Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

The New Wave Of Speech And Privacy Developments In Cyberspace, Eric J. Sinrod, Jeffrey W. Reyna, Barak D. Jolish

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

As with any other medium of information, the Internet has the potential to be used as a tool for businesses, individuals, and government to peer into people's personal lives. Conversely, many are concerned that the Internet can also be used to deliver objectionable or obscene information to minors. These concerns fuel the ongoing debate over whether and how to regulate the Internet to protect the privacy and speech concerns implicated by its many uses. Congress, the courts, the European Community, and a coalition of Internet industry members have taken several decisive steps in an effort to focus the ever-changing policy …

Recent Trademark Cases Examine Reverse Domain Name Hijacking, Carl Oppedahl

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The outcome of a domain name dispute can fall anywhere along a spectrum. Some courts grant strong remedies against domain name owners, while others find no liability for domain name owners with common or generic dictionary words that are used by many companies. For every highly visible "strong remedies" case in which the trademark owner chose to go to federal court, there have been dozens of unpublicized cases in which the challenger went to the "court" of Network Solutions, Inc. instead. This article focuses on the three recent cases in which domain name owners, faced with NSI decisions in favor …

The Transferability Of Non-Exclusive Copyright Licenses: A New Default Rule For Software In The Ninth Circuit, Brandon M. Villery

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The merger and acquisition of companies using software technology can generate a need to transfer valuable software licenses from a target company to an acquiring company. As a default rule in the Ninth Circuit, a licensee cannot assign a non-exclusive copyright license without the express authorization of the licensor. Consequently, an acquired licensee may be forced to renegotiate an otherwise valid software license, even if it survives the acquisition and continues to operate as a subsidiary. Understandably, the issue of copyright license transferability continues to pose a problem in mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies. This note analyzes the Ninth Circuit's decision …

You've Got Mud On Your Face: Have Mp3s Turned The Middleman Into Roadkill, Jessica Trivellini Toney

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Moving Picture Expert Group Audio Layer 3, or MP3s, computer audio files transmitted over the Internet, have emerged as powerful challengers to the current music distribution system. MP3s challenge the recording industry on two fronts: piracy and sidestepping industry distribution channels. This note explores how copyright law applies to computer sound files, including MP3s, and demonstrates how advances in MP3 technology have made infringement concerns a significant problem. This note concludes that the record industry must radically change its current marketing scheme and adopt a low cost licensing approach in order to adapt successfully in the digital age.

Choice Of Entity And Securities Aspects Of Independent Film Offerings By First-Time Filmmakers, Michael L. Maddren

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Independent films have become increasingly common over recent years. It has become increasingly difficult for these first-time filmmakers to obtain studio financing. Filmmakers who cannot obtain studio financing often turn to private investors. A filmmaker seeking private investor financing must confront several legal issues. This article examines the choice of entity and securities law aspects of independent film financing, and makes suggestions for the independent filmmaker facing these issues.

The Owned Public Domain: The Constitutional Right Not To Be Excluded - Or The Supreme Court Chose The Right Breakfast Cereal In Kellogg V. National Biscuit Co., Malla Pollack

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Before the rise of law and economics, the Supreme Court vigorously enforced the public right to use material in the public domain upon the expiration of utility patents. This right was most notably upheld in Kellogg v. Nat'l Biscuit Co. Recently, numerous Federal Circuit courts have failed to follow the holding of Kellogg. This article discusses the Lockian conception of property, argues that Kellogg was based upon sound Constitutional footing, and suggests that the current Court should follow that Constitutional reasoning, rather than distinguishing the case based on economic theory in its consideration of TrafFix Devices v. Marketing Displays this …

The Antitrust Duty To Deal And Intellectual Property Rights, James C. Burling, William F. Lee, Anita K. Krug

Articles

This Article discusses how courts have addressed so-called ‘"duty-to-deal" antitrust claims involving intellectual property, and what they should do in those circumstances to ensure appropriate deference to the competition goals of intellectual property doctrine.

Part II discusses duty-to-deal principles in the general case, where intellectual property rights are not at issue, noting that hard and fast rules have yet to emerge.

Part III discusses the approaches courts have taken in the intellectual property context and contends that, although many courts have conducted their analyses with a view to the objectives of patent law, at least two have not, with potentially …

The Use Of Preclusion Doctrine, Antisuit Injunctions, And Forum Non Conveniens Dismissals In Transnational Intellectual Property Litigation, Peter Nicolas

Articles

Conflicting standards among the federal circuits over the applicability of inherent powers in the transnational intellectual property context and the divided authority regarding the jurisdiction of U.S. federal courts over foreign intellectual property claims severely hamper the ability of federal district courts to use these tools in such a manner so as to prevent parties in transnational intellectual property suits from engaging in strategic behavior. This Comment seeks to reconcile these conflicts where possible and, where irreconcilable, to demonstrate that the text and history of federal statutes conferring subject matter jurisdiction on federal courts and placing limits on their issuance …

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 …

Authors Stripped Of Their Electronic Rights In Tasini V. New York Times Co, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 409 (1999), Michael Spink

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Circuit's Forgotten Lessons: Annealing New Forms Of Intellectual Property Through Consolidated Appellate Jurisdiction, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 581 (1999), Chris J. Katopis

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

35 U.S.C. 103: From Hotchkiss To Hand To Rich, The Obvious Patent Law Hall-Of-Famers, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 437 (1999), George M. Sirilla

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Twenty-First Century Patent System Improvement Act: Is It Really An Improvement, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 725 (1999), Aimee Boss

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Deleting The Bolar Amendment To The Hatch-Waxman Act: Harmonizing Pharmaceutical Patent Protection In A Global Village, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 751 (1999), Ned Milenkovich

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Licensed To Steal: Has Sovereign Immunity Gone Too Far, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 779 (1999), Sulaiman M. Qazi

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

It's A Wonderful Genome: The Written-Description Requirement Protects The Human Genome From Overly-Broad Patents, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 805 (1999), Emanuel Vacchiano

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Budweiser Or Budweiser, 32 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1251 (1999), Jitka Smith

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Classic Films And Historic Landmarks: Protecting America's Film Heritage From Digital Alteration, 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 185 (1999), Helen K. Gieb

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Music Included On Software Downloaded From The Internet: Public Performance Or Private Use, Christopher Paul Moore

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note addresses the applicability of the public performance right when software creators license copyrighted music to include on software that is sold and delivered directly over the Internet. This note contends that when software is bought from a site on the Internet, and then digitally downloaded to a consumer, a public performance has occurred under section 106(4) of the Copyright Act.

Preparing Your Music Client For Web Distribution, Stephanie Brauner

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Digital transmission of recordings is becoming an extremely important method of distribution. As this method of distribution becomes increasingly common, attorneys practicing in this industry will be compelled to advise their clients of the choices available in releasing their musical expressions on the Internet. This article provides a basic overview of the digital transmission process, discusses the current state of copyright protections for musicians and the failings in those protections, and will present other viable options that allow for the protection of a client's interests.

Foreword, Chelsea M. Doerrie

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Panel Discussion - To Bot Or Not To Bot: The Implications Of Spidering, David Kramer, Jay Monahan

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Mr. Kramer and Mr. Monahan discuss the issues raised by the use of bots on the Internet and the implication of such use in litigation. Bots, or spidering programs, are software devices used to access specific information contained on web sites. Bots are commonly used when search engines comb the web to generate responses to queries. However, other less than noble uses, including the gathering of e-mail addresses for "spamming" and the taking of a site's content and reposting it elsewhere, raise complex legal issues and have generated considerable litigation.

Symposium Presentation: Doing Internet Co-Branding Agreements, Eric Goldman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Mr. Goldman discusses many important issues that need to be considered when deciding to participate in and when drafting co-branding agreements, but which are often overlooked. As internet co-branding has become ubiquitous as a means of combining one website's functionality and another's marketing muscle in online business, practitioners handling co-branding agreements face the challenge of choosing the correct legal paradigms as starting points in these kinds of negotiations. Co-branding agreements often incorporate advertising, trademark licensing, service provisions and domain name components. In light of this complexity, choosing the wrong starting point can frustrate the process by omitting key issues from …

A Tale Of The Apocryphal Axe: Repair, Reconstruction, And The Implied License In Intellectual Property Law, Mark D. Janis

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chasing The Future: Has The Digital Performance In Sound Recordings Act Of 1995 Kept Pace With Technological Advances In Musical Performance, Or Is Copyright Law Lagging Behind, Steven V. Podolsky

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Ever since jukeboxes and taped music began replacing bands in many restaurants and bars, performing musicians have been deprived of earnings and protection from unauthorized performance of their work. Digital technology exacerbated the problem by creating super quality sound that can be duplicated without a loss of quality. The Internet, which has become a medium for distributing prerecorded music, has the potential for doing damage to ownership interests throughout the entire recorded music industry. In just a few seconds, anyone with Internet access can retrieve, store, and listen to the performance without paying royalties to the performers. This article discusses …

The Case For A Specialized Copyright Court: Eliminating The Jurisdictional Advantage, Michael Landau, Donald E. Biederman

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Many of those who specialize in copyright law have become increasingly dismayed by the degree to which the outcome of copyright cases depends upon the venue in which an action is brought. Beyond this, copyright is a highly specialized and technical body of law, and some of its aspects seem to us to be the sort that would be best handled by specialized judges. This article discusses the history of existing specialized courts, and examples that demonstrate that the current system of copyright adjudication works poorly. The authors then recommend the creation of a national copyright court that follows the …

Swapping Claims In Cyberspace: Legal/Technical Context And Negotiation Stategies For Domain Name Deals, Jefferson F. Scher

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Domain names continue to perform multiple functions as mnemonic addresses for Internet devices, trademarks for new or established businesses, and "search terms" for those who don't know where else to look. This article speaks to the operation of the domain name system, and discusses many business issues that accompany the ownership of a domain name.

International Copyright Law And The Electronic Media Rights Of Authors And Publishers, Irene Segal Ayers

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This article looks at recent cases resolving disputes over the electronic media rights of freelance journalists and publishers in the United States and Europe. This article considers the implications of conflicting case law for international electronic trade in copyrighted works and suggests international solutions that attempt to balance fairly the competing interests of freelancers, publishers, and the new electronic media industries.

When Cyberspace Meets Main Street: A Primer For Internet Business Modeling In An Evolving Legal Environment, Christopher Paul Boam

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

With the increasing use of the World Wide Web, the Internet consumer will, for better or worse, change the "shop around the comer." However, the advent of electronic commerce can have the capacity to be the great equalizer. This technology, which allows the smallest of entrepreneurs to enter millions of households throughout the world also subjects them to innumerable conflicting foreign laws and jurisdictions and magnifies the legal impact of any content errors. The ability to enter the households of millions of unknown persons also poses difficult challenges of identification, privacy, and security. The collective impact of these peculiar characteristics …

Symposium Presentation: Tales Of An E-Commerce Lawyer: When Every Decision You Make Is A You Bet Your Company Decision, Michael Scott

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Mr. Scott gives an overview of how the Internet and e-commerce have changed the practice of law. He notes that business today is almost instantaneous, in what he refers to as "Internet time," so a wrong business decision can spell disaster. He also discusses the implications of these almost instantaneous business decisions in the context of copyrights, patents, comparison sites, gaming and spamming.