GENERAL INFO

The Entertainment and Sports Law Section of the State Bar of Texas announce the first annual law student writing competition for the Lazzari Memorial Prize. The Section will award the Lazzari Memorial Prize to the best student paper on one of the announced artist advocacy topics listed below.

The Lazzari Memorial Prize is a $1,000 cash prize paid to the author and publication of the winning paper in the Texas Entertainment and Sports Law Journal. The winning author also receives their membership facilitated into the Section, a complimentary registration for the 2022 Entertainment Law Institute and Bootcamp in Austin, recognition at the Institute, and an invitation to the Institute’s private speakers dinner in Austin. If needed, a travel stipend will be made available.

The Lazzari Memorial Prize is named for the late Cindi Lazzari, a Texas attorney who went far beyond the call of duty in her efforts to protect the rights of artists in the music industry.

Second and third-year students at ABA-accredited law schools in the State of Texas are eligible to enter. However, second-year students who receive awards may not compete in their third year.

The deadline for entering a paper in the competition is May 2 and the winner will be announced on June 1. Manuscript must be at least 5,000 words, including footnotes (no endnotes) but no longer than 10,000 words, double spaced and presented in the Century font. Copyright in the paper will be retained by the author.

If warranted, the Section may announce an “Honorable Mention” for one paper other than the winner.

This year’s topics are:

• Does the Copyright Royalty Board work for songwriters?

• Are comedians entitled to royalties for their writing on interactive streaming services?

• What does Quentin Tarantino’s dispute with Miramax teach us about an artist’s right to sell NFTs?

• Do the notice and takedown rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 USC ¨512) favor online services and burden artists or did Congress get it right?

Entries should be emailed to: Christian L. Castle, Esq.

RULES GOVERNING THE LAZZARI MEMORIAL PRIZE WRITING COMPETITION

1. Eligible Students:

All second and third-year students at ABA-accredited law schools in Texas are invited to participate in the Competition. Second-year students who receive awards may not compete in their third year.

2. Subject Matter:

Topics are listed above (See, General Info).

3. Determination of Awards:

The prizes will be awarded to the eligible student who prepares the best paper in the sole discretion of the Section Council, or such other person or committee as the Section Council may designate. The Section Council may, in its discretion, withhold the award entirely if in its determination no worthy paper is submitted.

4. Award:

$1,000. The winning author also receives facilitation of membership into the Section, a complimentary registration for the 2022 Entertainment Law Institute and Bootcamp in Austin, recognition at the Institute, and an invitation to the Institute’s private speakers’ dinner in Austin.

5. Requirements as to the Length and Form of Manuscript:

Papers must comply with the following requirements to be considered:

(a) Manuscript must be typewritten (double-spaced) on 8 ó” x 11″ paper format,  margin all around. Manuscripts must be presented in the Century font, 12 point font for body text and page numbers, 10 point font for footnotes.

(b) Citations must otherwise be in the law review form specified in the latest edition of the Harvard Blue Book: A Uniform System of Citation.

(c) Manuscript must be at least 5,000 words, including footnotes (no endnotes) but no more than 10,000 words.

(d) One copy of the manuscript shall be submitted in digital form, Microsoft Word format preferred, no pdfs.

(e) The manuscript must be labeled with the title of the paper, the author’s name, permanent address and telephone number.

6. Submissions of Papers and Publication:

(a) A paper that has been previously published anywhere in the same or substantially similar form is not eligible.

(b) Subsequent to entry in the Competition, papers may be published in law reviews, provided their entry in the Competition is duly noted.

(c) Each student-author shall retain the copyright in his or her paper.

(d) Each student-author shall, by entry in the Competition and agreeing to comply with these Rules, grant to the Section a nonexclusive license to publish his or her paper in the Texas Entertainment and Sports Law Journal in any form (including by electronic means).

(e) An original signed statement from the student-author shall be scanned by the student-author and included with the submitted manuscript, as follows:   

I, [student-author’s name], certify that my manuscript is my original research and writing.  I have read the Rules Governing the Competition and agree to comply in all respects with those Rules. [Signature of student-author]

7. Individual Study:

Papers must represent individual study and collaboration with others in their preparation is not permitted. However, papers prepared in fulfillment of requirements for a law school class under the supervision of a law school faculty member may be submitted.

8. Closing Date:

Papers must be time stamped and emailed to the Section no later than 5pm Central Time on May 2, 2022.

9. Questions/Contact Information:

Please direct all questions to Christian L. Castle.