Case Briefs
January 05, 2006
Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.
Kelo v. City of New London: Takings, 'Public Use,' Urban Waterfront Redevelopment, and the Likely Survival of the Republic
January 04, 2006
In June, the Supreme Court affirmed the power of municipal redevelopment agencies to take property by eminent domain in order to assemble large parcels for economic development. <i>Kelo v. City of New London</i>, No. 04-108 (U.S. June 23, 2005) held that a municipality may take private homes in good condition to transfer them to a private developer as a part of an integrated plan to redevelop an area of New London. This use of eminent domain did not violate the "public use" requirement of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment that, at its core, prohibits the government from taking private property solely to transfer it to another private person to serve a private interest. Kelo follows the Court's decision in <i>Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc.</i>, 125 S. Ct. 2074 (2005), where the Court ruled that a state statute that was not reasonably calculated to achieve its stated goal was not, by virtue of that irrationality, an unconstitutional taking. (In that case, the statute imposed a cap on the rent that oil companies could charge service station owners in Hawaii in order to achieve the stated goal of lower gasoline prices.)
Internet Ticket Sales
January 03, 2006
e-Businesses, by forming networks of season ticket holders and entering into contracts with entertainment venues, provide Internet customers with entry passes for concerts, sports and other spectator events. <br>Generally, Internet ticket providers are in the business of buying and selling tickets to such events above the face value of the ticket. Some people have equated such Internet ticket providers with ticket scalpers, and claim that they are acting unlawfully. In particular, some state anti-scalping laws have been applied to Internet ticketing transactions, resulting in criminal and civil sanctions. But the application of proper Internet notices and appropriate Web site access limitations may render such state anti-scalping laws moot.
France on Track to Legalize Peer-to-Peer Downloading
January 03, 2006
France's lower house of parliament recently has voted to legalize peer-to-peer file-sharing of films and music on the Internet, unleashing a wave of protest from the country's film, audiovisual and music industry organizations.
Net News
January 03, 2006
Recent news of interest to the Internet law community.
Internet Mom Strikes Back
January 03, 2006
Patricia Santangelo, a 43-year old divorced mother of five says she has never downloaded a single song on her computer, but the recording industry didn't see it that way. Santangelo, from Wappingers Falls, NY, was surprised to find out that she was the Defendant in a suit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ' one of those now about 16,000 that we keep noting as the RIAA sues a new batch of alleged file sharers each month.
Applying Anti-Scalping Laws To Internet Ticket Providers
January 03, 2006
E-businesses, by forming networks of season ticket holders and contracting with entertainment venues, provide Internet customers with entry passes for concerts, sports and other spectator events. Generally, Internet ticket providers are in the business of buying and selling tickets to such events above face value. Some parties have equated such Internet ticket providers with ticket scalpers and claim they are acting unlawfully. In particular, some state anti-scalping laws have been applied to Internet ticketing transactions, resulting in both criminal and civil sanctions. However, the application of proper Internet notices and appropriate Web site access limitations may render such state anti-scalping laws moot.
Video-Game Laws In Three States Are Ruled Unconstitutional
January 03, 2006
The trend in judicial resistance to statutes that regulate video-game content recently became clearer when federal district courts in Michigan, Illinois and California enjoined state statutes that deemed certain video-game content harmful to minors.
Cameo Clips
January 03, 2006
Recent cases in entertainment law.
