implementation of DBS systems. The author examines the FCC's free market approach to the development of this space age technology. In particular, the author analyzes the FCC's policy of imposing minimal regulation on DBS systems and the projected impact of DBS on local broadcasters.

Labor And The Media In The Eighties, Robert M. Segal

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

The Zoning Of Adult Entertainment: How Far Can Planning Commissions Go, Raymond H. Aver

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Since 1976, when the United States Supreme Court decided Young v. American Mini Theaters, municipalities across the country have enacted zoning ordinances regulating adult entertainment, patterned after the ordinance upheld in Young. Unlike the ordinance in Young, many of these later ordinances have resulted in limitations upon protected speech. This note suggests a framework for analyzing the constitutionality of ordinances and moratoria which regulated the location of adult entertainment establishments.

Can A Computer Be An Author - Copyright Aspects Of Artificial Intelligence, Timothy L. Butler

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note discusses the impact of current advances in computer science upon traditional copyright notions of authorship and originality. Finding that certain works created largely by computer are outside the ambit of federal copyright law, yet in need of protection for traditional policy reasons, the author explores several alternatives for providing copyright protection. A solution is proposed wherein the court presumes human authorship in machine created works, then, after ascertaining that the work meets the other requirements of federal copyright law, determines which individual is most deserving of copyright ownership.

Rock Performers And The John Doe Temporary Restraining Order: Dressing Down The T-Shirt Pirates, 16 J. Marshall L. Rev. 101 (1983), Cheryl Johnson

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Osha, Niosh And The Vdt Issue, L. Peyton Hendricks

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

The Irs, The Ins And The Foreign Entertainer, Richard D. Fraade, David B. Gardner, Allan Stewart

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article discusses the interrelationship between the immigration and tax laws as they affect foreign entertainers and athletes. A survey of the types of visas available and the effect of those classifications upon taxation is examined. Additionally, the article outlines the reporting requirements of foreign entertainers, and emphasizes careful planning in structuring immigration and tax matters.

Vdts As A Health Problem: The Newspaper Guild's Experience, David J. Eisen

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Collective Bargaining Issues In Newspapers, John B. Jaske

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Hiring Referral Systems - Priority And Liability, Donald F. Sugerman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Employee And Independent Contractors: Legal Implications Of Conversion From One To The Other, Allan L. Bioff, Robert E. Paul

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

As Interactive Cable Enters, Does Privacy Go Out The Window, Gary Selvin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Interactive cable will provide consumers with the ability to bank, shop, attend classes, respond to polls, view programs and attend to other daily activities from the home through a television set linked to a computer. Storage of this personal information poses a privacy concern relating to the government's ability to search the records as part of criminal investigations. The author analogizes current law in forecasting possible judicial treatment of Fourth Amendment protection and suggests possible methods for establishing a clear standard which would maximize subscriber protection.

Law, Medicine And The Mass Media: Uneasy Partners, Bernard Rubin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Restraints have long been imposed on speech and advertising by doctors and lawyers with the result that members of these professions have traditionally feared publicity. Modern times, however, witness increasing exposure of the professions in the media. The author examines the traditional restraints, First Amendment implications, and the performance of the media in presenting legal and medical issues. He proposes new standards for medical and legal reporters and reports, and concludes that involvement in public debate should be part of satisfactory professional conduct.

Media Access To Videotape Evidence In Criminal Trials, Geoffrey Robinson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

A peripheral but hotly contested issue in the Abscam trials was whether the media could copy and broadcast the videotapes entered into evidence. This issue requires balancing of the defendant's fair trial rights against interests closely analogous to those protected by the First Amendment. This note suggests the lines upon which analysis of the conflicting interests should run, and argues for a strong presumption in favor of access.

Impact Of New Technology On Existing Bargaining Units In The Newspaper Industry, Martin R. Ganzglass

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Double-Breasted Operations - Construction Tool Being Used In Broadcast Industry, Mary Ellen Krug

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

The Copyright Notice Requirement - Deliberate Omission Of Notice, Warren L. Patton, John C. Hogan

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article discusses the effect, under the current Copyright Act, of deliberate omission of copyright notice from a published work. The authors assert that although Congress intended to minimize the significance of the notice requirement in the new statute, an ambiguity in the statutory language has resulted in an uncertainty about the copyright status of a work when the author deliberately omits the copyright notice. The article discusses the conflict between Professor Nimmer's opinion on the issue and the decision of a federal district court in O'Neill Development, Inc. v. Galen Kilburn, Inc. The authors conclude that notice within five …

Commercialization Of Public Broadcasting, Craig Austin Dunagan

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Public broadcasters have increasingly turned to commercial revenue raising devices as a means of financing station operations. This comment discusses some of those devices, which are in reality subtle forms of advertising. The comment demonstrates that the quest for financing has led public broadcasters along the same path taken by commercial broadcasters, a path which ends with the adoption of commercials as a means of financing station operations. The comment focuses upon the policy issues, rather than the practical consequences, of allowing public broadcasters to engage in such commercial practices.

Closed To The Media: The Defendant's Right Of Privacy In The Preliminary Examination, Joseph A. Wynne

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note examines the standard of probable cause as the sole justification for prosecutorial intrusion on the individual's privacy. It argues that, given California's express constitutional guaranty of a right to privacy, the defendant in a criminal prosecution should not be forced to defend himself in a public forum until after probable cause for a trial has been established at the preliminary examination.

The Betamax Case: Another Compulsory License In Copyright Law, Marshall A. Leaffer

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Copyright Royalty Tribunal And The Statutory Mechanical Royalty: History And Prospect, Frederick F. Greenman, Jr., Alvin Deutsch

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Publicity Never Dies; It Just Fades Away: The Right Of Publicity And Federal Preemption, David E. Shipley

Scholarly Works

This Article explores the nature and developing boundaries of the state law doctrine of the right of publicity. It investigates the doctrine's conflict with the 1976 Copyright Act and federal policy concerning intellectual property, and concludes that the 1976 Act precludes publicity actions aimed at protecting certain types of publicity interests. In other situations, the overriding objectives of federal copyright policy preempt the right to the extent that the right defined as perpetual; moreover, such protection in perpetuity violates the supremacy clause of the Federal Constitution. Many types of publicity actions, however, should escape preemption either because the asserted rights …

When Works Collide: Derivative Motion Pictures, Underlying Rights, And The Public Interest, Peter Jaszi

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Dramatic motion pictures' are prime examples of what copyright law terms "derivative works' because they are almost invariably based upon one or more prior works. Derivative works are so-called because they borrow from original works whether or not those works are in the same media. The universe of derivative works is broad. It encompasses everything from stuffed toys representing cartoon characters to translations of serious-minded literature.