Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Long Overdue? An Exploration Of The Status And Merit Of A General Public Performance Right In Sound Recordings, Matthew S. Delnero

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In the sound recording performance rights debate, positions advocated by broadcasters are the polar opposite of those taken by recording artists and labels. Considering all the factors, it is likely that neither claim is entirely meritorious. Both are too extreme to be supported by available evidence. Radio broadcasters ignore what would amount to at least some international harmonization and added foreign royalties, as well as the potential creation of new works that would not be economically viable without a performance royalty. Furthermore, broadcasters fail to adequately account for the possible inequity of granting performance royalties to those who compose music …

Idea Men Should Be Able To Enforce Their Contractual Rights: Considerations Rejecting Preemption Of Idea-Submission Contract Claims, Celine Michaud, Gregory Tulquois

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

It is a long-standing and general rule that ideas are "free as the air" as Justice Brandeis eloquently stated in the dissent to the seminal case International News Service v. Associated Press.' This axiom of copyright law expresses the idea that copyright does not protect ideas but only protects the expression of ideas in a work. The distinction between unprotected ideas and protected expression is often referred to as the idea-expression dichotomy...

The principle of the idea-expression dichotomy was initially stated in Baker v. Selden, and later cases further articulated this principle, so that it has become one of the …

Copyright And The First Amendment: After The Wind Done Gone, Joseph M. Beck

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

On March 16, 2001, plaintiff SunTrust Bank filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against defendant Houghton Mifflin Company, alleging copyright and trademark infringement based on defendant's yet-to-be published novel The Wind Done Gone. On March 23, plaintiff filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction barring the book's imminent publication. The district court held a hearing on the motion for a temporary restraining order on March 29,2001, and then set down a second hearing for April 18, 2001. On April 20,2001, the district court filed a fifty-one page …

Eldred V. Ashcroft: Challenging The Constitutionality Of The Copyright Term Extension Act, Justice J. Rillera

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note explores opposing arguments on the constitutionality of the CTEA under the Copyright Clause, which gives Congress the power "[t]o promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to the irrespective Writings and Discoveries." Part I of this Note analyzes whether Congress violated the "limited Times" restriction by extending the terms of existing copyrights. Part II examines whether the CTEA promotes the "Progress of Science' ' Finally, Part Ill highlights questions the U.S. Supreme Court must resolve to maintain the balance between the rights of the …

The Balance Between Recording Artists And Recording Companies: A Tip In Favor Of The Artists?, Nicholas Baumgartner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

To protest the 1999 Copyright Act amendment, recording artists Don Henley and Sheryl Crow, among others, co-founded the RAC. While formed to serve as a "voice for artists' rights," the primary impetus behind its founding was to lobby Congress to delete sound recordings from the definition of "works made for hire" in the Copyright Act. Together with intense lobbying by AFTRA, individual recording artists and legal scholars, the RAC succeeded--in October 2000, sound recordings were removed from the definition of "works made for hire."

The momentum gained by artists in this lobbying effort inspired an attack on the other proverbial …

A Sample For Pay Keeps The Lawyers Away: A Proposed Solution For Artists Who Sample And Artists Who Are Sampled, Charles E. Maier

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The law of copyright has its origins in the constitu- tion of the United States, which grants congress the power "to promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discov- eries. To carry out this mandate, Congress passed the Copyright Act, establishing the basic rights to be enjoyed by the copyright owner, including the right of adaptation, and the right of reproduction. ''

Sampling seems to be a clear violation of these exclusive rights. However, Congress has provided an excep- tion, the …

The Peer-To-Peer Revolution: A Post-Napster Analysis Of The Rapidly Developing File Sharing Technology, Joseph A. Sifferd

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note will focus on A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. and will include an analysis of copyright law applicable to the legality of the incipient peer-to-peer file-sharing technology. The first section provide a brief factual history and introduction to the Napster legal discussion. The second Section of this Note will include a survey of relevant copyright doctrines, followed by a discussion of the Ninth Circuit's analysis of these doctrines as applied to the facts presented in "Napster." Finally, I will address the future of the peer-to-peer phenomenon, including a review and analysis of different types of peer-to-peer networks that …

End Game: Ex Parte Seizure Process And The Battle Against Bootleggers, Lucas G. Paglia, Mark A. Rush

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article presents a broad overview of the exparte seizure process, what it is and how it can be deployed by trademark owners to shut down counterfeiters. It first discusses the general structure and mechanics of the TCA. It then proceeds to discuss some important areas of practical concern with respect to proceedings under the Act. The Article concludes by providing a hypothetical case study of the ex parte seizure process in action.

The Electronic Jungle: The Application Of Intellectual Property Law To Distance Education, Jon Garon

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The tension between academic institutions as creators and consumers of intellectual property seems to be most directly felt in the new areas of distance education. Despite the significant opportunities to use new media to expand the reach of the classroom to an ever-growing body of students, concerns regarding copyright, trademark and defamation law continue to limit and dictate what schools attempt to do. These limitations are more directly felt by individual instructors, who must enforce appropriate usage policies for their students, create copyrighted materials and negotiate with their schools over the ownership of the valuable content created.

This Article has …

Book Publishing In The Age Of The E-Book, Nancy B. Vermylen

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Whatever role e-publishing is ultimately to assume in the publishing world, its emergence calls for the (re)evaluation of significant legal issues affecting the contractual relationship of authors and publishers. This Note identifies some of those issues, and where appropriate, suggests some tentative solutions. Part II of this Note sets e-publishing and the concerns it raises in context by providing a brief discussion of the traditional book publishing industry and the roles that publishing contracts and personal relationships play in that industry. Part III provides an introduction to the emerging world of e-publishing and e-books. Part IV discusses the legal issues …

Changing Horses In Mid-Stream: The Copyright Office's New Rule Makes Broadcasters Pay For "Streaming" Their Signals Over The Internet, Samuel Fifer, Gregory R. Naron

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

With traditional, over-the-air broadcasts, radio stations do not have to start paying license fees to rights holders if they get a bigger transmitter or technology allows their signal to reach more listeners. That much, not even the RIAA will dispute. So why should it matter if stations use the Internet to reach additional listeners? The law shouldn't be interpreted to discourage radio stations from using new Internet technology to do the same thing they're doing now--especially since Congress itself expressly said it did not want to "[hamper] ... new technologies" or "impose new and unreasonable burdens" on broadcasters. And make …

The Recording Artist Agreement: Does It Empower Or Enslave, Lynn Morrow

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In June 2000, Courtney Love, the controversial lead singer of the rock group Hole, lambasts, among other things, record company profits. In an essay entitled "Courtney Love Does the Math," she maintains that a recording artist agreement is itself a form of music piracy. She tells a compelling story about a band and a record company. As a result of a bidding war between the major labels, the band was given what is considered a huge deal-a twenty percent artist royalty and a million dollar advance. Providing a breakdown of how the million dollars was spent, Ms. Love calculates that, …

Chillin' Effect Of Section 506: The Battle Over Digital Sampling In Rap Music, Ronald Gaither

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Digital samples are to rap music as precedent is to the practice of law. Lawyers, mindful of the principle of stare decisis, mine court opinions for arguments to support legal theories. Similarly, rappers use the lyrics and musical arrangements found in previously recorded works to spin out new and creative pieces. But where-as no one worries when a lawyer quotes pieces of old case law to fashion her arguments in a novel case, rappers' heavy reliance on digital sampling routinely puts their community front and center in a debate over copyright infringement...

Considering the severity of most criminal penalties for …

Digital Performance Royalties: Should Radio Pay?, Bruce H. Phillips, Carl R. Moore

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

We must acknowledge that some questions remain unanswered. Have we entered an era in which record labels, recording artists, record producers, and musicians will finally earn royalties for the public performance of their creations? Will the recent Copyright Office action be a watershed development in United States copyright law? Or will the broadcasters and their well-funded and powerful lobbying arm, the NAB, prevail in the end--if not in the courts, then in Congress? The only clear answer is simply this: not if the RIAA, the record labels' own well-funded and powerful lobbying arm, has anything to do with it. It …

Digital Broadcasting: The Cost Of Copyright, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Music copyright issues pervade the Internet these days, but few have roots as far back as 1915. Since that time, radio broadcasters and copyright owners have found themselves embroiled in a conflict over the extent to which copyright law should and can dictate the terms and cost of broadcasting music. Advances in dig- ital transmission technology, followed closely by the introduction of two important legislative enactments, have kept the debate fresh in recent years. Now, an inter- pretative ruling by the Copyright Office as to the applicability of the latter to the former threatens to extend the dispute well into …

Tomorrow Never Dies: The Protection Of Fictional Characters Under The Federal Trademark Dilution Act, Kristen Knudsen

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

A number of different protections are available for fictional characters under intellectual property law. These have traditionally included copyright, trademark, and unfair competition, or some combination thereof. Another avenue of protection can be found in state dilution statutes, which prohibit unauthorized uses of characters that could harm their reputations, such as by "blurring" their ability to indicate one source, or by "tarnishing" their commercial value. This harm may occur even where there is no likelihood of public confusion, and even where the use is on a noncompeting good. Many commentators have criticized state dilution theories, however, as contravening the purposes …

Fighting The Phantom Menace: The Motion Picture Industry's Struggle To Protect Itself Against Digital Piracy, S. E. Oross

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Digital technology, combined with the influence of the Internet, represents an increasingly dangerous threat to the protection of copyrights in the global marketplace. Industries like Hollywood with business models based primarily on selling and/or licensing intellectual property have much to lose if that protection falters.

Jack Valenti, the president of the MPAA, knows this all too well. In recent testimony before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection of the Commerce Committee, he described how the growing availability of certain digital technology could turn online piracy into the bane of the motion picture industry. Noting that Internet pirates …

Publication, Musical Compositions, And The Copyright Act Of 1909: Still Crazy After All These Years, Michael B. Landau

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The copyright clause of the United States Constitution empowers Congress "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by Securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The purpose of copyright law is to strike a balance between the public's desire to have free access to information and authors' rights to protection of their private works. Common law copyright somewhat reflects this balance by providing the author with perpetual protection until first publication. Federal copyright law, however, with its more limited duration for protection, better balances these competing interests. Once …

Music, Money, And The Middleman: The Relationship Between The Songwriter And The Publisher, Cornelius Cowles

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Money, along with creative drive and the chance to work in an exciting industry, push the publisher and songwriter both. This article seeks to help the songwriter under-stand the role of the music publisher, an indispensable and unavoidable part of the country music industry. It examines the songwriter-publisher relationship from the perspective of those people active in the industry and examines criticism of the publisher's role. It further analyzes the typically thorny legal and contractual issues faced by the songwriter in negotiating an exclusive songwriting agreement with the publisher. Finally, recognizing the special role of songwriters in Nashville, it addresses …

The Times They Are A Changin': How Technology Has Forced The Law To Deal With A New Era In Music Distribution, Mark Plotkin

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The United States has attempted to keep pace with emerging digital music distribution technology through its copyright law. However, the perfect quality, limitless geographical scope, and exponential growth of digital music delivery implicate the varied and conflicting interests of songwriters, performers, record companies, broadcasters, and the public. Reconciling the interests of these groups in digital music delivery has not been, and will not be, easy...

To understand how the 1995 Act and the DMCA change music licensing, one should be aware that, in general, two distinct copyrights exist for each song that is recorded: the song copyright and the sound …