Month: September 2009

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Looking East: The Road to Recovery

I.   Introduction

The current global recession has experts around the world searching for a solution in a place never looked to before.  For the first time, Asian economies are leading the way out of a global economic slump.  While the United States and Europe have pioneered past recoveries from world recessions, recovery seems to have already begun in Asia with China at the forefront.  Massive government stimulus and expansionary fiscal policies have spurred growth in Asia with other strong economic indicators seemingly providing a foundation to a full-fledged recovery.  Despite a drop in exports, Asian economies have offset the decline in this major source of revenue by slashing interest rates, keeping savings levels high, increasing infrastructure demand and harnessing the potential for expansion in domestic consumer demand.  Many Asian nations are net creditors [1], with significant current account surpluses supplied by capital inflows over … Read the rest

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The Skinny on Taxing Fatty Foods

I.       Introduction

            In case you have not read a newspaper, surfed the internet, or been outside your home recently, there is an obesity epidemic in the United States.[1]  Search Google News for “’obesity epidemic’” and one will find about seven hundred stories in the last month.[2]  Not to dwell on the prevalence of obesity, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2005-2006 “more than one-third of adults, or seventy-two million people [in the United States] were obese;” a number which had “doubled among adults from 1980 to 2004” and which has not decreased since.[3]

They say the first step to solving a problem is admitting one has one; America we have a problem.  But simply admitting a problem exists does not necessarily mean it should be the government’s job to alleviate the problem.  Even if it was the government’s … Read the rest

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Knock-off the Knockoffs: The Fight Against Trademark and Copyright Infringement

Introduction

Gucci, Fendi, Prada, Coach; Designers most individuals know, but few can afford.  Yet, despite their high prices, countless individuals sport these designer labels on a daily basis.  Chances are however, the majority of these ‘designer duds’, including sunglasses, handbags, electronics, and even drugs, are not authentic.  Over the past few years, this knockoff fetish has become increasingly popular throughout the world, especially with the recent economic downfall.  With a high demand for these items and popular acceptance of this act, few consumers consider the illegality and danger of owning and supporting these unlawful products. 

Throughout this article, the reader will discover the legal process of product copyright and trademark infringement and how counterfeit items directly hinder intellectual property laws.  Additionally, the reader’s awareness of the trouble that these items create within not only the United States, but also worldwide, as well as recommendations … Read the rest

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Should Cheerleading be a Sport?

By Helena Varnavas

I.   Introduction

          There is an ongoing debate among the media and cheer world as to whether or not cheerleading should be recognized as a sport under Title IX.[1] A recent poll found that 60% of people thought cheerleading was a sport, while 35% did not.[2] Cheerleaders sometimes a> Opponents argue that because the primary function of cheerleading is not competition, it does not meet the qualifications of a sport.[3][4] The answer to this debate depends on your definition of a sport.[5] The NCAA, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) all have their own definition of “sport” that a competitive cheerleading squad could possibly qualify under.[6] The question also brings up other issues that would need to be addressed.  Cheerleading is an estimated half-billion dollar industry,[7] and an underlying problem to … Read the rest

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No Starts, No Stats, No Problem

I.                   Introduction 

Virtually everyone has looked for a job and found that they just did not meet the previous experience requirements laid out in the description.  The salary looks great, but you may not have three to five years of Big Four accounting experience.  Society generally rewards those that have been through the rigors of the profession before.  However, the growing trend in the NFL is to hand over bags of money to college athletes who have not yet played a snap in the NFL or faced the challenge of competing against the world’s best. [1] The NFL does have a rookie salary cap in place, with a pool of money allotted to each team stating how much it can spend on salaries. [2]  However, guaranteed money and signing bonuses have allowed teams to continue to shell out more and more money for their new … Read the rest

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Protecting “The Progress of Science and Useful Arts.”

I. Introduction

 

Patents have recently received a great deal of attention as tradable commodities, attracting the attention of several hedge funds, and giving rise to investment firms that specialize in patent acquisition.[1][2] This aspect is not unanticipated, and in fact is on its face congruent with the original means for attaining the goals behind patent law – “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.” [3] The idea behind providing this protection is simple: encourage innovation by giving the innovator certain property rights and protections under the law which in turn encourages market participation.[4] The ability to monetize innovation is the means by which the U.S. Constitution proposed to incentivize the research and distribution of innovations. Nowhere else has this been more relevant than in the “Technology … Read the rest

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Can I Get a Piece of That? Policies on Sampling and How it Affects Creativity in Hip Hop

By: Brittany A. Estell

I. Introduction

Jay-Z’s Blueprint III [1] was released on September 11, 2009 with an abundance of featured artists as well known producers.[2] Exactly two months after his release date, this huge name will be at Assembly Hall performing for thousands of students, fans, adults, and professors. [3] In 2005 there was a grave controversy about DJ Danger Mouse’s mixtape The Grey Album, [4]  a compilation created by sampling Jay Z’s The Black Album [5] and the Beatles’ The White Album [6][7] DJ Danger Mouse was sought out by record companies who owned both Jay-Z and The Beatles’ music for copyright infringement, after his mixtape became popular all over the internet as well as the radio airwaves. [8]  More about DJ Danger Mouse and his legal troubles and how it relates to sampling will be discussed at length below.  Today, on Blueprint III, [9] Jay Z … Read the rest

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The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Nonprofits

I.          INTRODUCTION          

Nonprofits play an important role in the American economy, accounting for 5.2% of the domestic GDP and 8.3% of US wages and salaries. [1] At a time when most sectors of the American economy feel the pinch of the recession, the nonprofit sector’s financial struggles should raise additional concerns for the US government, because of the increasing amount of Americans seeking assistance from the nonprofits.  This article will detail some of the statistics regarding the financial struggles of the nonprofits during the current recession.  Additionally this article offers insight into advice from the legal community regarding counseling such nonprofits. Finally, this article provides a recommendation and conclusion as to the steps that nonprofits should keep in mind while coping through the recession.  

II.        BACKGROUND 

Nonprofits provide a variety of widely needed benefits in our communities, such as serving the needs of … Read the rest

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Marvel and Disney: A Merger with Character

I.  Introduction

On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) and Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (“Marvel”) entered into a merger agreement in which Disney would acquire Marvel. [ 1 ] At this time, it is up to debate whether the acquisition is a horizontal, vertical, or conglomerate/lateral transaction. Both Disney and Marvel are involved in a very broad range of products and services, but both companies center their business models on intangibles, particularly characters. As a result, much of Disney and Marvel’s business revolves around intellectual property. Unlike the products of technological and software companies, the intellectual property rights created by Disney and Marvel are less concrete but more versatile, and decidedly harder to enforce. As such, this article will consider the nature of characters as property rights, particularly those of Disney and Marvel, as they relate to the Department of Justice (“DoJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Merger Guidelines … Read the rest

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Plug the Leak: Employee Turnover- A Consequence of Discriminatory Behavior?

      I.        Introduction

 

What does employee turnover look like these days?  Well, much like pouring liquid into a sieve- analogous to employees passing through a company much too rapidly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which collects and compiles monthly data on a sampling of business establishments, the total number of employees who left their jobs exceeded those being hired from July 2008 through June 2009. [1] “Over the 12 months ending in June, hires totaled 51.8 million and separations totaled 57.1 million, yielding a net employment loss of 5.3 million.” [2] The increasing problem of employee turnover seems to revolve around two vital issues.  Companies do not fully understand what causes employee turnover, and they do not know how to go about correcting the problem. This article will discuss:  1) the costs and causes of employee turnover; 2) the methods by which different … Read the rest