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Volume 2 - Spring 2001
Caught in the Crossfire:
The Dilemma of Personal Managers Under California's
Talent Agencies Act
Jim Hornfischer
Hornfischer examines the differing treatment of
personal managers and licensed agents under
California’s Talent Agencies Act. Personal managers
and licensed agents perform similar and sometimes
overlapping services, yet their treatment under
California’s TAA is wholly different. Hornfischer
discusses the legislative history and judicial
analysis behind the current rigid standard which
strictly bars personal managers from procuring
employment for talent. The major deficiencies of the
California courts’ oftentimes inconsistent
interpretation of the TAA are discussed with
particular emphasis on the unfairness, uncertainty
and incoherence latent in the current system’s
treatment of personal managers. Hornfischer warns
that attempts to circumvent California’s regulatory
scheme have created new and more dangerous abuses in
the personal management industry which ultimately
may lead to the obsolescence of the Talent Agencies
Act.
The Great Dodgers-Wrigley
Field Melee: A Bar Exam Question in the Making?
Walter T. Champion, Jr.
It's All in the Name:
Trademark Issues of Musical Groups
Lidia Pedraza
What do Oreos, Tylenol, or Westlaw have in common
with the music industry? All are governed by
trademark law. This note explains trademark issues
specifically related to a musical group’s name and
likeness. Pedraza contrasts trademarks and service
marks and explains the requisites to acquire each.
She then discusses the Lanham Act and the protection
and remedies it provides for a musical group that
has trademarked its name. Additionally, the author
explores how a group’s chosen business form affects
ownership rights in the group’s name, and how those
rights affect different musical groups, members of
the same group, employees of a group, and third
parties, such as managers or record labels. Finally,
Pedraza suggests that though clear and proper
assignment of rights to a musical group’s name many
ownership issues can be avoided when a band
dissolves.
A Comparison of the Texas
Athlete Agent Act and the Uniform Agent Athlete Act
Monique Hutzler Meischen
Meischen tracks the development of laws regulating
the interactions between student athletes and the
sometimes overzealous sports agents who pursue them.
Twenty-eight states, including Texas, have enacted a
confusing array of state laws. Subsequently, the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
asked the National Conference of Commissioners on
Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) to study and draft a
standardized code to protect student athletes. In
October 2000, the membership approved and
recommended a draft of the Uniform Athlete Agents
Act (UAAA) for enactment in all the states. The
Texas legislature is now to consider whether to
adopt the UAAA or maintain its current regulatory
regime.
To Incorporate or Not to
Incorporate? That is the Question
Robert A. Cohen
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