Grades are in

You probably already got them, but just in case, grades are in.

If anyone has any questions about their grade, please feel free to contact me.

Lewd Night!

I have been getting lots of inquiries from current and former students about LEWD NIGHT and Cocktails with the Prof. Well, have no fear, the tradition continues:

Lewd Night will take Place on Saturday, May 10 at 9:00 PM at the AKA Lounge.

The address is 68 E. Pine St. (on the corner of Pine St. & Magnolia Ave). It is upstairs. Tickets are $10 each at the door. Tickets are limited, but I have reserved a handful for you. In order to get on MY guest list you must RSVP by posting a comment to this entry. If you do so, you are obligated to purchase a ticket. You are also free to get them yourself by calling 407-839-3707.

The flyer for the event reads:

Dark rumblings are spewing nocturnal wastes, the delirious scents are mounting, foul memories are belching out the return of Lewd Night. Once again, you have your chance to offend. What have you got to toll into the cesspool of … LEWD NIGHT.

Unafraid visual artists, unkind poets, nasty songwriters & musicians, repugnant comedians & raunchy theatrical/dance acts, foul filmography, vile set designers, stage manager, nasty silhouette dances, 2 to be crucified and a goat.

Offensive artists and performers need only apply. MILDLY offensive work with NOT be accepted.

This will be an opportunity to see freedom of artistic expression in action.

I hope that this proves educational AND enjoyable. I promise that we will have fun.

Drink responsibly and make sure you have a designated driver. I am not responsible for your actions off-campus, but I will shun you if you over-do it (I got a rep to protect, yo), and I will take your keys away from you if I suspect that you are going to do anything stupid that could result in you getting hurt or arrested. Even if you survive the drive home, getting a DUI while in law school or awaiting your bar results will really make it difficult to get admitted.

And in advance… NO, I will not do shots with you. I am on a hiatus from drinking until November.

Finally: NO SHOP TALK. We can discuss legal issues if you want, but grades, class, and school are off limits.

The Final

Rant, rave, rage, about the final here… if you like.

Review Questions

One of your classmates sent me the following questions.

My answers are in bold.

Here are a few questions that I came up with that I need some clarification on. Thanks for your help.

(1) I was not registered for the class when you went over entertainment contracts. I was wondering if you could narrow down what I might want to focus on in that area?

I’m not sure how to narrow it without giving you the questions. Lets just say that the contractual relationships between the parties are often of the utmost importance. Take a look at the cases in the contracts section – but go beyond that. Look at a lot of the IP sections of the course to see how contracts can impact otherwise dead or live claims.

(2)I was going over the material for derivative works and I had a side note “natural zone of expansion theory.” Wonder if you might be able to clarify.

This post should be helpful.

(3) When determining work for hire- do you use the 13 factors that are shown in your slides or the three factors that are used by the copyright office.

Remember this post?

(4) I know you said that there might be a question concerning VARA. But most of the time it does not apply b/c doesn’t apply to a very narrow group of works of art (am I correct in assuming that?).

VARA is very narrow, yes.

(5) When analyzing 3rd party liability cases (i.e. movie or video games). James v. Meow Media used a Palsgraf approach. When analyzing a situation like that is it best to use the duty of care standard. To prevail on those type of situations, is a strong connection needed?

It isn’t any different from other tort liability.

(6) Do we need to know “reverse passing off”?

Maybe.

Help / Review

So far, nobody has taken me up on my offer for extra help, review, etc… I just want to make sure that you all know that my offer was made in earnest.

If any two or more of you want to schedule a time this week to come to my office after 6 pm or so, (minimum of two of you — but the more the merrier) I’ll be pleased to go over anything you like.

I will not be available over the weekend.

Reading for April 9

Read 253-297

Reading for April 8

Read 215-235
Read the Tony Twist Case - Doe v. TCI Cablevision, 110 S.W.3d 363 (Mo. 2003)

Read the following posts:

Fantasy Baseball Gets First Amendment Protection

Gimme section 230 shelter - online dating pranks and CDA Immunity

For extra credit, please write a memorandum of about 2000 words about whether you think that publicity rights are intellectual property rights or whether they are privacy rights.

Must be submitted by 11:59 PM on April 15.

Pressure Drop

Class, effective immediately I am closing blog comments for grading purposes. While you are still welcome to, and encouraged to, post commentary, grading for blog comments is closed.

Given that there are only 10 days left in the semester, I didn’t want you to have to worry about that *and* studying for the exam.

Reading for April 3

Read 134-198. Yes, you read a lot of this already. But, we all know that I’m scatterbrained.

Also read: False Light: A Thin-Skin Standard for A Thick-Skinned Society? and the linked-to briefs therein.

Extra Credit / Charity Project

The Citizen’s Spartacist League is sponsoring a program this evening, and anyone who attends will be given extra credit.

class cancelled

class is canceled today due to illness

Michael Moore Defamation Case

Damon v. Moore, __ F.3d __ (1st. Cir. 2008)

While we appreciate Damon’s anger and frustration over appearing without his consent in a documentary that stands in direct contrast to his own personal and political beliefs, we conclude that his appearance in the documentary is not reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning.

(case)

EXAM ALERT!

The exam is on April 28.

I just got word that “the ABA Frowns on 100% Multiple Choice Exams.” Ugh, I wish they had told me that before.

Given that fact, I am trying to figure out if I can still pull off my typical exam. If not, we are going to do an essay exam. I’m sorry about this, but the powers that be are… well, the powers that be.

Please tell your classmates who may not check the class blog all that often.

Reading for March 25 & 27

I want to move on from censorship, as much as I love to discuss it. Therefore, you may choose to read 117-133 if you want to learn about self-regulation by the entertainment industry. If you are very interested in this topic, the adult field is getting into the act too with its RTA label (restricted to adults). Feel free to ask me if you want guidance in researching these issues.

1. Skim 134-137
2. Read 137 (defamation) to 142
3. Read 152 to 160
4. Read 188 to 191
5. Read 196 to 198

VARA Case in the Middle District

Click here. If you comment, remember that only comments on the class blog will be graded (although those on my blog are welcomed).

Miller Test

According to Miller v. California, in order for material to be deemed legally obscene, a court must determine the following:

1. Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest,
2. Whether the work depicts/describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct or excretory functions specifically defined by applicable state law,
3. Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary and/or artistic, political, or scientific value.

Frank Zappa and Jon Katz on Censorship

Read and watch: Have love songs made everyone love one another?

Come back and comment.

March 11 Class Starting Late

Class,

I apologize, but class will begin late today — 8:45 AM.

Review Session

As discussed in class today, Tuesday (or maybe thurs) will be a mid-semester review.

Post your questions here and check back periodically to see how the discussion unfolds.

Posts to this topic will not be graded.

Writing competition

IDEA®: The Intellectual Property Law Review is proud to announce our Second Annual Student Intellectual Property Writing Competition. We are looking for original, publishable papers addressing compelling issues in intellectual property law.

The awards include: $500 and publication in IDEA® for first place, $200 for second place, and a one year subscription to IDEA® for third place. All submissions must be postmarked by Friday, April 25, 2008 and sent to the address above. Submissions must include an entry form that can be found on our website at http://www.piercelaw.edu/idea. Winners will be announced May 6, 2008.