Moritz Legal Information Blog

If you have a paper or draft due for a journal, but you don't know where to begin, don't forget you can check in with the law librarians .  The reference desk is open 10am-5pm during the week and on Sundays from 1pm-5pm. Stop by if you're not finding what you're looking for online, and we can help you develop your research strategy and suggest resources. If you're working after library hours, take a look at Writing for & Publishing in Law Reviews to get started. Trolling some of the law library's online databases, like HeinOnline  (with collections like " Foreign Relations of the United States " and " U.S. International Trade Library ") or the Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926 may be a quicker way to start digging into secondary sources than searching Google.

A Seattle ordinance required the publishers of yellow pages phone books to pay a fee for each book, as well as have an advertisement for an opt-out service on the front cover. On Monday, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the ordinance did not survive strict scrutiny and declared that the yellow pages enjoys full First Amendment protection. Opinion WSJ Law Blog Seattle Post Intelligencer

The 80s and early 90s brought a wave of songs perfect for Halloween--- Thriller , the Ghostbusters theme, and the Addams Family Groove . The one that stuck with me was Somebody's Watching Me . Maybe it was too many hours spent at the skating rink, or perhaps it simply foreshadowed my legal career and interest in data privacy. Whatever the case may be, the idea of anonymous entities ( politicians , corporations , hackers to name a few current bogeymen) digging up your personal preferences, shopping habits, and Internet usage for various reasons may give you pause as well. To get up to speed on the state of data privacy law, a Google search might help, but looking for terms like "privacy," "security," and "data" are so broad you might be digging for hours. Here are two tips to get you started: Search the library catalog for the terms "privacy," "security," and "data" but limit your search to materials found in the l

In addition to the obvious big sports presences here in Columbus (i.e., football, basketball, soccer, baseball, and ice hockey), Columbus is also home to gifted track stars , the Arnold Classic , the upcoming marathon , and scores of other sports. If you're still trolling for a career path but you find yourself driven to distraction by football lately, consider breaking in to the sports law arena. Two suggestions for getting your foot in the door: learn the law and learn the business. To build your legal know-how, you can enroll in Sports Law offered this Spring, peruse the library's collection of sports law books and journals, or review any number of legal research guides on the subject. If you find a book that looks good on another law library's website, search the Moritz catalog by call number to find a copy here: To develop your business sense, enroll in a negotiation class ,  read the blogs , and do a little networking with local counsel and agents .

It wouldn't be the kind of deal we usually see on Pawn Stars : A Las Vegas promoter claims that he was the manager of the stars of the popular reality show and had an oral contract, entitling him to a monthly fee and a percentage of merchandise sales.  Now, he is suing the stars of the show, as well as executives at the History Channel, alleging breach of contract and failing to pay promised fees. Courthouse News Service CBS

By now I hope you've all seen the glory that is TBDBITL from the OSU-Nebraska halftime show last Saturday. In a nutshell, the Ohio State marching band performed songs from classic video games and marched in formations that called to mind Super Mario Brothers, the Legend of Zelda, Pac-Man, and more. The Plain Dealer reports the feat took 14 hours of on-field practice alone and was an idea five years in the making. But if you've begun to develop a lawyerly mind, you may be thinking about the variety of legal issues this brief nine minute spectacle raises: Does OSU have to get permission to play the video game music? Does OSU have to get permission to reproduce any trademarks (e.g., Mario) in the band's formations? Who owns the copyright in the performance? Is it the same person that owns the copyright in the video of the performance that was posted to YouTube? Who owns the copyright in the musical arrangement? If one day you face this hypothetical scenario (say,

We have written many posts about former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky.  Having been found guilty of 45 counts relating to the sexual abuse of young boys, Sandusky was sentenced today to 30 to 60 years in prison. Although he did not testify at his trial, Sandusky made a statement on Monday declaring his innocence.  Several of the victims made statements at the sentencing, and Judge John Cleland said that he expected Sandusky to spend the rest of his life in prison. Wall Street Journal Law Blog New York Times York Dispatch CNN