Guidelines for Submissions
The Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law is a semi-annual publication of the Forums on Communications Law and the Entertainment and Sports Industries of the American Bar Association and the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute of Southwestern Law School. It provides a forum for practicing lawyers, academicians, and other interested participants to explore the complex and unsettled legal principles that apply to the creation and international distribution of media and entertainment products.
Article Length. Feature articles traditionally are between 10,000 and 15,000 words, or 50 to 60 double spaced pages in length. Depending on the topic and depth of focus, the Journal also accepts some shorter articles.
Style. The writing should be appropriate for a law review article. To that end, authors should:
- Use Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and The Chicago Manual of Style as the basis for spelling and grammar decisions, respectively
- Use gender-neutral language
- Avoid long quotations
- Avoid using a long word when a short one will do
- Avoid using a foreign phrase, scientific word, or jargon if you can think of a a more common English equivalent
- Avoid overworked figures of speech
- Avoid excessive capitalization
- Avoid excessive use of commas
Footnotes. All
references must be completely and accurately cited as footnotes rather
than embedded in the text, using the citation style of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, Seventeenth Edition.
Author Biography. Include
a one sentence description of your current professional affiliation. Do
not include your academic credentials although you may include a brief
statement about your professional interest in the topic.
Author Disclosure. If you have been involved in any of the cases that you discuss or cite, as either counsel or as a litigrant, that information must be disclosed in a footnote. (i.e. author served as counsel for the defense in the case Smith v. Jones).
Manuscript Preparation. Use footnotes; number pages; italicize rather than underline; use Word or an IBM-compatible program; and submit your contribution as an e-mail attachment. Do not submit hard copy manuscripts. Manuscripts should be typed and double spaced.
Prior Publication. Simultaneous submission of manuscripts to other publications is discouraged and must be brought to the attention of the editor of the Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law. Unless otherwise clearly noted, all manuscripts are expected to be original.
Copyright. The American Bar Association and Southwestern Law School retain the copyright to all material published in the Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law. Authors are asked to sign a copyright agreement that grants to the ABA and Southwestern Law School the exclusive right of first publication, the nonexclusive right to reprint, and the right to use the work in other ABA and Southwestern Law School media including electronic, print, and other.
Manuscripts or inquiries can be emailed to jimel@swlaw.edu or mailed to:
Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law
Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute
Southwestern Law School
3050 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90010-1106
Manuscripts are submitted at the sender's risk and no responsibility is assumed for the return of the material. No compensation is paid for articles published. The Journal will use The Chicago Manual of Style for text preparation and The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed.) for footnotes.
