Moritz Legal Information Blog

Missed the third presidential debate, but not too eager to slog through newspapers and blogs for a summary? Take a look at the musical mash-up created by the Gregory Brothers for the New York Times. NY Times If you're curious about whether using clips from the debate to create the video was legal, the answer---as usual---is "it depends." The Gregory Brothers may have licensed the video, or they may have decided to rely on fair use as grounds for why they didn't need to ask permission in the first place. For more on music and video licensing issues, check out these books in the law library: Music Licensing Rights and Royalty Issues Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off  (e-book!) Hey, That's My Music!: Music Supervision, Licensing, and Content Acquisition

During Edward Glasmann's trial for assualt, kidnapping, attempted robbery, and obstruction, prosecutors showed a PowerPoint presentation as part of closing arguments.  Slides included Glasmann's booking photo, with the word "GUILTY" printed over Glasmann's face. Last week, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington ovetturned Glasmann's convictions, finding that the PowerPoint amounted to prosecutorial misconduct, and was "flagrant and ill-intentioned." Opinion here . WSJ Law Blog Tacoma News-Tribune H/T: Legal Blog Watch

You may have a LinkedIn account with all the bells and whistles touting your work and educational experience. If you aren't familiar with LinkedIn, however, consider signing up. The site is essentially Facebook for professionals, allowing folks to post r é sum és, collect recommendations, and network. For example, you can join groups to meet like-minded types, like Moritz grads , possibly hearing about the latest employment opportunities well before they are posted in other places. LinkedIn is also a great research tool. Simply log in, click "Advanced" next to the search bar (see below), and you're on your way. Looking for lawyers in a particular city who practice civil rights law? Select the Law Practice industry type and the city or zip code where you're looking. Curious about the types of work or employment trajectories from alum from your undergrad? Type the undergraduate institution in the School field. Interested in working for the Disney cor

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 .