Westside : COPYRIGHT AWARD

Who would have thought copyright law could be so interesting?

Just ask Esti Miller of Culver City. She has plenty to say on the subject. Miller’s essay on the North American Free Trade Agreement recently won the prestigious American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition.

Miller compared NAFTA with the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which established the European economic community, and the subsequent 1992 Maastricht Treaty on European Union.

Her 50-page essay examined the ways that NAFTA might affect cross-border trade of copyrighted material, based on the experiences in Europe.

The Loyola Law School student was awarded $500 in prize money for her essay.

“It feels good to win,” said Miller, 42, whose essay is now being considered by the publishers organization for one of five national prizes worth up to $3,000.

Miller, who works as a paralegal for a Los Angeles law firm that specializes in copyright infringement, wrote her article for a class at Loyola. A professor submitted it to the competition. Her essay also will be published in the February issue of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal.