ARTICLE

Copyright, Digitization of Images, and Art Museums: Cyberspace and Other New Frontiers

Sharon Appel

The information technologies revolution has provided great challenges for the law of copyright. At the forefront of recent copyright debate is the question of whether technology has rendered copyright obsolete. Institutions like museums are dependant on a clear enunciation of copyright laws in order to avoid liability for infringement in their educational and marketing endeavors. The author provides a detailed history of copyright law, culminating in an examination of the most recent legislation on the subject. The author then examines the role of art museums in our society, and how they are affected by the growing body of complex copyright legislation. The author concludes that art museums must become vigorous advocates for their interests in the copyright debate to protect their interests, their patrons' interests, and the interests of art lovers everywhere.
 

COMMENTS

Empowering the Audience: Television's Role in the Diminishing Respect for the American Judicial System

Kelly L.. Cripe

The American judicial system is facing a crisis. Its most visible body, the jury empanelled for high-profile criminal cases, is the focus of exponentially increasing scrutiny and, unfortunately, the American people usually strongly disagree with the verdict that is rendered in such cases. This comment theorizes that the jury has been placed in this position because television coverage of the trial mistakenly leads the public to think that it is receiving all the information that is necessary to pronounce its own, equally valid verdict. Furthermore, this misguided belief is not contradicted by any explanation of the jury's reasoning. The vulnerable position that the jury currently find itself could be mitigated by either limiting the coverage of the trial or expanding the coverage of the deliberations. The author concludes that both of these possess potentially fatal flaws and that a more moderate, workable solution would be to allow the jury to craft and disseminate an `opinion' explaining the rationale for its decision.
 

Meet the Television of Tomorrow. Don't Expect to Own it Anytime Soon.

Julie Macedo

In the coming years, the face of home entertainment as we know it will be permanently altered by digital television. In this article, the author describes the technology as well as the politics involved in this "digital revolution." The government has helped to direct this burgeoning technology, and has also attempted to set a definite timetable for the conversion to digital. The interplay between various interests groups and especially the lack of consumer involvement may prove to be a significant obstacle to this timetable. This article furnishes the reader with an overview of the relevant issues and the possible controversies that may delay the conversion to digital television.
 

Three Brave Men: An Examination of Three Attorneys Who Represented the Hollywood Nineteen in the House Un-American Activities Committee Hearings in 1947 and the Consequences They Faced

Erica Bose

This comment focuses on three attorneys, Ben Margolis, Robert Kenny, and Barley Crurn, who represented "Blacklisted" Hollywood artists in the hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The comment examines each attorney's background and helps illustrate how that affected the attorney's choice of legal and political strategy. The comment concludes with a discussion of the consequences that each attorney faced as a result of their representation.