Volume 3 / Number 2 / Winter 1999

This page contains the abstracts, as well as links to the complete document on Westlaw.com, for the Articles, Essays, Comments and Recent Developments of the Winter 1999 Issue.

 

Articles

 

Paying the Piper
Lydia Pallas Loren
Westlaw
This Article explains the requirements that must be met for a business to fall within two copyright exemptions after the Fairness in Music Licensing Act of 1998, and thus permit the business to turn on the radio without needing licenses from ASCAP and BMI. While many assert that the exemption provided by the Fairness in Music Licensing Act is a vastly broader exemption than the home-style exemption, this Article explains the many ways in which this new exemption may, in fact, be a narrower exemption. This Article also briefly describes the hurdles faced by the United States in defending the pending action brought by the European Union, which asserts that the exemptions contained in section 110(5) violate international obligations under the TRIPs agreement and the Berne Convention.

Equality or Further Discrimination? Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination in Oregon Statutory Employment Law after Tanner v. OHSU
Shawn M. Filippi and Edward J. Reeves
Westlaw
This Article analyzes a recent Oregon Court of Appeals decision that interpreted Oregon’s general employment discrimination statute as protecting gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from employment discrimination. After providing a brief historical overview and a discussion of the social and economic costs of sexual orientation discrimination, this Article analyzes the opinion in Tanner v. OHSU and discusses the implications of this decision for regulatory implementation by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.

 

Essay

 

The Impact of Securities Laws on Developing Companies: Would the Wright Brothers Have Gotten Off the Ground?
Stuart R. Cohn
Westlaw
Suppose the Wright brothers, to pursue their dreams of manned light, needed outside financing. Confronted with the intimidating regulatory requirements of today’s state and federal securities laws, would they ever have gotten off the ground? With historical illustrations, this Essay presents an entertaining look at the serious problems that would be encountered today by entrepreneurs who have ideas but need capital to develop them. It analyzes the regulatory maze and prohibitions of state and federal securities laws and concludes that, in today’s marketplace, the Wright bothers probably would have violated several laws to obtain essential financing for their venture.

 

Comments

 

HUBZones: Moving From the Racial Battleground to the Economic Common Ground
Kendall L. Miller
Westlaw
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, and because of the ineffectiveness of other government set-aside programs, namely the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program, Congress created the HUBZone Contracting Program. This Comment discusses the suspect constitutionality and ineffectiveness of the 8(a) Business Development Program, then contrasts the potential of the HUBZone Contracting Program to bring economic development to impoverished areas.

No Seconds on Spam: A Legislative Prescription to Harness Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail
Derek D. Simmons
Westlaw
Unsolicited commercial e-mail, long derided as “spam,” has been one of the more controversial aspects of the Internet revolution. This Comment analyzes various state and federal legislative attempts to solve the problem of unsolicited commercial e-mail and synthesizes the bills to create a proposed federal law that would serve the interests of all parties on the Internet.

The Far-Reaching Effects of Reproduction as a “Major Life Activity” Under the ADA: What Will This Expansion Mean to Employers and Their Insured?
Melissa S. Wandersee
Westlaw
On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ended a split among the circuits by holding that reproduction is a “major life activity” for the purposes of the ADA. This Comment discusses that decision and its potential consequences to small business owners.

 

Recent Developments

Employment Law
Westlaw
Recent Developments editors for the Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law analyze developments within selected legal areas to acquaint practitioners with holdings and trends of interest to small and emerging businesses. The area highlighted in this issue is Employment Law. The editors analyze the parameters of “disability” under the Americans With Disabilities Act; potential liability of employers under the Violence Against Women Act; and punitive damages standards in federal discrimination suits.