KENTUCKY FRIED BLOG: HOW THE RECENT EJECTION OF A BLOGGER FROM THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES RAISES NOVEL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FIRST AMENDMENT, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AND THE INTERSECTION OF LAW AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
Abstract
In the attached comment, I address the intersection of free speech and intellectual property rights brought on by the development of new communications technologies such as blogs. The evolution of sports reporting to include blogs written as an athletic contest unfolds has collided with event organizers’, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, desire to protect their contractual commitments with broadcasters such as ESPN. The recent ejection of a blogger from the College World Series for allegedly violating television broadcast rights by blogging provides a contemporary framework through which to analyze these issues.
My aim for this comment is two-fold. First, I wish to articulate the proper balance between the potentially competing interests of speech and property in the context of emerging communications technologies such as blogs. Although the literature has touched on some of these issues in the context of other technologies, blogs have largely been ignored. Since the courts often take a medium-specific approach in analyzing both First Amendment and intellectual property issues, the dearth of analysis on these issues in blogs is something I hope to repair.
Second, I hope to start a broader discussion about law’s ability to adapt to changes brought on by technology. The law’s ability to adapt to change in an era of rapid changes in law and technology is paramount to the development of the legal system in the 21st century. I suggest that by analogizing blogs to other technologies, the courts may best fashion the proper First Amendment and intellectual property protections for blogs.