About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

16 Comm. L. & Pol'y 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/comulp16 and id is 1 raw text is: 16 COMM. L. & PoL'Y 1-15 (2011) Routledge Copyright @ Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Taylor&Franis Group ISSN: 1081-1680 print / 1532-6926 online DOI: 10.1080/10811680.2011.536495 You CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH (IN Music): DOES THE LANHAM ACT PREEMPT STATE TRUTH IN Music LAWS? MATTHEW D. BUNKER* Conflicting intellectual property regimes between the states and the federal government are an increasing problem. One relatively new species of state intellectual property protection that may conflict with federal trademark regulation is the Thuth in Musicstatute, a version of which has become law in some thirty-three states. Thuth in Music (TIM) laws punish attempts by performing musical groups to improp- erly capitalize on the success of recording acts. In a number of common scenarios, it is not clear that these statutes can survive preemption analysis under the federal Lanham Act, the primary source of federal trademark protection. This article explores TIM statutes and analyzes whether preemption is likely to be the fate of this new state intellectual property regime. Imagine you are the creator and manager of a boy band called Boyz R Us that defies the odds and earns a number one hit record with its rendition of the R & B-tinged ballad, Girl, I Totally Miss You (All the Time). In the wake of this hit record, the group performs both nationally and internationally to great success. As the creator of the act, you hire choreographers, arrangers and backup musicians; select musical material; and produce studio albums and the group's stage act. You also claim legal rights in the service mark Boyz R Us, although you never get around to federally registering this mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As time passes, members of the group rotate through the band for a few years, then depart as they approach the decrepitude of their early twenties. Although the group continues to perform live to receptive (if smaller) audiences, it turns out to have been a one-hit wonder, and no further significant chart activity 'Reese Phifer Professor of Journalism, University of Alabama.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most