Media & Entertainment Law
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The FCC's Openness Principles and Content Providers
Posted on February 08, 2010Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, has published "Why the FCC?s Proposed Openness Principles Cannot and Should Not Apply to Internet Application and Content Providers." Here is the abstract. The Federal Communications Commission (?FCC?) has issued a...
Press Complaints Commission Criticized
Posted on February 08, 2010Both Sir Ken Macdonald, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, are highly critical of the Press Complaints Commission, the group presently charged with overseeing regulation of the British print media. Sir Ken told a...
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation and the Blogger
Posted on February 08, 2010The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on an incident involving the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and a blogger; the NMSC objected to what it calls the blogger's publication of "proprietary information" on her blog and implied it would seek legal...
And Starring As Los Angeles....
Posted on February 07, 2010From the New York Times, how other states audition to play California. Tax credits and computer animation help out.
What Is the FCC's Regulatory Over the Internet
Posted on February 04, 2010James B. Speta, Northwestern University School of Law, has published "The Shaky Foundations of the Regulated Internet," in volume 8 of the Journal of Telecommunication and High Technology Law (2010). The Federal Communications Commission's order directing Comcast to cease certain...
Australian Judge Rules That "Men at Work" Song Infringes "Kookaburra"
Posted on February 04, 2010The band "Men at Work" has lost a plagiarism suit. The Australian judge hearing the infringement suit brought by Larrikin Publishing against the group has ruled that the song "Down Under" impermissibly quotes from Marion Sinclair's song "Kookaburra," written in...
Host Sues BBC For Age and Sex Discrimination
Posted on February 04, 2010BBC on-air host Miriam O'Reilly (Countryfile) is planning to sue the network for age and sex discrimination after it cancelled her contract, as well as those of other female hosts over the age of 40. The network has also let...
Oh, Mel...
Posted on February 04, 2010Mel Gibson perpetuates his fifteen minutes of problems with the media with this remark after his answer to an interviewer who asked about his anti-Semitic tirade four years ago. Link (with beep) here.
Whither the Tweet?
Posted on February 03, 2010FindLaw's Julie Hilden discusses a recent Illinois trial court case in which a judge ruled that a management company had no cause of action against a former tenant for her tweets about it. Did the judge make the correct legal...
Effects of the Google Book Settlement
Posted on February 03, 2010Pamela Samuelson, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, has published "Google Book Search and the Future of Books in Cyberspace," forthcoming in the Minnesota Law Review. Here is the abstract. The Google Book Search (GBS) initiative once promised to...
Online Copyright Enforcement Trends Around the World
Posted on February 03, 2010Jeremy F. DeBeer, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, and Christopher D. Clemmer, Gowling Lafleur Henderson, have published "Global Trends in Online Copyright Enforcement: A Non-Neutral Role for Network Intermediaries?" in volume 49 of Jurimetrics (2009)...
Controversy Over Boston Police Interpretation Of Privacy, Cellphone Videorecordings
Posted on February 02, 2010Debate has erupted over Boston law enforcement interpretations of whether individuals witnessing police behavior or arrests may record that behavior on their cellphones. Because Massachusetts is now a "two party" state, requiring the permission of both the person(s) being taped...
BBC Examining Image, Treatment of LGBT Persons On Network
Posted on February 01, 2010The BBC is undertaking an investigation into portrayals of LGBT individuals on tv and radio and via its Internet presence. Peter Tatchell reports in the Guardian that the network has received decades of criticism, and is finally examining not just...
FDA On Physician Comments Concerning Unapproved Drugs
Posted on February 01, 2010The FDA has sent a letter to dermatologist and researcher Leslie Baumann about comments she made to the media concerning a drug before its approval. The FDA noted that Dr. Baumann was "an investigator on a clinical trial for Dysport...
CBS Says No To Gay Dating Site's Request To Air Ad During Super Bowl
Posted on January 29, 2010In the wake of controversy over CBS's agreement to air the anti-abortion ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mother during the Super Bowl, the network has refused the request of gay dating site ManCrunch.com to air its ad. Although CBS...
Judge Rules That Former TalkSport Host May Challenge Ofcom Ruling Over On Air Comments
Posted on January 28, 2010Radio host Jon Gaunt will be allowed to challenge Ofcom's ruling that he breached the broadcast code by calling London councilman Michael Stark a "health Nazi" and other things on air, a London court has ruled. Mr. Justice Stadlen accepted...
Dominique de Villepin Acquitted
Posted on January 28, 2010Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has been acquitted of defamation charges arising out of the "Clearstream" scandal. He was accused of slandering current French President and former Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy. Read more here in a...
Chicago Tribune Files Lawsuit Over U of I Admissions Lists
Posted on January 28, 2010The Chicago Tribune is suing the University of Illinois to gain access to the names of the parents of applicants to the school, and to the names of persons who might have lobbied the university on behalf of those applicants....
"Carlos the Jackal" Sues For Right To Review Upcoming Documentary
Posted on January 26, 2010From the Washington Post, news that Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as Carlos the Jackal, is suing for the right to review a new documentary about him being produced for the French network Canal Plus. His attorney Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, who is...
Judge Reduces $2 Million Award In Music Downloading Case To $54,000
Posted on January 25, 2010Judge Michael Davis has reduced that multimillion-dollar award against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who was found liable for dowloading 24 songs illegally, to $54,000. Judge Davis found the $2 million award "outrageous." Here's discussion from around the cybersphere from the BBC and...
Analyzing the Progress of the Performance Rights Act
Posted on January 25, 2010Brian Richard Day, George Washington Law School, has published "The Super Brawl: The History and Future of the Sound Recording Performance Right," at 16 Michigan Telecommications and Technology Law Review 1 (2009). Here is the abstract. On February 4, 2009,...
The Future of Privacy
Posted on January 25, 2010Paul M. Schwartz, University of California Berkeley School of Law, reviews Lawrence Friedman's Guarding Life and Daniel Solove's The Future of Reputation in "From Victorian Secrets to Cyberspace Shaming," at 76 University of Chicago Law Review 1407 (2009)...
CBS and That Tebow Super Bowl Ad
Posted on January 25, 2010CBS seems willing to air an anti-abortion ad during the upcoming Super Bowl, paid for by contributions from Focus on the Family and featuring quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother, even though the network has never allowed political ads during...
Texas State Board of Education Members Get Their Bill Martins Mixed Up
Posted on January 25, 2010From the Chronicle of Higher Education, news that a member of the Texas State Board of Education asked that a book by "Bill Martin" be banned from the third grade social studies curriculum because it promulgated "very strong critiques of...
Networks, Talent Agencies, Writers Agree To Settle Long Running Suit Over Age Discrimination
Posted on January 25, 2010The grey-listing (ageism) lawsuit against various tv studios seems to be at an end, with a court-okayed settlement. Various writers, led by Tracy Keenan Wynn, filed the suit in 2000, alleging that they were systematically prevented from competing for work...
FCC Announces Agenda For Media Ownership Workshop Jan. 27, 2010
Posted on January 22, 2010From the FCC The Media Bureau today announced the agenda for its January 27, 2010 media ownership workshop being held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Commission meeting room. Comprised of two panels, the forum will focus on...
Broadband Services in the Market
Posted on January 22, 2010Thomas W. Hazlette, George Mason University School of Law and Dennis Weisman, Kansas State University Department of Economics, have published "Market Power in U.S. Broadband Services," as George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 09-69. Here is the abstract...
FCC Proposes Revisions To Telephone Consumer Protection Act Regs
Posted on January 21, 2010Released by the FCC today: The FCC has proposed revisions to its rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to further empower residential telephone subscribers to avoid unwanted telephone solicitations. The proposals would require sellers and telemarketers to obtain...
Amazon Revamps Kindle Royalties Program
Posted on January 20, 2010Amazon is restructuring its Kindle royalty program to make it more attractive to authors and publishers. Previously, authors received a little over $3 per title selling at $8.99; now they'll get $6.25. The new program launches in June. Read more...
Jack Straw Proposes Radical Cuts In Attorney Fees To Help Libel Law Overhaul
Posted on January 20, 2010The British government proposes to cut libel lawyer fees 90 percent to help reforms. Read more here in a Guardian article.
Presto! Back To Work
Posted on January 20, 2010The New York Times on the Cleveland Orchestra strike and other classical music labor troubles.
NBC, Conan O'Brien Disagree Over Staff Severance, IP Issues
Posted on January 20, 2010NBC and Conan O'Brien have apparently suspended their negotiations over payments to Mr. O'Brien's staff. The Tonight Show host wants more severance pay for his staff, which followed him from New York to L.A. when he took on the show....
The Beaver Bites Back
Posted on January 19, 2010Professor Bill Kovarik writes about a takedown order from a Canadian agency aimed at a Danish website that apparently published a hoax created by the comedy troupe Yes Men. The group made fun of Canada's environmental position and Environment Canada....
Government Rights in Government Marks
Posted on January 19, 2010Malla Pollack has published "Governmental Marks: What Souvenirs Say About Speech and Sovereignty." Here is the abstract. ?Governmental marks? are words or phrases which involve the identity of a social group that is partly defined in terms of its citizenship...
PCC On Complaint Against Daily Mirror By Member of Parliament: No Breach
Posted on January 18, 2010The Press Complaints Commission has ruled that the Daily Mirror reported accurately on Tory Member of Parliament Daniel Hannon's remarks concerning U.S. President Obama and reaction to them. Mr. Hannon had complained about the Mirror's characterization of his statements, saying...
An Analysis of Holocaust Denial as Hate Speech
Posted on January 15, 2010Raphael Cohen-Almagor, University of Hull, has published "Holocaust Denial is a Form of Hate Speech," in the Amsterdam Law Forum, 2009. Here is the abstract. Recently Facebook confirmed that it has disabled a group called "I Hate Muslims in Oz."...
The Prophet Mohammed Controversy and EU Freedom of Speech Norms
Posted on January 15, 2010Robert A. Kahn, University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota), has published "Flemming Rose, the Danish Cartoon Controversy, and the New European Freedom of Speech," as U. of St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-24. Here is the...
Reargument In Fox v. FCC Case Heard January 13, 2010
Posted on January 15, 2010Reargument in the Fox v. FCC (2nd Circuit) case ("fleeting expletives") (via CSPAN).
Prince William's Girlfriend Claims Photog Invaded Her Privacy Over Holidays
Posted on January 14, 2010Kate Middleton is apparently pursuing a claim for invasion of privacy against a photographer who took pictures of her and her family on Christmas Day, and also against the distributors of the photos. The pictures have not as yet been...
Actor Antwon Tanner Sentenced To Three Months For SSN Scheme
Posted on January 14, 2010"One Tree Hill" star Antwon Tanner has been sentenced to three months in prison and five months of home confinement after pleading guilty to selling Social Security numbers to an undercover officer. His attorney Gregory Watts said Mr. Tanner was...
Google Unhappy Over Chinese Situation, Threatens To Pull Out of Market
Posted on January 13, 2010Google is threatening to pull out of the Chinese market, citing cyberattacks. Read more in a New York Times article, and hear about the dispute in a phone discussion with Jason Dean on CSPAN.
Roman Polanski In Court Over Photos; Say They Invade His Privacy
Posted on January 13, 2010Director Roman Polanski is taking the French media to court over photographs that show him in his home under house arrest after his release from a Swiss jail. He claims the pictures invade his privacy. The papers that have printed...
Battle of the Late Night Network Stars
Posted on January 13, 2010Conan O'Brien is indicating that he is unhappy with the proposed return of Jay Leno to NBC late night TV. Enter the lawyers?
Incitement To Genocide and the Trial of Simon Bikindi
Posted on January 13, 2010Justin R. La Mort, Cardozo School of Law, has published "The Soundtrack to Genocide: Using Incitement to Genocide in the Bikindi Trial to Protect Free Speech and Uphold the Promise of Never Again," in volume 4 of the Interdisciplinary Journal...
Supreme Court Votes 5-4: No Cameras at Prop 8 Trial
Posted on January 13, 2010From the Blog of Legal Times: the Supreme Court has voted 5-4 to block televising proceedings of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the Proposition 8 trial, to other courthouses. Dissenters: Breyer, Stevens, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor.
How Courts Perceive the Internet
Posted on January 12, 2010Cameron J. Hutchison, University of Alberta Faculty of Law, has published "Interpretation & the Internet." Here is the abstract. Almost twenty years have passed since the advent of the internet. The revolutionary nature of the technology is no longer in...
Regulation of "Low-Level" Racist Speech in Commonwealth Countries
Posted on January 12, 2010Dilan Thampapillai, Victoria University Faculty of Business and Law, has published "Cronullified: Can the Commonwealth Regulate Low Level Racist Speech?" Here is the abstract. Political commentary on race, multiculturalism and national identity can be very controversial because it often appears...
Turks, Israelis Battle Over Images of Israeli Agents in Turkish TV Series
Posted on January 12, 2010The governments of Turkey and Israel are apparently at odds over a Turkish television series, Valley of the Wolves, which some Israeli officials are alleging puts the country, its military, and its intelligence services in a bad light. The debate...
Global Warming Researcher Says Papers Mischaracterize His Work
Posted on January 12, 2010A climate change researcher has indicated his unhappiness with coverage and interpretation of his work in the Daily Mail. Mojib Latif says that the paper's story about his work in The Mail on Sunday mischaracterizes it; Dr. Latif says followup...
SC Grants Stay in Prop 8 Lawsuit Camera Question
Posted on January 11, 2010The Supreme Court has just granted a temporary stay of Judge Vaughn Walker's order that Proposition 8 law suit proceedings (Perry v. Schwarzenegger) should be available outside the courtroom. The stay expires Wednesday. Ruthann Robson of Constitutional LawProf Blog provides...
An Autopsy of the Time Warner/AOL Merger
Posted on January 11, 2010The New York Times's Tim Arango reviews why the much heralded coming together of two great companies turned not to be such a success.
News International Admission on Dismissal of NOTW Editor Clive Goodman
Posted on January 11, 2010News International, the former employer of Clive Goodman, former royal editor at News of the World, who was convicted of hacking Prince Harry's phone, says now that it paid Mr. Goodman a settlement because it failed to follow proper procedures...
Is Ofcom's Position on Doorstepping Reasonable?
Posted on January 11, 2010The Guardian's Jonathan Maitland on Ofcom regulation of "doorstepping" (ambush or unscheduled interviews).
Prop 8 Lawsuit Arguments Open Today; Camera Issue Still Unsettled
Posted on January 11, 2010The argument over whether cameras can broadcast the arguments in the suit challenging California's Proposition 8,which begins today, landed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week. The judge hearing the case, U. S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, said...
Producer Sues Fox News For Copyright Infringement Over Broadcast of Part of Debbie Rowe Interview
Posted on January 10, 2010Producer F. Marc Schaffel says Fox News infringed his copyright on an interview with the former Mrs. Michael Jackson (Debbie Rowe) when it broadcast parts of the interview on Geraldo Rivera's show in July of 2009, and is suing the...
Seventh Circuit Upholds Lower Court On Employee Speech Ruling
Posted on January 10, 2010The Seventh Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling that a plaintiff state police officer's retailation complaint against his employer should be dismissed, but based not on the lower court's finding that the plaintiff's speech "was clearly related to and...
What To Do When the Subpoena Comes
Posted on January 09, 2010Here's blogger Chris Elliott's account of his encounter with Special Agent Robert Flaherty over that TSA subpoena.
Looking At Digital Piracy and Pricing In P2P Networks
Posted on January 09, 2010Michael Nwogugu has published "Digital Piracy And Content Pricing In 'Monitored Closed' Peer-To-Peer Networks." Here is the abstract. The main objectives of this article are a) to develop pricing schemes (for digital content) that reduce the information producers? losses from...
Data Protection, Privacy, and Security In the EU
Posted on January 08, 2010Paolo Guarda, University of Trento Faculty of Law, has published "Data Protection, Information Privacy, and Security Measures: An Essay on the European and the Italian Legal Frameworks," at Ciberspazio e Diritto 65 (2008). Here is the abstract. The widespread diffusion...
Dealing With Internet Censorship In South Korea
Posted on January 07, 2010Eric S. Fish, Yale Law School, has published "Is Internet Censorship Compatible with Democracy?: Legal Restrictions of Online Speech in South Korea," in Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law (forthcoming). Here is the abstract. This paper examines the...
The Cable Wars
Posted on January 07, 2010For Newsweek, Daniel Gross takes a look at the current cable "turf wars," and how they leave consumers on the sidelines.
Julie Hilden On Twitter Defamation
Posted on January 07, 2010FindLaw's Julie Hilden's dissects Sanford Siegal's defamation suit against Kim Kardashian over her "Cookie diet" Tweets.
Tennis Channel Files Complaint With FCC Over Comcast Tier Pricing
Posted on January 07, 2010The Tennis Channel has complained to the FCC about treatment it says it is getting from Comcast. It alleges that Comcast is offering it on a different basis to its customers from other sports networks such as the Golf Channel,...
Polanski Requests To Be Sentenced In Absentia
Posted on January 07, 2010Roman Polanski's attorney Chad Hummel has asked the judge overseeing the director's case to sentence him in absentia, but Judge Peter Espinoza says he still would like to be persuaded as to why such sentencing would be appropriate. Mr. Polanski...
International Federation of Journalists: 2009 a Deadly Year
Posted on January 07, 2010The International Federation of Journalists reports on a deadly year for journalists: nearly 140 died while on the job or as a result of their professions in 2009.
Limiting the False Light Tort
Posted on January 07, 2010James B. Lake, Stetson University College of Law, has published "Restraining False Light: Constitutional and Common Law Limits on a 'Troublesome Tort'," in volume 61 of the Federal Communications Law Journal (2009). Here is the abstract. The defamation tort is...
Student Rights in Off Campus Speech
Posted on January 06, 2010Jacob Tabor, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, has published "Students' First Amendment Rights in the Age of the Internet: Off-Campus Cyberspeech and School Regulation," in volume 50 of the Boston College Law Review (2009). Here is...
Privacy and Copyright
Posted on January 06, 2010Laura A. Heymann, William & Mary Law School, has published "How to Write a Life: Some Thoughts on Fixation and the Copyright/Privacy Divide," in volume 51 of the William & Mary Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. Many individuals...
"Bulletproof" Websites Grow In Popularity, Finding Hosts Outside Europe
Posted on January 06, 2010From the Guardian, a story on the migration of file sharing websites to China and other nations from Sweden, since the guilty verdict for the Pirate Bay founders.
FCC Hires "Survivor" Winner As Deputy Chief Of Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
Posted on January 06, 2010"Survivor" winner (from the 2006 edition) Yul Kwon has gone to work at the FCC. So, will he be listening sympathetically to complaints about reality shows? Here's more from NPR and an article on the Yale law grad from People...
Speech On the "Blurry Edges"
Posted on January 05, 2010Lauren Amy Gelman, Stanford Law School, has published "Privacy, Free Speech, and 'Blurry-Edged' Social Networks," in volume 50 of Boston College Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. Much of Internet-related scholarship over the past ten years has focused on...
Corporate Speech and Reputation
Posted on January 05, 2010Rebecca Tushnet, Georgetown University Law Center, has published "Fighting Freestyle: The First Amendment, Fairness and Corporate Reputation," at 50 Boston College Law Review 1457 (2009). Here is the abstract. There are three distinct groups who might want to engage in...
P. D. James Takes On BBC Director General
Posted on January 05, 2010Author P. D. James (The Private Patient, The Lighthouse, Cover Her Face) as guest host of the BBC program Today got after BBC Director General Mark Thompson and asked him directly about what she considered exorbitant salaries being paid to...
Recognizing Falsity
Posted on January 04, 2010Frederick Schauer, University of Virginia School of Law, has published "Social Epistemology, Holocaust Denial, and the Post-Millian Calculus," in Regulating Hate Speech: Context, Content and Remedies (Michael Herz & Peter Molnar, eds.; Cambridge University Press, 2010)...
Cha-Ching! New N.Y. C. Location Fees Cause L.A. Annoyance
Posted on January 04, 2010The New York Times reports on film and tv producer objections to permit fees newly imposed by the city of New York for filming inside some city buildings. Producers, including those from Law & Order, say the new fees will...
Malaysian High Court Rules Non-Muslims May Use "Allah" As Translation For "God"
Posted on January 03, 2010A Catholic newspaper has won its fight to use the word "Allah" as a translation of the word "God." The Malaysian High Court announced the decision last week, saying the government's ban of the use of the word by non-Muslims...
The Medicine of Reality TV
Posted on January 03, 2010Chris Norris writes about Dr. Drew Pinsky for the New York Times here.
Police Arrest Intruder Who Breaks Into Danish Cartoonist's Home
Posted on January 02, 2010The man who broke into Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's home is being charged with attempted murder, sources said. Mr. Westergaard is the artist who drew the images of the Prophet Mohammed which caused such controversy four years ago. Police responded...
TSA Abandons Blogger Subpoenas
Posted on January 01, 2010The Transportation Security Administration has abandoned its attempt to obtain information from two travel bloggers, Chris Elliott and Steve Frischling. It had subpoenaed them to find out who leaked information about a new directive issued in the wake of the...
Fox, Times Warner Cable Extend Talks Over Fees For Carriage
Posted on January 01, 2010Fox (owned by News Corp) and Time Warner Cable have extended their talks over fees that Fox wants from Time Warner to carry its stations. The contract between the two media giants expired at midnight New Year's Eve, but negotiators...
Marvel Shareholders OK Disney Acquisition
Posted on January 01, 2010Marvel shareholders have approved Disney's acquisition of the Marvel empire. Read more here in a Daily Mail story.
Fox, Time Warner Reach Agreement On Fees
Posted on January 01, 2010From the Hollywood Reporter: Fox and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement that keeps Fox stations available via the cable operator, reportedly at less than Fox's demanded $1 per subscriber per month but at more than the 20 to...
TSA Serves Subpoenas On Bloggers
Posted on December 31, 2009The Transportation Security Administration is trying to find out who leaked information about new screening procedures to bloggers Chris Elliott and Steve Frischling after the two wrote about a new security memo which the TSA says was not supposed to...
Patrick Stewart Gets a Knighthood
Posted on December 31, 2009We're going to have to call Captain Picard Sir Jean-Luc from now on. Queen Elizabeth II has slated Patrick Stewart for a knighthood in her New Years honours list. Also getting the royal nod: Nicholas Hytner, the fellow who brought...
Conde Nast Files John Doe Infringement Lawsuit
Posted on December 30, 2009From the ABA Journal and Online Media Daily, news that Conde Nast has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against John Does who got hold of unpublished material and posted it on the FashionZag blog. Conde Nast succeeded in getting the...
Suing John Doe
Posted on December 30, 2009From the January issue of the ABA Journal, Brendan L. Smith's discussion of Internet defamation suits.
Percy Sutton, Noted Attorney, Passes From the Scene
Posted on December 30, 2009The gifted lawyer Percy Sutton passed away last week. The New York Times has a thoughtful obituary, and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps pays tribute with this statement. With the passing of Percy E. Sutton, New York City has lost a...
FCC Chair's Prepared Remarks: Broadband Field Hearing On Small Business, December 21st, 2009
Posted on December 30, 2009From the FCC Prepared Remarks of Chairman Julius Genachowski Federal Communications Commission Broadband Field Hearing on Small Business Chicago, Illinois December 21, 2009 The Federal Communications Commission is in Chicago today as part of a public conversation over the shape...
Julie Hilden On Student Freedom of Speech
Posted on December 30, 2009Julie Hilden critiques a school freedom of speech case from the Fifth Circuit here.
Lord Chancellor Further Explains Plans For Review of Britain's Libel Laws
Posted on December 29, 2009According to the Media Guardian, Jack Straw's previously announced review of Britain's libel laws will "consider whether the law of libel, including the law relating to libel tourism, in England and Wales needs reform, and if so to make recommendations...
All the News, All the Time
Posted on December 29, 2009From MSNBC.com: how the famous may unwittingly make themselves targets for paparazzi and criminals via the Internet and Twitter.
The Charlie Sheen Case
Posted on December 29, 2009Actor Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men") spent part of Christmas Day in jail in Aspen, Colorado, after his wife Brooke made a 911 call alleging that he had threatened her with a knife. Mr. Sheen later made bail...
Defense Rests In Italian Google Privacy Trial
Posted on December 28, 2009From the New York Times: news from the Italian privacy trial of Google executives.
ASA Nixes British Airways Ad Featuring Canton Fair
Posted on December 28, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a British Airways ad showing scenes of the Canton Fair because British Airways does not fly to Guangzhou, China, where the Fair takes place. From the ruling: The ASA noted that connections could be...
ASA Finds BT Vision Ad On Movies Misleading
Posted on December 28, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad by BT Vision seeming to claim to air movies before BSkyB makes them available. ASA received complaints from BSkyB and from viewers, reviewed the ad, and found the ad misleading. From the...
Court Nixes Singer Boy George's Appearance On "Celebrity Big Brother"
Posted on December 28, 2009Singer Boy George will not be allowed to appear on Celebrity Big Brother next month, since he is still serving part of a 15-month prison sentence for false imprisonment. In rejecting his request, the judge said, "I consider that right-thinking...
Verizon Doesn't Get Christmas Wish For a TRO
Posted on December 27, 2009Verizon asked a federal judge for a restraining order against a former employee who now works for rival Allied Wireless Communication Corporation, citing trade secret concerns, but Judge James M. Moody noted that some of the information the company cited...
Jose Feliciano Holiday Song Parody Removed From Website
Posted on December 27, 2009Two radio producers who created a parody of Jose Feliciano's famous Christmas song "Feliz Navidad" have apologized to the singer after Mr. Feliciano registered his complaints about the take-off. Matt Fox and A. J. Rice created "The Alien Immigrant Christmas...
Happy Holidays
Posted on December 17, 2009Media Law Prof will be away until December 27. Have a safe and pleasant holiday season.
BBC Apologizes To Listeners For F-Word From "Rage Against the Machine"
Posted on December 17, 2009The BBC has apologized to listeners over foul language that its listeners heard on-the-air from band Rage Against the Machine, even though network officials had gone over on air protocols with members of the band beforehand. When singer Zack de...
Australia Adopts Filtering To Block Obscene Internet Sites
Posted on December 16, 2009The AP reports that Australia is adopting an aggressive system to block websites linked to obscenity and crime, even though there is evidence that such a system may not work and is likely to restrict personal freedom. The system may...
Judge Dismisses Charges Against Broadcom Execs
Posted on December 16, 2009U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney has dismissed charges of backdating stock options against former Broadcom executives Henry Nicholas III and William Ruehle, saying that the government pressured witnesses to testify against the defendants. The prosecution said it was disappointed in...
European Court of Human Rights Says Media Can Protect Anonymous Sources
Posted on December 16, 2009The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favor of the media on the issue of the protection of journalists' sources. The Financial Times, the Independent, the Guardian, the Times, and Reuters had appealed a British court ruling that...
Barry George Wins Apology, Damages From News Group Newspapers
Posted on December 16, 2009Barry George, released from prison in 2008 after being cleared in a retrial of the murder of BBC newscaster Jill Dando, has received legal fees and undisclosed payments as well as an apology from News Group Newspapers, which publishes the...
Paramount Now Selling Movie Clips
Posted on December 15, 2009From the New York Times: Paramount Pictures is now selling clips from its films online, via Paramountclips.com. This service follows on the announcement that Warner Brothers is making its archive available on demand: downloads $14.95, DVDs $19.95. All this to...
FCC Announces Panelists For December 15 Workshop On Speech, Democracy and the Open Internet
Posted on December 14, 2009From the FCC: PANELISTS ANNOUNCED FOR DEC. 15 WORKSHOP ON Speech, Democracy and the Open Internet WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission will hold a staff workshop on speech and democratic engagement as part of the Commissions? open Internet proceeding...
The History of Copyright Registration
Posted on December 14, 2009Zvi S. Rosen has published "The Unwanted Copyrights: Higgins, Bleistein, and Commercial Prints & Labels 1874-1940." Here is the abstract. This article traces the development of copyright law in commercial prints and labels, looking at the history of the 1874...
The History and Evolution of "John Doe" Internet Defamation Lawsuits
Posted on December 14, 2009Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, University of Florida College of Law, has published "Anonymity in Cyberspace: What Can We Learn from John Doe?" in volume 50 of the Boston College Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. This Article examines the evolution...
Tiger Woods Get Injunction In English Court Against Publication of Nude Photos (If They Exist)
Posted on December 11, 2009Golf legend Tiger Woods has gotten an injunction from an English court prohibiting publication of nude photographs in the media, assuming such photographs exist. His lawyers are not admitting that such pictures do exist, nor under what circumstances they might...
Judge Tells Jon Gosselin To Stop Making Media Appearances, Making Comments About "Jon & Kate Plus 8"
Posted on December 11, 2009Granting the preliminary injunction that TLC requested in the matter, a judge has told Jon Gosselin to cease making media appearances unless they are unpaid and must stop making public comments about the show without permission. Mr. Gosselin was not....
FCC Appoints First "Scholar in Residence," Stuart Benjamin
Posted on December 11, 2009The Federal Communications Commission has appointed its first Scholar in Residence, Stuart Benjamin, of Duke University Law School. Professor Benjamin is co-author of Telecommunications Law and Policy (2d ed., 2006) and many law review articles and has also taught at...
More On a Possible Change in Britain's Libel Laws
Posted on December 11, 2009A piece from the New York Times on the British government's push to change current libel laws and the country's image as a haven for defamation plaintiffs.
"Will the Last Journalist To Exit the Industry Please Turn Off the Lights on Her Way Out?"
Posted on December 10, 2009Nielsen is closing two well known publications, Kirkus Reviews and Editor & Publisher. Here's commentary from the Atlantic.
Baron Cohen, Letterman Sued
Posted on December 10, 2009Palestinian businessman Ayman Abu Aita has sued actor Sacha Baron Cohen and talk show host David Letterman over clips in the movie "Bruno" and subsequent discussion of the film on Mr. Letterman's show, which Mr. Abu Aita says characterize him...
Hollywood Reporter Has New Owner
Posted on December 10, 2009The Nielsen Company has sold the Hollywood Reporter to e5 Global Media LLC. Read more here.
Jon Gosselin, TLC Headed To Court
Posted on December 10, 2009TLC and Jon Gosselin were supposed to face off in court today over Mr. Gosselin's appearances on shows other than the now cancelled Jon & Kate Plus 8. Mr. Gosselin says the network violated child labor laws during the filming...
Network Management Regulations and the Size of Providers
Posted on December 09, 2009George S. Ford, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies, Michael Stern, Harvard University Law School, and Lawrence J. Spiwak, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies, have published "Expanding the Digital Divide: Network...
An Analysis of Judge Easterbrook's Thinking on Copyright
Posted on December 09, 2009Randal C. Picker, University of Chicago Law School, has published "Easterbrook on Copyright," in volume 77 University of Chicago Law Review (2010). Here is the abstract. In this essay prepared in celebration of Judge Frank Easterbrook?s 25th year on the...
Tort Liability For Website Operators For Cyberharassment
Posted on December 09, 2009Nancy S. Kim, California Western School of Law, has published "Imposing Tort Liability on Websites for Cyberharassment," at 118 Yale Law Journal Pocket Part 115 (2008). Here is the abstract. Several female law students were the subject of derogatory comments...
IP Law and the Washington Redskins Case
Posted on December 08, 2009FindLaw's Sonia K. Katyal on trademarks that raise the issue of racial and other offensive representations.
The Lure of the Foreign (Edition)
Posted on December 08, 2009The New York Times covers the impatience of U.S. readers to get hold of British (first) editions of popular mysteries when the U.S. edition is not yet available. Booksellers offer the convenience of picking the book up locally, but one...
The Rights of Humanities Scholars
Posted on December 08, 2009Carol Loeb Schloss writes about her years-long battle with the Joyce estate, and the assistance she received from Lawrence Lessig and the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society's Fair Use Project, and others. While she eventually won her...
ITV: Sorry About Rat-Killing Episode
Posted on December 07, 2009ITV has apologized for the episode on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here," during which two participants killed and ate a rat. The network said it looked into health and safety concerns, but not into whether killing the...
Have Reality TV Creators Finally Gone Too Far?
Posted on December 07, 2009In creating "Jersey Shore" and "Find My Family" reality tv types seem to have crossed some lines. And we thought there weren't any more lines to be crossed. MTV, which is premiering "Jersey Shore," has already run into trouble with...
The GE/Comcast Deal
Posted on December 07, 2009From the New York Times, on the GE/Comcast deal over NBC/Universal: With technology changing Americans? media experience at breakneck speed, it might seem quaint to worry about the merger of an old-style cable company with a beleaguered broadcast TV company...
Union Leader Gets Apology, Damages From News of the World
Posted on December 07, 2009The News of the World will pay damages and has apologized to Unite election official Derek Simpson over a false story it published alleging that he had used union money and taken advantage of the union's rules in order to...
Queen Elizabeth Fires "Shot Across the Bow" At Paparazzi
Posted on December 06, 2009Queen Elizabeth II has informed the paparazzi and media that they are not to publish photos of the royals and other members of the family have noted that they are entitled to their privacy when engaged in normal family activities....
Rat-Eating Celebs Face Charges
Posted on December 06, 2009The winners of this season's ITV version of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" face animal cruelty charges in New South Wales after footage shows them killing and eating a rat. Police issued summons under the Prevention of...
Rescuing the Print Media
Posted on December 05, 2009Mara J. Gassmann, Georgetown University Law Center, has published "Who's Watching (Out for) the Watchers?: The First Amendment and Non-Profit Newspapers." Here is the abstract. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin has introduced The Newspaper Revitalization Act, which if passed would amend...
Canadian Court Hears Case Against Iranian Government Over Death of Journalist
Posted on December 04, 2009A Quebec court hears arguments in the death of an Iranian-Canadian journalist, Zahra Kazemi, who died of injuries suffered while she was in police custody six years ago. According to press reports, Kazemi was 54 when she died in Iranian...
GE, Comcast and NBC
Posted on December 04, 2009Two New York Times articles on the GE/Comcast NBC deal and its implications, here and here.
Collecting a Libel Tourism Judgment
Posted on December 04, 2009Doug Rendleman, Washington and Lee University School lof Law, has published "Collecting a Libel Tourist?s Defamation Judgment?" forthcoming in the Washington and Lee Law Review. Here is the abstract. A libel plaintiff sued an American defendant in a foreign nation...
What Does the Camera Capture?
Posted on December 03, 2009French legislator Valerie Boyer wants digitally altered photos to be labelled as such. For one thing, she thinks such labelling would assist in a fight against anorexia. Not everyone agrees. Read more here in a New York Times article.
Britain's Justice Minister Says Libel Laws Will Be Reformed; They Are Having Chilling Effect On Free Speech
Posted on December 03, 2009Britain's Justice secretary, Jack Straw, has announced a plan to attack "libel tourism," which he says is "chilling" democracy in the country, according to this Guardian article. Mr. Straw says that current status of libel law in Great Britain "threatens...
Comparing (Internet) Network Discrimination in Canada and the US
Posted on December 02, 2009Mark Perry and Thomas Margoni, both of the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law, have published "Interpreting Network Discrimination in the CRTC and FCC." Here is the abstract. The issue of what discriminatory use of a network means has...
Freedom of Expression in Uganda
Posted on December 02, 2009Musede Denis Jude has published "Limitations to the Enjoyment of Freedom of Expression in Uganda." Here is the abstract. Freedom of expression in Uganda has been subject to a number of restrictions since colonial period to date. However in 1986...
FTC Hosts Workshop On the Internet and Journalism
Posted on December 01, 2009The Federal Trade Commission is hosting a workshop on the future of journalism. From the FTC website, here's more: The Federal Trade Commission will hold two days of workshops on December 1 and 2, 2009, to explore how the Internet...
GE, Comcast Nearing Deal Over NBC/Universal
Posted on December 01, 2009From the New York Times: GE is nearing a deal to sell NBC to Comcast. First hurdle--helping Vivendi divest itself of its stake in the media giant.
Did Bernard Malamud Plagiarize?
Posted on December 01, 2009Jay Beilis, Jeremy Simcha Garber, and Mark S. Stein (Harvard Law School, Petrie-Flom Center) have published "Pulitzer Plagiarism: The Malamud-Beilis Connection," forthcoming in the Cardozo Law Review. Here is the abstract. In writing The Fixer, Bernard Malamud plagiarized from Mendel...
Georgia Author Loses Defamation By Fiction Case
Posted on December 01, 2009Novelist Haywood Smith lost a defamation by fiction case in a Georgia court last week. The plaintiff, Vickie Stewart, claimed that one of the characters in the book The Red Hat Society too closely resembled her, and the jury agreed,...
Sixth Circuit Upholds Denial of Preliminary Injunction In Adult Bookstore Case
Posted on November 30, 2009The Sixth Circuit has upheld the denial of a preliminary injunction to a Memphis, Tennessee bookstore that sells "adult-themed" material. Plaintiff's first argument is that the definition of "adult bookstore" violates the Equal Protection Clause. The Tennessee Act regulates "adult-oriented...
Publicist: Salahis Not Asking For Pay For Their Story
Posted on November 30, 2009According to an AP story, the PR rep for Tareq and Michale Salahi says the couple is not seeking payment for its story from the media.
Secret Service Interviews Salahis
Posted on November 30, 2009The New York Times reports that the Secret Services has interviewed the Salahis... and on Ed Rollins' comments on CNN's State of the Union about the Salahis' possible reality show career.
Stephen Fry Leaves Social Networking Site, Saying It Leaked His Private Information To Other Members
Posted on November 30, 2009Comedian and social critic Stephen Fry has deleted his profile on the social networking site Plaxo with "no plans to return," saying that the site "compromised" his privacy by allowing other members to view his information. Comcast owns the site,...
Roger Avary Sent Back To Jail, Loses Work Release Arrangement
Posted on November 30, 2009Oscar winner Roger Avary ("Pulp Fiction") who's been Tweeting since his 1 year sentence for vehicular homicide began some months ago has found that Tweeting wasn't such a good idea. His sentence originally allowed him work release. Now, because his...
Former Washington Times Editorial Editor Files Suit Against Paper
Posted on November 29, 2009Richard Miniter, the former editorial page editor at the Washington Times, which is owned by the Unification Church, is suing the paper for breach of contract. He has also filed a complaint with the EEOC for religious discrimination. On today's...
Salahis Asking For Pay To Tell Story
Posted on November 29, 2009The New York Times reports that the Salahis, the couple who turned up uninvited at the White House dinner last Tuesday, now would like payment to tell their side of the story to the media. They have put off a...
Tax Incentives Available To the Australian Arts
Posted on November 29, 2009Brett Freudenberg, Griffith University, has published "Report #1: The Current Australian Tax Treatment of the Arts Industry" (Series: Tax: Contributing to a Sustainable Arts Industry). Here is the abstract. This Report contains an overview of the current Australian tax treatment...
Roman Polanski To Be Released On Bail
Posted on November 29, 2009Swiss authorities are finishing plans to release director Roman Polanski from prison. He's been granted bail, but must surrender his passport and wear an electronic "bracelet" pending extradition to the U.S. Read more here.
Internet Publishing in the EC Legal Regime
Posted on September 30, 2009Joanna Kulesza, University of Lodz, Faculty of Law and Administration, has published "Which Legal Standards Should Apply To Web-logs? The Present Legal Position of Internet Journals in the European Jurisprudence in the Light of the European Parliament Committee?s on Culture...
On "Tinker's" Continuing Meaning
Posted on September 30, 2009Jamin Ben Raskin, American University College of Law, has published "Student Speech: The Enduring Greatness of Tinker," at 35 Human Rights 2 (Summer 2008). Here is the abstract. The Supreme Court's decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School...
Court Dismisses Rather Lawsuit Against CBS
Posted on September 29, 2009An appellate court has dismissed former CBS anchor Dan Rather's lawsuit against the network, citing Mr. Rather's failure to demonstrate "a single opportunity with specified terms that was actually available to him and which he declined to accept because of...
Developing an Internet Bill of Rights
Posted on September 29, 2009Joanna Kulesza, University of Lodz, Faculty of Law and Administration, has published, "Freedom of Information in the Global Information Society: The Question of the Internet Bill of Rights," 1 University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Law Review 81-95 (2008)...
Examining Media Policy
Posted on September 29, 2009Bruce M. Owen, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR); Stanford University Public Policy Program, has published "Old Media Policy Failures, New Media Policy Challenges," as Stanford Law and Economics Olin Working Paper; 378. Here is the abstract...
The History of Scottish Intellectual Property Law
Posted on September 29, 2009Hector Lewis MacQueen, University of Edinburgh School of Law, has published "Intellectual Property and the Common Law in Scotland C.1700-C.1850," in The Common Law of Intellectual Property: Essays in Honour of David Vaver (L. Bently, G. D'Agostino & C...
Weekend Update
Posted on September 28, 2009On the September 26th SNL, new recruit Jenny Slate apparently miscalculated her "friggin's" during a "biker chick" segment. Out popped an f-bomb instead of the scripted word. Guest Megan Fox never missed a beat, however. It seems there will be...
A Study of Cross Media Ownership in Australia and Italy
Posted on September 28, 2009Larissa Di Mauro and Grace Li, University of Technology, Sydney, have published "Regulating Cross-Media Ownership: A Comparative Study between Australia and Italy," in the Media and Arts Law Review, Melbourne University (2009). Here is the abstract. Regulating media ownership is...
William Safire Dies
Posted on September 28, 2009From the New York Times: an obituary of columnist William Safire. The political writer and word maven died yesterday at the age of 79.
Alternative Media and Student Speech
Posted on September 25, 2009In the aftermath of the Layshock and Donniger cases, FindLaw's Laura Hodes discusses school suits against students who criticize and/or comment, sometimes vociferously, on school policy and school officials.
Digital Copyright Problems of Orphan Works: A Comparative Law Perspective
Posted on September 25, 2009Sally McCausland has published "Getting Broadcaster Archives Online: Orphan Works and Other Copyright Challenges of Clearing Old Cultural Material for Digital Use," in volume 14 of the Media Arts Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. This paper explores why...
An Analysis of the Proposal To Revive Fairness Doctriness
Posted on September 25, 2009John Samples, Cato Institute, has published "Broadcast Localism and the Lessons of the Fairness Doctrine," as Cato Policy Analysis Series, No. 639 (May 27, 2009). Here is the abstract. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizes a laissez-faire policy...
Lawyers For Dominique de Villepin Complain Over Sarkozy Statements, Say They'll File Charges
Posted on September 25, 2009The fireworks continue at the defamation trial of former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. Current French President Nicolas Sarkozy apparently alleged that Mr. de Villepin is "guilty" of the charges, and Mr. de Villepin's attorneys now say they plan...
Examining the AETC v. Forbes Decision
Posted on September 23, 2009Jamin Ben Raskin, Washington College of Law, has published "Arkansas Educational Television Commission v. Forbes: Betraying Freedom of Political Expression and Undermining Democracy," in We Dissent: Talking Back to the Rhenquist (sic) Court: Eight Cases That Subverted Civil Liberties and...
Former French P.M. Goes On Trial For Defamation Of Current French President
Posted on September 22, 2009Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's defamation trial has begun. The politician is charged with defaming current French President Nicolas Sarkozy over the "Clearstream" scandal. Both served in the Chirac government. On the first day, Mr...
DOJ on the Google Settlement
Posted on September 21, 2009The Department of Justice's statement of interest concerning the Google Settlement.
FCC Chair Announces Position on Net Neutrality
Posted on September 21, 2009From the FCC Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined the concrete actions he believes the Commission must take to preserve the free and open Internet at a speech today at The Brookings Institution. ?The Internet is an extraordinary...
Lawyers, Judges, and the First Amendment
Posted on September 21, 2009Here, FindLaw's Julie Hilden wades into the deep waters of lawyers who blog about judicial behavior. Notes Ms. Hilden, Recently, The New York Times covered the case of Florida attorney Sean Conway, who suffered a reprimand from the Florida Bar...
That Federal Shield Law
Posted on September 18, 2009From yesterday's New York Times, an editorial on the importance of the federal shield law. Here's the text of an amendment introduced by Senators Schumer and Specter. Committee hearings resume next week.
And the Anonymous Web Comment Wars Continue
Posted on September 17, 2009Yet another anonymous commenter on a newspaper's website was outed, because a subject was annoyed. This time the Wausau Daily Herald was involved, and the paper did it without a court order. The Herald got so much criticism for its...
Skype's Founders Sue eBay Over Sale
Posted on September 17, 2009Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who made billions upon selling Skype to eBay four years ago, have now sued eBay over what they allege is copyright infringement as a result of eBay's offer to sell the Internet service to another...
A New Approach to Libel Tourism
Posted on September 17, 2009Today's Times of London reports that the British government will unveil a proposal to bring under control the ever expanding phenomenon of "libel tourism"--foreigners who bring defamation actions in plaintiff-friendly English courts.
The Internet Under the First Amendment
Posted on September 17, 2009Anthony E. Varona, American University College of Law, has published "Toward a Broadband Public Interest Standard," in volume 61 of the American Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. Although they emerged seven decades apart, commercial broadcasting and the Internet...
Ofcom Allows BT To Offer Bundled Services
Posted on September 16, 2009A decision by Ofcom could lower consumer prices for telephone, broadband and other media services. Prior to the ruling, BT (formerly British Telecom) could not bundle services as its competitors were allowed to do, but according to Ofcom, BT's share....
Michael Palin Still Upset Over BBC Trust Criticism Of Show
Posted on September 16, 2009Pythonite Michael Palin is still angry over last year's BBC Trust's decision that his show "New Europe" "oversimplified" the issues it presented to its viewers. Said Mr. Palin to a Royal Television Society luncheon audience, "there was not the creative...
Satriani, Coldplay Settle Dispute Over "If I Could Fly"
Posted on September 16, 2009It seems that the band Coldplay and Joe Satriani have settled their dispute over allegations that the band plagiarized his song "If I Could Fly." Mr. Satriani claimed that Coldplay's work "Viva La Vida" sounded a great deal like "If...
Jurors, Be Warned--No Blogging, Tweeting, Or Wikipedia Research Allowed
Posted on September 15, 2009FindLaw's Eric Sinrod on the newest iteration of jury instruction: no Internet research.
Twitter's New Terms of Service
Posted on September 15, 2009Twitter has announced new terms of service that leave open the question: what does "tweet ownerhip" mean? William Carleton suggests some answers here and here.
Unmasking Anonymous Bloggers In Defamation Cases
Posted on September 15, 2009FindLaw's Julie Hilden analyzes a New York court's ruling on the Cohen "Skanks In New York" case, and discusses why Google should have defended its position more vigorously. Read her column here.
Another "Anonymous Blog" Decision
Posted on September 15, 2009The Sacramento Bee reports that a California trial judge has ruled that a former University of California, Davis, police officer may take steps to discover who has posted anonymous comments on a Google blog by hiring an "independent third party"...
International Criminal Tribunal Fines Journalist For Revealing Information
Posted on September 14, 2009The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has fined journalist Florence Hartmann $10,000 for revealing secret information about its proceedings in an article and book. Ms. Hartmann, who served as a spokesperson for the court in the early 2000s,...
Argentina Considering Decriminalization of Defamation
Posted on September 14, 2009Argentina is considering a bill to decriminalize libel and slander. The President announced the move while welcoming the arrival of a delegation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, headed by Kerry Kennedy.
Another View of the Google Books Settlement
Posted on September 14, 2009Einer Elhauge, Harvard Law School, has published "Why the Google Books Settlement is Procompetitive," as Harvard Law and Economics Discussion Paper No. 646. Here is the abstract. Although the Google Books Settlement has been criticized as anticompetitive, I conclude that...
Balancing Publicity Rights and Free Speech
Posted on September 14, 2009Diane Leenheer Zimmerman, New York University School of Law, has published "Money as a Thumb on the Constitutional Scale: Weighing Speech against Publicity Rights." It is forthcoming in the Boston College Law Review. Here is the abstract. Although they have...
Two Film Producers Guilty in FCPA Trial
Posted on September 14, 2009According to the Blog of Legal Times, Gerald and Patricia Green have been found guilty under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of "conspiring to bribe a former Thai government official to obtain contracts that provided for, among other things, control...
Louisiana Supreme Court: CNN Does Not Have Standing To Intervene In New Orleans Hospital Case
Posted on September 11, 2009The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that a cable news station (CNN) did not have standing to intervene in a case in which a New Orleans hospital requested the return of property held by the District Attorney's Office. CNN asserted...
New Industry Coalition Plans To Develop Tools To Measure Ratings
Posted on September 11, 2009Time Warner, Disney Media Networks, Viacom, Procter & Gamble, AT&T, CBS/Paramount, Discovery, NBC Universal, and several other media giants have announced the formation of the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), which will attempt to develop new methods of gathering...
Picking Sides In the Google Settlement
Posted on September 11, 2009The Chronicle of Higher Education has this survey of who's on which side in the fight over the Google book settlement. Meanwhile, the Copyright Office has come out against the deal. Said MaryBeth Peters, Registrar of Copyrights, in part: In...
When the Media Is the Story, Sometimes It Chooses To Delay Telling the Story
Posted on September 10, 2009From NPR's Corey Flintoff, a story about when news organizations go dark on stories concerning kidnapped journalists. Safety is the concern.
Online Privacy
Posted on September 10, 2009Jacqueline D. Lipton, Case Western Reserve School of Law, has published "Mapping Online Privacy," in volume 104 of Northwestern University Law Review (2010). Here is the abstract. Privacy scholars have recently outlined difficulties in applying existing concepts of personal privacy...
Lawyers and the Shire
Posted on September 09, 2009The search for the Ring can continue, after producers for New Line Cinema settled a dispute with J. J. R. Tolkien's heirs over royalties for the Lord of the Rings films. Mr. Jackson's new project, The Hobbit, is due out...
Blogging From the Front
Posted on September 09, 2009Troops are blogging, the Pentagon is watching, and the New York Times is reporting, here.
Hillary: The Movie Re-Run
Posted on September 09, 2009The Supreme Court is rehearing the "Hillary: The Movie" case today. It's newly appointed Justice Sonia Sotomayor's first chance to hear oral argument, being streamed by CSPAN here.
Student Press Law Center Files Amicus Brief in Doninger Case
Posted on September 09, 2009From Frank LoMonte, Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center The Student Press Law Center ("SPLC&"), the nation's only nonprofit legal-assistance organization serving student journalists, filed a friend-of-the-court brief today in support of a Connecticut high-school student punished by...
AIDS Ad Causes Uproar
Posted on September 08, 2009An AIDS prevention ad that likens AIDS to dictators of history is coming under fire. The group that created the ad. Das Comitee, noted that its purpose is to heighten awareness of the dangers of the disease, but critics and...
EU Thinks Copyright Revamp As Google Moves Toward Putting Digitizing Plan Into Place
Posted on September 08, 2009The EU is mulling its copyright law as Google moves toward making final its book settlement. Said the affected EU Commissioners, "We need to take a hard look at the copyright system we have today in Europe. Is the present...
British Medical Association: Ban Alcohol Ads
Posted on September 08, 2009The British Medical Association says all alcohol advertising should be banned. Read more here. Here's a report from the BMA on the damage such marketing does to young adults.
A New Legal Educator Blog Census
Posted on September 08, 2009Colin Miller has posted a new Legal Educator Blog Census here (A-L), here (M-Z), here (alphabetical list), and here (statistics).
I Want My Mad Men!
Posted on September 07, 2009Many Brits anxious for U.S. tv (yes) are annoyed at having to wait months for new seasons of such favorites as Mad Men and True Blood, when others such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Desperate Housewives air almost at the...
Who Killed Anna Politkovskaya
Posted on September 06, 2009The Russian Supreme Court has told prosecutors to get to work trying to find out who actually killed Anna Politkovskaya instead of retrying small fish. The New York Times opines on what such a decision may signal for the Russian...
Competition in Cable
Posted on September 06, 2009From the New York Times today, an editorial on what the thirty percent cap means, and why cable competition is important.
Earth Liberation Front Says It Toppled Radio Towers In Washington
Posted on September 06, 2009The Earth Liberation Front is claiming that it caused two KRKO-owned radio towers to fall in Snohomish County, Washington, saying that AM radio waves cause "adverse health effects" to both humans and animals. Authorities are investigating. Here's more on the...
Annie Leibovitz Sued Over Photographs
Posted on September 06, 2009The BBC reports that an Italian photographer is suing famed photog Annie Leibovitz for infringement. He alleges that she used some of his photos without permission in a calendar released this year. He is asking the district court for an...
Teen Gets Two Years For "Sexting"
Posted on September 05, 2009Isaac Owusu, the defendant in the Vermont "sexting" case, has received a two-year sentence, but will serve 90 days as a result of a plea deal. The Vermont legislature has in the meantime decriminalized "sexting" for minors (2009 Vt. Act...
Amazon Offers Giftie To Annoyed Kindle Customers
Posted on September 05, 2009Amazon.com is trying to put that unfortunate "1984" decision behind it by offering replacement copies of those George Orwell titles to customers who lost theirs when the company zapped them from Kindles earlier this summer. The company took the action...
Does Trade Secret Litigation Restrict Free Speech?
Posted on September 04, 2009Elizabeh A. Rowe, University of Florida College of Law, has published "Trade Secret Litigation and Free Speech: Is it Time to Restrain the Plaintiffs?" in Boston College Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. Trade secret misappropriation litigation is often...
Nick Cassavetes Sues New Line Over "Peaceable Kingdom" Directing Job
Posted on September 03, 2009Nick Cassavetes ("The Notebook," "My Sister's Keeper,") is suing New Line Cinema for breach of contract, alleging it failed to hire him to direct the new film "Peaceable Kingdom." He rewrote the script, he alleges, with the understanding that he...
Fierce Anonymous Comments Continue To Bubble Up Online
Posted on September 03, 2009Juicy Campus may be gone but its own Generation Xers are here. Sites such as Campus Gossip and College ACB offer scope for anonymous gossipers to post comments, frequently nasty, about people they may or may not know. Read more...
Advertising Standards Authority Finds American Apparel Ad In Breach
Posted on September 02, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has told American Apparel it may not run an ad featuring a "semi-nude" model because the woman appears to be under 16, even though the company says the woman is 23. The ASA said the woman...
EU Copyright Law and Protection For Digital Information
Posted on September 02, 2009Arun Krishnan has published "Copyright Law of the European Union." Here is the abstract. Neither the Current EC Directives nor TRIPS make significant legal adjustments to cater for digitised information systems serving world networks, for information superhighways are too novel...
Live 365 Files Suit Over Constitutionality of Copyright Royalty Board
Posted on September 02, 2009From the Blog of Legal Times: the Internet radio service Live 365 has filed a lawsuit alleging that the Copyright Royalty Board is unconstitutional. The company says that those who sit on the board have such authority that they should...
Ninth Circuit Allows Hilton Suit Against Hallmark To Move Forward
Posted on September 01, 2009The Ninth Circuit has ruled that Paris Hilton's lawsuit against Hallmark Cards can proceed. Ms. Hilton alleges that the card, which depicts a waitress with Ms. Hilton's face, infringes her rights of publicity and use of her catchphrase "That's hot".....
Amending EC Telecom Law
Posted on September 01, 2009Simon Bradshaw, BPP Law School, and Lilian Edwards, University of Sheffield Law School, have published "Analysis of Recent Amendments to the EC Telecoms Package: Do They Provide a Legal Basis in Europe for 'Three Strikes and You're Out' Anti Filesharing...
Judge Overturns MySpace Verdict
Posted on September 01, 2009Judge George Wu has formally dismissed the conviction against Lori Drew, charged with the "MySpace hoax" that led to the suicide of Megan Meier. Judge Wu wrote in the opinion ending the case that the wording of the Federal Computer...
Designer Anand Jon Alexander Awaits Sentencing
Posted on August 31, 2009Designer Anand Jon Alexander, convicted of forcible rape last year, could receive up to life in prison for his crimes. He was found guilty of enticing young women to Los Angeles under the pretext of hiring them as models, then...
"Wire" Creator: Advertising Hampers Creativity
Posted on August 31, 2009David Simon, who created the popular series The Wire, says advertising constrains creativity on television. "Television as a medium, in terms of being literate and telling stories, has short-changed itself since its inception. "That is because of advertising...
The Role of the Journalist
Posted on August 31, 2009Chris Dent, University of Melbourne Law School, has published "'Journalists are the Confessors of the Public' Says One Foucaultian," in volume 9 of Journalism (2008). Here is the abstract. The article combines Foucault?s ideas of discursive formations, practices and subjects...
Dutch Royal Family Wins Favorable Ruling On Privacy Against Associated Press
Posted on August 29, 2009The Dutch royals have won a ruling from a Dutch court that the AP violated their privacy by publishing photos of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his family on holiday in Argentina (Princess Maxima was born in Argentina). The AP snapped...
No Jokes From Flickr
Posted on August 29, 2009Flickr has removed that Jokerized pic of President Obama from its site, for what the company called "copyright concerns," and it zapped user comments as well. And all that has now apparently caused more comment than if Flickr had done...
FCC Commissioner McDowell On the D. C. Circuit Cable Ownership Cap Ruling
Posted on August 28, 2009STATEMENT OF FCC COMMISSIONER ROBERT M. McDOWELL REGARDING THE D.C. CIRCUIT?S DECISION TO STRike down the FCC?s CABle ownership cap The following statement can be attributed to Commissioner Robert M. McDowell: ?It was clear in December 2007, when I dissented...
Protecting Consumers
Posted on August 28, 2009From the FCC The FCC has issued a Notice of Inquiry on whether there are additional opportunities to protect and empower American consumers by ensuring sufficient access to relevant information about communications services. As communications technologies and services become more...
Dominick Dunne Dies
Posted on August 27, 2009Author Dominick Dunne has died. He was 83. Mr. Dunne began his career in films, producing such movies as Panic in Needle Park, The Boys in the Band, and Play It As It Lays, the last based on a work...
Targeted Advertising and Privacy
Posted on August 27, 2009FindLaw's Eric Sinrod on behavior advertising and privacy concerns here.
No Laughing Matter
Posted on August 27, 2009Comedian Sunda Croonquist and her in-laws are facing off in court on September 8 over the entertainer's routine, which features lines about the family. The in-laws don't like them, characterizing them as "false, defamatory and racist," particularly the ones about...
The Anonymous Blogger Debate Widens
Posted on August 26, 2009The New York Times' Maureen Dowd, like other columnists, weighs in on a judge's ruling in the anonymous blogger case, and so do readers. Many, like her, think anonymous speech on the net may have gone too far, but not...
Wikipedia Changes Editorial Model, and Hopes To Move On
Posted on August 25, 2009The BBC reports that Wikipedia is close to a radical change of its publishing model, which would provide for editorial control of changes to pages devoted to living persons and "some organizations." The changes are in response to recent problems...
The History of Intellectual Property Law Rhetoric
Posted on August 25, 2009Justin Hughes, Cardozo School of Law, has published "Notes on the Origin of Intellectual Property: Revised Conclusions and New Sources," as Cardozo Legal Studies Research Paper No. 265. Here is the abstract. Following work published in 2006, this article explores...
Analyzing the Google Book Settlement
Posted on August 25, 2009Matthew Sag, DePaul University School of Law, has published "The Google Book Settlement and the Fair Use Counterfactual." Here is the abstract. This Article compares the pending settlement between Google and the representative author and publisher plaintiffs to the most...
Regulating Pornography On the Internet
Posted on August 25, 2009Lilian Edwards, University of Sheffield Law School, has published "Pornography, Censorship and the Internet," in Law and the Internet (L. Edwards & C. Waelde eds.; Hart Publishing, 2009). Here is the abstract. Over a decade since the Internet became an...
Tony Curtis Interview Gets BBC Show In Trouble With Regulator
Posted on August 24, 2009An episode of the BBC series TalkBack featuring an interview with Tony Curtis has drawn an investigation and talking-to from Ofcom. The actor said he thought the interview was taped; on discovering his swear words were going out live he...
Next Meeting of the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee Scheduled For Sept. 10
Posted on August 24, 2009From the FCC: Announcement of Next Meeting Date and Agenda of Consumer Advisory Committee By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission (?Commission?) announces the date and agenda of the next meeting of its Consumer Advisory Committee (?Committee?)...
Reaction To Glenn Beck's Obama Comment
Posted on August 24, 2009From the Huffington Post: more major advertisers seem upset with Glenn Beck's Obama/racist comment and are increasingly insisting that their ads not air during his time slot.
Judge Orders Google To Turn Over Anonymous Blogger's Name In Defamation Case; Outed Blogger Now Miffed At Google
Posted on August 24, 2009Findlaw's Brian Kumnick discusses the recently concluded suit over the anonymous post about model Liskula Cohen and her fight to discover who called her a "skank" (among other things) on a Google-hosted blog. After a trial judge ordered Google to...
Suspect Sought In Jasmine Fiore's Murder Found Dead
Posted on August 24, 2009Canadian law enforcement authorities have confirmed that a man found hanged in a room at a motel in Hope, British Columbia, is Ryan Alexander Jenkins, sought in connection with the murder of Jasmine Fiore. Mr. Jenkins had been the subject...
Glyndebourne Soprano Has Accident On Stage, Understudies Step Up
Posted on August 22, 2009Soprano Ana Maria Martinez fell into the orchestra pit at Glyndebourne during a performance of Dvorak's opera Rusalka, and was taken to the hospital to be checked out "as a precaution". Apparently she got entangled in the scenery and couldn't...
VH1 Pulls Reality Show Involving Murder Suspect, Considers Cancelling Production Of Second Show Which Also Includes Him As Contestant
Posted on August 22, 2009Following up on my post about the hunt for Ryan Jenkins, suspected in the murder of his ex-wife, model Jasmine Fiore, I'm posting a link here to a New York Times story by Brian Stelter about VH1's response. The network...
Apple and Google Voice
Posted on August 22, 2009Two articles from the New York Times on Apple's argument with Google over Google Voice, the Google app for the IPhone. Now, the FCC is involved. Apple has responded to the agency that it has not formally rejected Google's app,...
Slang
Posted on August 22, 2009From today's New York Times, an article on how quickly today's slang changes.
Touring Exhibit of MJ's Memorabilia Will Go Forward
Posted on August 22, 2009L. A. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff has okayed the agreement between AEG Live and the current representatives of Michael Jackson's estate to exhibit some of his memorabilia in three cities, after initially granting Katherine Jackson's request for a delay...
Richard Hatch, Let Out For Home Confinement, Rejailed For Giving Media Interviews
Posted on August 21, 2009The American Civil Liberties Union says that Richard Hatch, recently allowed out of prison to serve the rest of his sentence for tax evasion under home confinement, should not have been returned to jail for granting two media interviews simply...
News Corp Will Stop Publishing London Paper
Posted on August 21, 2009The freebie London Paper will shut down, a victim of the economy. Read more here.
Reality Show Contestant Sought In Death of Ex-Wife
Posted on August 21, 2009Police are seeking reality show contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins in the death of his ex-wife Jasmine Fiore. They believe he may have fled to Canada. Ms. Fiore's mutilated body was found in a suitcase last weekend. Mr. Jenkins appeared on...
Trolling For Patents
Posted on August 21, 2009Christopher Anthony Cotropia, University of Richmond School of Law, has published "The Individual Inventor Motif in the Age of the Patent Troll." Here is the abstract. The individual inventor motif has been part of American patent law since its inception...
Stella McCartney's New Perfume Goes To Market After Rival Perfume Maker Denied Injunction
Posted on August 20, 2009Stella McCartney will launch her new perfume, STELLANUDE, on schedule, after a British judge refused to grant an injunction to Nude Brands, Ltd., which claims that it holds the rights to use the word "Nude" (all caps). The judge agreed...
Making It Work
Posted on August 20, 2009Project Runway is back, this season on Lifetime. Meanwhile, Trinny and Susannah make their appearance on U.S. tv.
Regulating Sports Bloggers
Posted on August 20, 2009From the New York Times, an article on the rise of sports bloggers and the attempts of sports leagues to regulate them.
New Morgan Creek "Mob" Film Project May Be Derailed
Posted on August 20, 2009From the Hollywood Reporter, news that a movie in development at Morgan Creek might not find its way to the big screen after one of the real-life individuals on whom the project is purportedly based has filed a lawsuit to...
Reality Show Will Check On Contestants' Emotional Health Using Psychologists
Posted on August 19, 2009Producers of the British reality tv show X Factor have announced they will use psychologists to make certain that contestants can withstand the pressure of performing, after several reality show contestants, including Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle, had highly publicized...
ASA Finds Skype's Ad Campaign For VOIP Misleading
Posted on August 19, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that Skype's advertising campaign for its Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) which emphasizes the high quality of its video actually overstates the quality of the picture. The company had argued that it is really...
British Film Board Denies Certificate To Japanese Horror Film
Posted on August 19, 2009The British Board of Film Classification is refusing to allow the sale of a violent Japanese film which it says is "an unrelenting and escalating scenario of humiliation, brutality and sadism." Read more here and here.
More On the Debate Over the Google Settlement
Posted on August 19, 2009Scott Gant, a lawyer at Boies Schiller & Flexner, and author of We?re All Journalists Now: The Transformation of the Press and Reshaping of the Law in the Internet Age, is filing a suit objecting to the settlement that would...
Hip Hop and Criminal Justice
Posted on August 18, 2009Andre Douglas Pond Cummings, West Virginia University College of Law, has published "Thug Life: Hip Hop?s Curious Relationship with Criminal Justice," in volume 50 of the Santa Clara Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. I argue that hip hop...
Robert Novak Dies
Posted on August 18, 2009Columnist Robert Novak, who worked for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1966, and as an on-air debater on the CNN show Crossfire from 1980 to 2005, has died of a brain tumor. He was 78. Mr. Novak was involved in the...
Hugo Chavez Trying To Quash Private Media
Posted on August 18, 2009CNN reports that the U.S. government says Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is aggressively moving against television and radio journalists who criticize his administration. Read more here.
I'm a Lawyer! No, a Screenwriter! No, a Lawyer!
Posted on August 17, 2009From the ever-entertaining and insightful Julie Hilden today, tips for lawyers from screenwriting school. I'm suggesting this column to my Entertainment Law class, which meets for the first time this semester today.
LatCrit Conference Scheduled For October 1-4
Posted on August 17, 2009From Anthony Varona, American University School of Law In case you have not yet received it, here is the full preliminary conference schedule for LatCrit XIV and the LatCrit/SALT New Faculty Development Workshop in Washington, October 1 through 4, hosted...
The Blogger's Scoop
Posted on August 17, 2009The New York Times has this piece on the blogger who first suggested that the motive behind the deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings was actually a contract hit.
Egad! Four Letter Words In British Newspapers
Posted on August 17, 2009Siobhain Butterworth discusses reader reaction to the Guardian's spelling out, literally, of a particular four letter word in the paper. As she says, "A line has been crossed. What conclusions should we draw from readers' responses to it?"
Women in the Media
Posted on August 17, 2009The Guardian discusses the image and treatment of women in the media, particularly in high profile positions, here.
Second Circuit Rules Against New York Times In Request To Unseal Wiretap Application In "Emperor's Club" Case
Posted on August 16, 2009The Second Circuit has ruled that the New York Times has not shown "good cause" in its application to "gain access to sealed wiretap applications relating to the investigation of the "Emperor's Club," the prostitution operation patronized by former Governor...
Chima Simone Leaves "Big Brother"; CBS Says She Was Removed For "Violating the Rules"
Posted on August 16, 2009More controversy for Big Brother--this time for the U.S. version of the popular reality show. CBS announced that producers for the reality series tossed journalist Chima Simone from the show. According to a statement, "Chima has been evicted by the...
German Appellate Court Reverses Lower Court Decision on English Language Nazi Slogan
Posted on August 15, 2009The Federal Court of Justice (Germany) has ruled that the German law against printing Nazi slogans applies only to printing them in German. It overturned a lower court ruling against a defendant who was convicted of importing t-shirts with the...
Up Next On "The Family Guy"
Posted on August 14, 2009Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove will guest on The Family Guy next season, according to the Guardian.
BBC, Radio Show Host Settle Out of Court
Posted on August 14, 2009The BBC and former BBC Wales radio host Richard Evans are settling their differences. The BBC is paying Mr. Evans about 100,000 pounds over an unfair termination claim which was scheduled to be heard by a labor tribunal. Read more...
Federal Judge Grants Partial Summary Judgment In Louisiana Lawyer Advertising Case
Posted on August 14, 2009A federal judge has granted the plaintiffs' request for partial summary judgment in the case of Scott Wolfe Jr. / Public Citizen v. Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. The plaintiffs alleged that the new Louisiana rules on lawyer advertising restricted or...
Professor's Book On Danish Cartoons Debate Will Not Include Reproductions of Cartoons
Posted on August 13, 2009Brandeis professor Jytte Klausen's forthcoming book on the 12 Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed that caused a worldwide debate will contain a scholarly discussion of the debate. But it will not contain reproductions of the cartoons. Based on the...
Federal Judge Dismisses Class Action Lawsuit Against Qualcomm
Posted on August 12, 2009A federal district court has dismissed a federal class action lawsuit and claims of unfair competition made under state statute against Qualcomm. Christopher Lorenzo had brought suit over "anti-competitive CDMA licensing practices", used in cell phones...
ASA Finds Express Newspapers Editorials Are "Advertorials", Breach Code
Posted on August 12, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has criticized the Express newspapers for "disguising" advertising as editorials. The ASA published three separate adjudications on the issue, on LIPObind, on Copper Heeler (a product designed to relieve arthritic pain), and on LadyCare (a product...
Authors' Rights and Natural Law
Posted on August 11, 2009Alina Ng, Mississippi College School of Law, is publishing "The Author's Rights in Literary and Artistic Works," in the John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law. Here is the abstract. This paper suggests that authorship and creativity, which necessarily precedes...
Blogger Arrested; Police Claim She's Harassing Them
Posted on August 10, 2009Charlottesville, Virginia, police have arrested a 34-year-old blogger, apparently for the posts on her blog. According to an editorial in the Washington Post, Elisha Strom "was indicted on a single count of identifying a police officer with intent to harass,...
LBC TV Offices In Saudi Arabia Closed Over Controversial Interview
Posted on August 09, 2009According to the BBC, Saudi Arabia's deputy prime minister has ordered the Saudi offices of LBC TV closed after they broadcast an interview with a Saudi citizen in which he discussed his sexual behavior and relationships with women. The man...
Allegations of Vampire Plagiarism
Posted on August 08, 2009THR, Esq. reports on an allegation of plagiarism launched at author Stephanie Meyer by Jordan Scott over Ms. Meyer's novel "Breaking Dawn," in her "Twilight" vampire series. Ms. Scott is the author of Nocturne, another vampire novel.
Ninth Circuit Upholds Lower Court Ruling On Internet Jurisdiction Case
Posted on August 07, 2009The Ninth Circuit has upheld a lower court judge's ruling holding that a San Diego law firm is subject to personal jurisdiction in the Northern District of California,based on purposeful availment in an Internet website plagiarism case. Another law firm...
British Government To Look At Treatment of Minors In Entertainment
Posted on August 07, 2009Concern of the seeming meltdown of contestant Hollie Steel on the Show "Britain's Got Talent" has prompted a government investigation in children and young people's appearance in the entertainment field generally, reports the Guardian. The review is not focused solely...
Press Complaints Commission To Begin Structural and Functional Review
Posted on August 07, 2009The Press Complaints Commission is reviewing its structure and functions, the first time it has done so since the PCC came into existence. The announcement of the review follows on a number of criticisms and complaints from the media and...
Panorama Reporter Arrested Over Undercover Reporting Incident
Posted on August 07, 2009The Guardian reports that a BBC1 reporter was arrested after coming in for an interview about her work on an investigation of care for seniors, documented in an episode of Panorama. Arifa Farooq was arrested for obtaining employment using "a...
FCC Announces "Chairman's Challenge" To Accompany "Feds Feed Families" Food Drive
Posted on August 06, 2009From the FCC: Today, in conjunction with the ?Feds Feed Families? food drive, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced a ?Chairman?s Challenge? to call on FCC employees to raise 20,000 pounds of food to benefit the D.C. Capital Area...
Chris Brown's Sentencing Delayed
Posted on August 06, 2009Judge Patricia Schnegg has rescheduled singer Chris Brown's sentencing for August 27th because she is unhappy with the terms of his community service. Mr. Brown pled guilty to assaulting his girlfriend Rihanna on February 8th assault and agreed to a....
Unveiled--Plans For a Film Of MJ's Last Reheasals
Posted on August 06, 2009Coming soon? A motion picture featuring film of Michael Jackson's last rehearsals; if approved by a judge, its profits might pump a lot of cash into the Jackson estate. More here.
The Jury in Defamation Cases
Posted on August 06, 2009David Rolph, University of Sydney Faculty of Law, has published "Are Juries Necessary? The Role of Juries in Defamation Trials," at 92 Precedent 10-14 (2009). Here is the abstract. In the last decade in New South Wales, there have been...
NY Daily News Columnist: Offer Aid To Minority-Owned Radio
Posted on August 05, 2009Pierre Sutton's editorial in the New York Daily News asks the administration to consider offering economic assistance to minority owned over the air radio stations in these tough times now that the digital transition is a done deal. Here's more...
More On the Appeal in the Salinger/Colting Case
Posted on August 05, 2009The American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Association of College and Research Libraries are among those filing a friend of the court brief in the appeal of Fredrick Colting. He's appealing the lower court decision enjoining...
Laura Ling and Euna Lee Apparently Pardoned
Posted on August 04, 2009The news is apparently good for two American journalists convicted and sentenced to prison terms in North Korea. President Kim Jong Il has pardoned them, according to the state-run news agency KCNA. Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton is meeting with...
Free Speech and Trade Secrets
Posted on August 04, 2009Elizabeth A. Rowe, University of Florida College of Law, has published "Trade Secret Litigation and Free Speech: Is it Time to Restrain the Plaintiffs?" in the Boston College Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. Trade secret misappropriation litigation is...
In Iraq, the Likely Return of Censorship
Posted on August 04, 2009Timothy Williams reports on the Iraqi government's move to impose new censorship laws that strongly resemble those in place under Saddam Hussein.
Identity and Privacy In an Age of Online Advertising
Posted on August 04, 2009Randal C. Picker, University of Chicago Law School, has published "Online Advertising, Identity and Privacy," as U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 475. Here is the abstract. For individuals, the basic architecture of computing is changing...
Some Politicians, Other Thinks Images In Ads Should Not Be Altered
Posted on August 04, 2009Britain's third largest party says advertisements intended for children should not be airbrushed in order to give youngsters a more realistic view of the world. Right now, say the Liberal Democrats, such ads are encouraging young people, particularly young women,...
Irish High Court Hands Down Important Ruling On Journalists' Right To Protect Sources
Posted on August 04, 2009From our friend Eoin O'Dell at the blog cearta.ie, news of a major decision regarding the right of a reporter to protect his sources. The case is Mahon Tribunal -v- Keena & anor, 2009] IESC 64. In its analysis the...
Behind the Scenes: What's Going On Behind the Scenes On Those Reality TV Shows?
Posted on August 04, 2009Edward Wyatt writes about contestants' woes on shows such as "Project: Runway" (back for a sixth season on a new network), "Hell's Kitchen," "The Bachelor," and other "reality tv" shows here.
PBS' Julia Child Lights Up the Big Screen
Posted on August 04, 2009On food, film, and a famous media foodie--Kim Severson writes about Julia Child and behind the scenes at "Julie and Julia" for the New York Times.
Iraq Considering Protections For Journalists
Posted on August 04, 2009Iraq is considering legislation to protect members of the media. The bill currently under consideration would give Iraqi members of the press the same physical protection as members of the Iraqi government, and would compensate them or their families for...
Word Wars
Posted on August 04, 2009From the New York Times, this discussion of the lengthy battle between Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly that finally seems to be over, although not because one of them has won. Explains Brian Stelter, It was perhaps the fiercest media...
Bill Clinton Returning To US With Freed Journalists
Posted on August 04, 2009Former President Bill Clinton is on his way home to the U.S. from North Korea, escorting home Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were pardoned earlier by North Korean President Kim Jong Il. Read more here.
Tenenbaum's Damage: $675,000
Posted on August 04, 2009The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Joel Tenenbaum has been ordered to pay $675,000 in damages for downloading thirty songs illegally. A federal grand jury handed out the verdict after federal judge Nancy Gertner found that Mr. Tenenbaum had...
Tenenbaum Admits To Downloading Tunes
Posted on July 31, 2009After Joel Tenenbaum admitted on the stand to downloading and distributing copyrighted tunes, the judge in the case ruled that all that is left for the jury to decide is whether he willfully infringed those copyrights and what the damages...
Celebrate Daniel Defoe
Posted on July 31, 2009On this day in 1703, the famed English satirist was condemned to the pillory for his pamphlet The Shortest Way With Dissenters, which neither the government nor the dissenters initially understood. When they did, they really got mad. The public,...
Defamation Lawsuits in Britain
Posted on July 31, 2009Roy Greenslade notes that defamation lawsuits in Britain have increased by a third compared to the same period last year. The overall increase - from 59 to 78 - was driven by a rise in libel cases launched by businesses,...
Online Safety & Free Speech
Posted on July 31, 2009Berin Michael Szoka and Adam D. Theirer, Progress & Freedom Foundation, have published "Online Safety & Free Speech," as Progress & Freedom Foundation Progress on Point Paper No. 16.11. Here is the abstract. Online privacy, child safety, free speech and...
Disappearing 1984s
Posted on July 30, 2009After it discovered that the publisher of its version of the ebooks 1984 and Animal Farm did not have the rights to either version, Amazon remotely deleted the ebooks from their customers' Kindles. The zapped consumers "lit up [the Internet]...
Of Kookaburras and Gum Drops and Men at Work
Posted on July 30, 2009The Australian group Men at Work is facing a plagiarism accusation over a riff in its hit "Down Under." The popular song, says Larrikin Music, uses part of the tune "Kookaburra" (remember "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree/Merry, merry...
Equal Access For Online Journalism
Posted on July 30, 2009Ryan Benjamin Witte, Columbia University Law School; Boies, Schiller, & Flexner, LLP; and Florida State University College of Law, has published "It's My News Too! Online Journalism and Discriminatory Access to the Congressional Press Gallery." Here is the abstract...
Dealing With Cyberbullying
Posted on July 30, 2009Berin Michael Szoka and Adam D. Thierer, The Progress & Freedom Foundation, have published "Cyberbullying Legislation: Why Education is Preferable to Regulation," as 16 Progress & Freedom Foundation Progress on Point Paper No. 12 (June 2009). Here is the abstract...
Landlord Sues Former Tenant Over Tweet
Posted on July 29, 2009Landlord Horizon Group Management is suing former tenant Amanda Bonnen over her tweet, "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon really thinks it's okay." The company says Ms. Bonnen's tweet defamed it, injuring its reputation,...
New Staff At the FCC Media Bureau, Wireline Competition Bureau
Posted on July 29, 2009From the FCC, announcement of new staff: Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced senior staff in the Media Bureau, Enforcement Bureau, and Wireline Competition Bureau including: Media Bureau Chief William Lake and Wireline Competition Bureau Chief Sharon Gillett...
Is the Google Books Settlement Good For Readers? Authors?
Posted on July 29, 2009Commentary on the Google books deal, from the New York Times.
Bans on Prisoner Ads Asking For Pen Pals Under Fire
Posted on July 29, 2009Florida, like several other states, prohibits prisoners from creating and posting ads for penpals on the website www.writeaprisoner.com. The states say that such ads may contribute to fraud and abuse. But lawsuits filed by various groups including the ACLU are...
The Dual Nature of the ISP As Speaker and Conduit
Posted on July 29, 2009Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University College of Communications, & Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, has published "Invoking and Avoiding the First Amendment: How Internet Service Providers Leverage Their Status as Both Content Creators and Neutral Conduits...
Using IP Laws To Quash Freedom of Speech
Posted on July 29, 2009Jill Barton, University of Missouri, Kansas City, has published "Backdoor Censorship: How Media Giants' Copyright Protection Policies Collide with the First Amendment." Here is the abstract. This thesis analyzes an alarming trend among large media companies to use copyright laws...
Racial and Religious Hate Speech Under the Singaporean Constitution
Posted on July 28, 2009Zhong Zewei, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, has published "Racial and Religious Hate Speech in Singapore: Reclaiming the Victim's Perspective," in Singapore Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. In this essay, I argue that the rationales offered...
Tenenbaum Trial Underway
Posted on July 28, 2009Ben Sheffner has coverage of the Joel Tenenbaum (P2P copyright infringement) case here at Copyrights & Campaigns blog. The trial began yesterday. Judge Nancy Gertner ruled against allowing the biggest part of attorney (and Harvard Law Prof) Charles Nesson's proposed...
Criminalizing Speech After 2001
Posted on July 28, 2009Shawne Marie Boyne, Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, has published "The Criminalization of Speech in an Age of Terror." Here is the abstract. Since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the United States and many European states have sought ways...
Palin Says Goodbye, Smacks Media
Posted on July 27, 2009On her way out of the Governor's office, Sarah Palin had some advice for the media. "So how about in honor of the American soldier, you quit making up things. And don't underestimate the wisdom of the people. And one...
Magazine Uses Wrong Photo To Illustrate Story
Posted on July 27, 2009The trade publication Nursery Management Today used a photograph of the wrong day care center to accompany an article about child abuse, and consequently may face a claim for damages. The magazine used a picture of the Little Ted's day...
Rules Concerning Media Access To English Family Courts Still Causing Confusion
Posted on July 27, 2009Three months after new court rules allowing the press to observe family court proceeding have taken effect, some confusion still exists among court officials as to whether media can be admitted. The government plans to propose changes in the fall...
Nadya Suleman Signs TV Deal
Posted on July 26, 2009According to the BBC, Nadya Suleman has landed a tv deal for her children--all fourteen of them. If a judge okays the deal, worth two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, it will include a little over a month's worth of...
Florida Governor: Praise For Anti-Semitic Film Is "Mistake"
Posted on July 25, 2009Florida Governor Charlie Crist's office now says the Governor actually didn't mean it when he told John Ubele in a letter that he would share the DVD Mr. Uberle had sent with "the people of Florida". The DVD in question?...
Who Profits From the Google Book Settlement?
Posted on July 24, 2009Pamela Samuelson, UC Berkeley School of Law, has published "Legally Speaking: The Dead Souls of the Google Booksearch Settlement," in volume 52 of Communications of the ACM (July 2009). Here is the abstract. This short article argues that the proposed...
Alabama Bans Wine Because of Label
Posted on July 24, 2009The state of Alabama's Alcohol Beverage Control Board has notified grocery stores, bars and restaurants that they must immediately cease selling or serving the Cycles Gladiator wine, which is produced by the Hahn Family Winery in Soledad, California. Why, you...
ASA Turns Down Spicy Sausage Ads
Posted on July 23, 2009The UK Advertising Standards Authority has told Mattesons and its ad agency Quiet Storm that its "saucy sausages" were a no go, at least when children are listening. The commercials, which feature a man asking women where they would "like...
Jury Returns Verdict For Tom Bower in Defamation Case
Posted on July 23, 2009The jury in the Richard Desmond/Tom Bower defamation case has found in favor of writer Tom Bower. Mr. Bower said he was "delighted" with the majority verdict. The Guardian estimates the total legal bill at over one million pounds.
Town Fires City Manager Because of Marriage To Adult Film Actress
Posted on July 23, 2009MSNBC.com reports that the Fort Myers Beach town council has fired Scott Janke as town manager, giving as its reason Mr. Janke's recent marriage to adult film actress Anabela Mota, who uses the name Jazella Moore for screen work. The...
Call For Stories
Posted on July 22, 2009From Nancy Levit, Professor of Law, UMKC UMKC Law Review ?One-L Revisited? Law Stories Contest Introduction by Scott Turow With stories by: Ian Ayres Pamela Bridgewater Alafair Burke Stephen Carter Andrew McClurg Marc Poirier Deborah Post Lisa Pruitt Saira Rao...
Judge Allows Dan Rather To Refile Suit Against CBS
Posted on July 22, 2009Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS is back on. The longtime CBS anchor originally sued for breach of contract over his removal two years ago. Judge Ira Gammerman dismissed the suit citing technicalities, but is now allowing Mr. Rather to go...
Parody in Australian IP Law
Posted on July 22, 2009Nic Suzor, QUT School of Law, has published "Where the Bloody Hell Does Parody Fit in Australian Copyright Law?" at 13 Media & Arts Law Review 218 (2008). Here is the abstract. This article examines the role of the recently...
Fulbright Program Now Taking Applications
Posted on July 21, 2009From March to August 1, 2009, U.S.faculty and professionals are invited to apply for *Fulbright scholar grants at www.cies.org. For monthly updates, write us at outreach@cies.iie.org for a complimentary subscription to The Fulbright Scholar News, an electronic newsletter...
Cut!
Posted on July 21, 2009Some wannabe Steven Spielbergs in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are getting a crash course in film and the law. Specifically, they are learning the importance of letting local law enforcement know that they are making a film within the city...
What's Doing on "Big Brother"?
Posted on July 21, 2009NPR's Monkey See blog brings us an account of a behind the scenes rant delivered by a participant on CBS' reality show Big Brother, Braden Bacha. CBS excised Mr. Bacha's comments from the broadcast version of the show, and Mr....
Judge Rules For Google In English Defamation Suit
Posted on July 21, 2009In what court watchers have called a significant win for libel defendants, a British judge has found for Google in a defamation case. Metropolitan International Schools had sued Google over search engine results which turned up comments that Metropolitan did...
Public Employment Free Speech Rights
Posted on July 21, 2009Joseph Oluwole has published "On the Road to Garcetti: 'Unpick'ering Pickering and Its Progeny," in volume 36 of the Capital University Law Review (2008). Here is the abstract. This article examines the foundational cases dealing with public employment free-speech rights...
The Criminal Aspects of Uploading and Non-Criminal Aspects of Downloading Documents
Posted on July 21, 2009Alicia Gil Gil and Carlos Martin Fernandez have published "About the Criminality of the Conduct of Uploading a Copyrighted Work with Commercial Intent and the Not Criminal Character of its Downloading Despite its Illegality," in volume 2 of InDret (2009)...
The Cornversation Continues
Posted on July 20, 2009Dotan Oliar and Christopher Jon Sprigman, University of Virginia School of Law, have published "From Corn to Norms: How IP Entitlements Affect What Stand-Up Comedians Create," in volume 95 of Virginia Law Review In Brief (no. 57)(2009). Here is the...
Regulating Search Engines
Posted on July 20, 2009Viva Moffat, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, has published "Regulating Search," in volume 22 of the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology (2009). Here is the abstract. With the digital revolution and the internet age have come not...
The Cost of Those Scholarly Journals
Posted on July 20, 2009The Chronicle of Higher Education's Jennifer Howard reports on the costs of publishing humanities and social sciences journals. They cost more than three times as much to publish as do science journals, according to a new study.
Those Washington Post Dinners--Again
Posted on July 20, 2009The Guardian's Emily Bell discusses the Washington Post's attempt to launch intimate little dinners.
Desmond Defamation Case Continues
Posted on July 20, 2009More on the Richard Desmond defamation case against biographer Tom Bower.
The Guardian on Walter Cronkite
Posted on July 20, 2009The life and influence of Walter Cronkite, from the Guardian.
Egyptian Poet's Conviction For Defamation of President Overturned
Posted on July 20, 2009The Arabic Network For Human Rights Information reports that the conviction of Mounir Saeed Hanna for defaming President Housni Mubarak has been reversed. ANHRI attorneys appealed the conviction of the poet, who was convicted of defaming the President, when members...
And That's The Way It Was
Posted on July 18, 2009Tributes to the late Walter Cronkite and evaluations of the meaning of his work are pouring in. Here's an essay from the AP's Ted Anthony, a bio from MSNBC.com, commentary from Michael Ventre, an article from the New York Times,...
Let's Go To the Videotape
Posted on July 17, 2009Da dum DA DUM! Da dum DA DUM DUM! What was the name of that Perry Mason episode that neither Senator Franken nor Judge Sotomayor could remember? According to the blogosphere, and Perry Mason addicts, it's possibly The Case of...
Cameras In the (UK) Courtroom
Posted on July 17, 2009The newly constituted UK Supreme Court will allow cameras in courtroom, on request of the media, according to this report from the BBC.
Ad For Morning After Pill Does Not Violate Code
Posted on July 16, 2009Despite its cartoon style, an ad for Levonelle One Step, a "morning after" pill does not make light of contraception, says the Advertising Standards Authority, and may continue to air during the later evening hours. The ASA had received more...
BBC Radio Host Critiques New On-Air Rules
Posted on July 16, 2009A BBC 1 radio host has criticized the new rules that the BBC has put in place to try to avoid situations like the one caused by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross several months ago. Chris Moyles says "Everything now...
Spanish High Court Drops Charges Against U.S. Soldiers In Death of Journalist, Tells Lower Court Judge To Close Case
Posted on July 15, 2009Three American soldiers facing charges in the death of a Spanish journalist have had the charges dismissed by the Audiencia National (the Spanish National Court). The Court found that the judge who reinstated the charges did not present any new...
National Portrait Gallery Threatens Legal Action Over Downloaded Images Uploaded To Wikipedia
Posted on July 15, 2009Derrick Coetzee, who downloaded "thousands" of images of from the National Portrait Gallery's website and uploaded them to Wikipedia, is facing legal action for copyright infringement. The issue is not whether the paintings themselves are copyrighted, but whether the photographs...
Guardian Employees Testify Before Parliament About Phone Hacking
Posted on July 15, 2009The Guardian has told Members of Parliament that the News of the World's phone hacking extended even farther than the paper previously reported. The Guardian's journalists, summoned before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee told the committee...
ASA Bans Israeli Tourism Poster
Posted on July 15, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an Israeli Tourism poster that misleadingly implies that the West Bank, Golan Heights and Gaza Strip are still part of Israel. The ASA received more than 400 complaints from the public about the poster.....
Russian Government Closes Down History Website
Posted on July 14, 2009British historians and writers are objecting to a Russian decision to shut down a major website, www. hrono.info, officially because it provided some excerpts from Adolf Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf. But protestors are saying the real reason is political...
Stephen Fry Downloads "House" Finale Illegally
Posted on July 14, 2009Actor Stephen Fry said he illegally downloaded a copy of an episode of his former co-star Hugh Laurie's show House because he was away from home at the time and couldn't download the episode legally. He said he used the...
Harvard's Berkman Center To Assist FCC In Studying Broadband Deployment
Posted on July 14, 2009From the FCC The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University will conduct an independent expert review of existing literature and studies about broadband deployment and usage throughout the world. This project will help inform the FCC?s efforts...
Controversial Photo Temporarily Removed From Exhibit, Then Returned
Posted on July 14, 2009Controversy over a juried Baton Rouge, Louisiana, art show. Forum 35, which sponsors an annual art show, Art Melt, removed a photograph chosen for the exhibit, apparently because it was of a nude woman, without notifiying the photographer, Kenneth Wilks...
Rosetta Stone Suing Google For Trademark Infringment
Posted on July 13, 2009Rosetta Stone, the popular language learning company, has sued Google for trademark infringement. The suit arises via Google's "Ad Words" advertising program, which links search words to trademarked products. Rosetta Stone claims that via Ad Words, Google misleads consumers...
Almost Like Being There: Live Blogging From the Sotomayor Hearings
Posted on July 13, 2009Live blogging from the Caucus of the New York Times during the Sotomayor hearings.
Sotomayor Opinions; Hearings Begin Today
Posted on July 13, 2009Here's a link to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of selected opinions of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's opinions, including some in the area of speech. Hearings on her nomination begin today.
Media Campaign From Sense About Science Aimed At Changing British Libel Laws
Posted on July 13, 2009Science journalists and others in the media have begun a massive international campaign to pressure British MPs to modify the libel laws in the wake of the Simon Singh defamation ruling. Mr. Singh lost an important preliminary ruling over an...
New Jersey Judge Rules Blogger Cannot Claim Protection of Shield Law
Posted on July 10, 2009In a case of first impression, a New Jersey judge has held that a blogger cannot claim the protection of New Jersey's shield law. Too Much Media Corp., a software company that produces a software product of interest to the...
Detained American Reporters Seeking Pardon
Posted on July 10, 2009Lisa Ling, sister of journalist Laura Ling, who with colleague Euna Lee was convicted by North Korea of "hostile acts" and sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp, says the two reporters are now asking for a pardon. The...
Shepard Fairey Pleads Guilty, Will Pay To Have Graffiti Removed
Posted on July 10, 2009Shepard Fairey, the "Obama" poster artist, has pled guilty to three charges of vandalism and been sentenced to probation by a Boston (Mass.) judge. Prosecutors agreed to drop other charges. He has agreed to pay to have graffiti removed from...
Defaming the Dead
Posted on July 10, 2009FindLaw's John Dean discusses Rep. Peter King's comments about the late Michael Jackson before an American Legion post audience and comments on a cause of action for defaming the dead. Rep. King called the late singer "a pervert, a child...
LSU Press Will Stay Open
Posted on July 10, 2009In spite of drastic budget cuts announced yesterday, the Louisiana State University Press will not close. It will lose some funding, however. LSU President Michael Martin said he would help the Press as much as possible but did not want...
District Court Enjoins Va. Attorney General From Enforcing Privacy Law Against Website Operator
Posted on July 09, 2009The U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond Division) has enjoined the Virginia Attorney General from enforcing certain provisions of Virginia's Personal Information Privacy Act against a plaintiff for simply republishing publicly available documents which contained...
Sir Alan Sugar No Longer Part of Ad Campaign
Posted on July 09, 2009"Enterprise tsar" Sir Alan Sugar will no longer be the image of Great Britain's National Savings & Investments, per government ethics rules. Sir Alan, who has been the subject of criticism for continuing to participate in the television show The...
Big Brother Behavior Prompts Complaints To Ofcom
Posted on July 09, 2009The Guardian reports that Ofcom has received nearly 300 complaints about this season's Big Brother series. Included among the complaints was one episode in which participant Marcus Akin used threatening language toward another member of the Big Brother group, Sree...
More On the News of the World Phone Call Interception Story
Posted on July 09, 2009The New York Times has picked up the Guardian News of the World "phone hacking" story here.
Kate Beckinsale Wins Damages, Apology, From Daily Express Over "Barbarella" Story
Posted on July 09, 2009The Daily Express will pay actress Kate Beckinsale twenty thousand pounds in libel damages for publishing a story saying that she "had been dropped" from the remake of the film Barbarella. The newspaper's attorney said the Daily Express offered a...
Guardian Reports On News of the World Phone Hacking
Posted on July 09, 2009A big story being reported by the Guardian about News of the World. According to its accounts, the News Group newspapers, which owns News of the World, has reportedly paid enormous sums, up to one million pounds, to keep certain...
Jesse James Hollywood Convicted; Case Inspired "Alphadog" Film
Posted on July 09, 2009A jury has convicted Jesse James Hollywood, the real life drug dealer at the center of the crime that was the inspiration for the film Alphadog, of kidnapping and murder in the death of fifteen year old Nicholas Markowitz. Because...
Give College Content Away, Attract the Best and Brightest
Posted on July 08, 2009In a new book, the editor of a prominent technology magazine argues that colleges should make some of their product free to all. Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, says in Free: The Future of a Radical Price, that "free...
Judge Nixes Churchill Verdict, Refuses To Order Reinstatement
Posted on July 08, 2009A Colorado judge has vacated the jury verdict in favor of former University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill, saying that the officials the professor had sued were "immune" from suit, and refused to order that the University restore Mr. Churchill...
Cyber Attackers Hit US, South Korean Government Sites
Posted on July 08, 2009From MSNBC.com, a report on massive DoS (denial of service) attacks on websites of the Pentagon, the White House, the Department of Transportation, and other US sites, as well as some South Korean government sites. Some suspect North Korean hackers...
Libel Trial Opens Over Conrad Black Biography
Posted on July 07, 2009Tom Bower, author of a biography of Conrad Black, and Express Newspapers owner Richard Desmond are meeting in court this week. Mr. Desmond is unhappy about statements in Mr. Bower's book that he believes suggest he "interfered in editorial policy."...
Press Complaints Commission Finds Against Paper For Invasion of Privacy of School Shooting Survivors
Posted on July 07, 2009The Press Complaints Commission has criticized the Scottish Sunday Express for what it considers an invasion of privacy 13 years later on survivors of the Dunblaine School shooting of 1996. The children who survived the shooting are now teenagers, and...
Iran Says It Has Released British/Greek Journalist; Still Holds Other Reporters
Posted on July 07, 2009Iran has reportedly released a Washington Times reporter who holds dual British/Greek citizenship. Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden, also known as James Fowden, was released after two weeks detention, according to Greek officials. However, another journalist, who holds dual Iranian/Canadian citizenship, and works...
New ASA Chief Says Agency Likely To Receive Record Number of Complaints This Year
Posted on July 06, 2009The new head of the Advertising Standards Authority says he expects another record year for complaints about ads. Guy Parker notes that over 26,000 complaints deluged the ASA last year, and he thinks 30,000 will come in this year. Read...
When Journalists Rewrite
Posted on July 06, 2009Ben Goldacre criticizes media coverage of a graduate student's preliminary findings on male attitudes toward women and sex here.
British, Greeks, Trying To Gain Freedom For Washington Times Reporter
Posted on July 06, 2009Days after reports that he was to be freed, a reporter for the Washington Times is still being detained in Iran, and both the British and Greek governments are working on gaining Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden's release. Read more here.
On Wikileaks
Posted on July 06, 2009Oliver Luft discusses praise, criticism, and influence of Wikileaks on journalism here.
Palin Attorney Tells Media Not To Speculate About Resignation; Warns Of Lawsuit If "Defamatory Statements" Continue
Posted on July 05, 2009Outgoing Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin's attorney Thomas Flein is telling the media that they should not link her resignation to speculations that she is under any kind of investigation for criminal wrongdoing, according to a report on CNN. In a...
Image and Message at the Washington Post
Posted on July 05, 2009From the New York Times, a piece about the Washington Post's publisher's proposed "at-homes", which seemed intended to provide both access and intimacy without media accountability. A flyer sent out prematurely announced the idea, but Post publisher has distanced herself...
District Court Rules That Plaintiff Is "Vexatious Litigant"; Dismisses Case
Posted on July 02, 2009The U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has held that a pre-filing injunction is appropriate in Whitehead v. Paramount Pictures, finding that the plaintiff is "a vexatious litigant." Courts have the constitutional obligation and the inherent...
Press Complaint Commission Ends Teenage Parent/Checkbook Journalism Investigation
Posted on July 02, 2009The Press Complaints Commission has abandoned an investigation into possible checkbook journalism over stories published in the Sun, the People, and the Sunday Mail (Scotland) after an injunction severely restricting access to the families meant that the Commission could not...
Decency, Celebrity, and News
Posted on July 02, 2009MSNBC.com's Courtney Hazlett highlights the new OK! magazine cover, with a photo of the late Michael Jackson on its cover. She questions the magazine's editorial decision to run the picture of Mr. Jackson "which shows him lying on a stretcher,...
Gay Sex Portrayals and Obscenity Doctrine
Posted on July 02, 2009Barry McDonald, Pepperdine University School of Law, has published "If Obscenity Were to Discriminate," in volume 103 of Northwestern University Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. This essay develops the author's criticisms of Professor Elizabeth Glazer's thoughtful essay, When...
MySpace Defendant's Conviction Will Be Tossed
Posted on July 02, 2009The judge overseeing the Lori Drew "MySpace" criminal case is set to throw out her misdemeanor conviction, indicating that because the jury did not convict her of felony charges he sees a constitutional problem, according to an MSNBC.com story. The...
ASA Rules That Ice Cream Ad Gives Offense
Posted on July 01, 2009Remember those complaints over that "sexy" nun and priest ad for Antonio Federici Gelato Italiano? The Advertising Standards Authority (UK) has now nixed them after reviewing the complaints and the company's response. Read more here. The ASA first started looking...
Pirate Bay Has New Owner
Posted on July 01, 2009Swedish company Global Gaming Factory X has purchased The Pirate Bay for more than four million pounds, assuring rights holders that they will get royalties, unlike the policy of the prior owners, who were sentenced to one year in prison...
Copyright Law and Technology
Posted on July 01, 2009Ben Depoorter, University of Miami School of Law and Ghent University Department of Legal Theory and Legal History, has published "Technology and Uncertainty: The Shaping Effect on Copyright Law," in volume 157 of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2009)...
Evaluating the Spectrum Auction
Posted on June 30, 2009Ellen P. Goodman, Rutgers University Law School, has published "Spectrum Auctions and the Public Interest," in volume 7 of Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology Law (2009). Here is the abstract. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission held its largest...
First Amendment Documentary Airs Tonight
Posted on June 30, 2009Premiering on HBO tonight at 9 p.m., 8 central, "Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech," a documentary from hypenate Liz Garbus, daughter of First Amendment attorney Martin Garbus. According to the Blog of Legal Times, It's a...
Scammers, Spammers, Are "Pouncing" On Jackson Death
Posted on June 30, 2009...according to MSNBC.com story.
Anonymous Speech Online
Posted on June 30, 2009Miguel E. Larios, The John Marshall Law School, has published "E-Publius Unum: Anonymous Speech Rights Online." Here is the abstract. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits Congress from enacting laws abridging the freedom of speech...
New Staff at FCC
Posted on June 30, 2009Via the Blog of Legal Times, news that incoming FCC Chair Julius Genachowski has picked noted attorney Edward Lazarus as his chief of staff, and Priya Aiyar, Colin Crowell, Bruce Gottlieb, Ruth Milkman, Mary Beth Richards, and Sherrese Smith for...
The ISP as Speaker and Conduit
Posted on June 30, 2009Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University, College of Communications, and Dickinson College of Law, has published "Invoking and Avoiding the First Amendment: How Internet Service Providers Leverage Their Status as Both Content Creators and Neutral Conduits...
Supreme Court Asks For Re-Argument In "Hillary: The Movie"
Posted on June 30, 2009Here's a New York Times discussion of the Citizens United (the "Hillary: the Movie") case, the only one left over from this Supreme Court term.
New UK Family Court Rules Regarding Media Access Challenged
Posted on June 30, 2009One celebrity is already arguing that UK family court proceedings involving famous families and their children should be closed to the media despite new rules opening such proceedings to the press. But an attorney for the media counters that high...
Academic Vampire Killing
Posted on June 29, 2009In the Chronicle of Higher Education, Christina Hoff Sommers on "Persistent Myths in Feminist Scholarship," including those in law school textbooks.
David Rohde and Wikipedia
Posted on June 29, 2009In Sunday's New York Times, an extremely interesting and provocative piece about the difficulties of keeping the news of David Rohde's abduction by the Taliban out of Wikipedia.
Not As Big as a Googol
Posted on June 29, 2009Google's Dana Wagner is trying to convince the public, and the feds, that Google isn't all that big. There's room in the search engine world for Google's many competitors, he says. His company doesn't swallow up the whole. Read more...
The Fight Over Michael Jackson's Image
Posted on June 29, 2009Tressa Baldas of the National Law Journal discusses the already mounting exploitation of the late Michael Jackson's image, and what his estate might and might not be able to do about it.
New York Times In Battle With Anti-Corzine Group Over Website
Posted on June 26, 2009Via the blog Copyrights and Campaigns, this story about a cease-and-desist demand from the New York Times against the Republican Governors' Association for its parody of the paper. The RGA is in full pursuit of Senator Jon Corzine, up for...
Allegations Hit University of Hawaii Former Student Newspaper Editor
Posted on June 26, 2009From the Chronicle of Higher Education News Blog: a story about problems at the University of Hawaii's student newspaper EIC. The university has confirmed that from January 2008 to May 2009, the editor, Kris DeRego, made up the names of...
Ofcom: Sky TV Should Offer Content To Others
Posted on June 26, 2009Watchdog agency Ofcom says Sky TV (BSkyB), owned by Rupert Murdoch, should share its premium channel content with other broadcasters in order to ensure a competitive market, and asked all parties to make their opinions known by the middle of...
Gender Bias In the Theater
Posted on June 25, 2009Harvard doctoral student Emily Glassberg Sands is presenting the results of empirical research that demonstrates that there is perceptable gender bias in the theater, in terms of how artistic directors choose which plays to present. Directors seem to prefer male...
Politkovskaya Verdict Tossed; Supreme Court Orders New Trial
Posted on June 25, 2009Russia's highest court has ordered a new trial in the case of three men acquitted of murder in the case of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The three were acquitted in February. Ms. Politkoskaya's three children have now said it is time...
Daily Star Retracts Statements About David Beckham
Posted on June 25, 2009Yet another retraction from a British paper: The Daily Star agrees that its story that David Beckham "made a play" for a Hungarian model was untrue. It is paying him substantial damages. Read more here.
Deadline Hollywood Daily Sells For $15 Million
Posted on June 25, 2009Nikki Finke has sold her Deadline Hollywood Daily blog for a nice profit of $15 million. The blog became a prime site for information during the writers' strike and has stayed prominent since then as a source for breaking news....
Update On Franklin, Anderson & Lidsky, Mass Media Law Due Out Soon
Posted on June 25, 2009From Professor David Anderson, co-author of Franklin, Anderson & Lidsky on Mass Media Law: The 2009 Supplement to Franklin, Anderson, & Lidsky, Mass Media Law, will be sent no later than July 10 to all law teachers known to Foundation...
Greek Quiz Show Banned
Posted on June 25, 2009A program produced by Elisabeth Murdoch, called "The Moment of Truth," that is among the most popular on Greek television has been banned by Greek regulators after it aired some particularly embarassing scenes. The program, which is also on the...
It's Thyme For Some Catnip For the IP Lawyers: The "Coming Through the Rye" Lawsuit
Posted on June 24, 2009FindLaw's Julie Hilden considers J. D. Salinger's copyright infringement lawsuit against Frederik Colting (that's "J. D. California" to you and me), the author of the "Catcher in the Rye" sequel "60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye." She discusses the...
Stars and Stripes Reporter Request For Embed Denied; Paper Says It's Censorship
Posted on June 24, 2009Editors of the newspaper distributed to all U.S. troops say it has been censored by military brass because of what one reporter has previously written about the U.S. occupation in Iraq. Heath Druzin asked to be imbedded with the U....
Google's ItalianTrial On Hold
Posted on June 23, 2009The trial of Google execs over a video posted on YouTube, which began this week, is delayed because of an interpreter's illness. Italian prosecutors claim that Google had an obligation to prevent airing of the video in order to protect...
Lily Allen Sues Over Comments In British, French Mags
Posted on June 23, 2009Singer Lily Allen is suing the Sun over a report it published claiming she called former Spice Girl Victoria Beckman "a monster" and X Factor judge Cheryl Cole "stupid and superficial." Ms. Allen says the Sun is republishing comments from...
Protecting Virtual IP
Posted on June 23, 2009Brendan James Gilbert, SUNY Buffalo School of Law, and SUNY Buffalo, School of Management, has published "The Second Life of Intellectual Property." Here is the abstract. Intellectual property holders have invested significant resources into Second Life in pursuit of customers...
More On Libel Laws In the UK, and the Response of the Congress
Posted on June 22, 2009From the Guardian's Robert Sharp, a commentary on libel laws in the UK and reaction to the US House of Representatives' passing of a bill intended to protect against the effects of British defamation judgments. Says Mr. Sharp, The bill...
The Blogger, Cincicatus
Posted on June 22, 2009The New York Times discusses the uses of cute cats and their ability to put political censors off the the track. It's hard to find political messages hidden among all those kitties, says Harvard researcher Ethan Zuckerman. Read more here.
Lawyers, Lawyers, Everywhere....
Posted on June 22, 2009The Hollywood Reporter Blog has this on a law student who took seriously a lawyer's "challenge" that no one could " fly from Orlando to Atlanta, exit one of the busiest airports in the world, and arrive at a hotel...
Blogger Arraigned On Incitement Charges
Posted on June 22, 2009Blogger Harold Turner is being arraigned on incitement charges. Mr. Turner had urged his readers to "take up arms" against Connecticut legislators who supported a bill to allow the lay public more control over affairs of the Roman Catholic Church....
NYT Reporter Escapes Taliban
Posted on June 21, 2009The New York Times reports that its reporter David Rohde has succeeded in escaping from the Taliban. Mr. Rohde, another reporter, Tahir Ludin, and their driver, were captured seven months ago. Mr. Rodhe and Mr. Ludin climbed over a wall....
New Technologies, Citizen Reporters, Bring News of Violence, Protests in Iran
Posted on June 20, 2009Because the foreign press is barred from reporting on site on events in Iran without prior government permission, it is relying on citizen reporters for information on the gathering protests, and information on those protests seems to be pouring in...
Holding On to Holden
Posted on June 19, 2009A New York Times editorial discusses whether readers really care anything about the legal battle going on over that sequel to Catcher In the Rye.
Jury Finds Against Woman For Illegal Downloading
Posted on June 19, 2009A jury has found against Jammie Thomas-Rasset at her second trial for illegal downloading of copyrighted music, and socked her with 1.9 million dollars in fines. A judge tossed the first verdict against her in 2007, saying that the jury...
Online Archive of British Newspapers Now Available
Posted on June 18, 2009The British Library is making available an important archive of nineteenth century papers at British Newspapers 1800-1900. Read more here.
Reporter Can Withhold Information, Northern Ireland Judge Rules
Posted on June 18, 2009A judge in Northern Ireland has held that a journalist may withhold information about the Real IRA, because to hand it over would put her life at risk. Law enforcement had attempted to force reporter Suzanne Breen to hand over...
Las Vegas Paper Says It Will Fight Subpoena For Info About Online Posters
Posted on June 17, 2009The Las Vegas Review-Journal says it will fight a federal subpoena to hand over information about readers who posted comments on a story about businessman Robert Kahre. A story about the subpoena also elicited comments from Las Vegas Review-Journal readers...
WWCS (What Would Carlin Say)?
Posted on June 17, 2009The principal of Shaker Heights High (Shaker Heights, OH) has taken matters in hand after discovering that the senior in charge of designing the cover of this year's yearbook imbedded a four-letter word somewhere in there. He sent a letter...
Beckham Nanny Apologizes, Drops Dismissal Claim
Posted on June 17, 2009David and Victoria Beckham's former nanny has apologized to them, and promised not to reveal any more private information about them in future. Abbie Gibson, who signed several confidentiality agreements while she worked for the couple, has also abandoned her...
J. K. Rowling Sued For Plagiarism
Posted on June 17, 2009J. K. Rowling's publisher is defending her against the accusation that her fourth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, plagiarizes a novel by Adrien Jacobs, The Adventures of Willy the Wizard, published in 1997. Mr. Jacobs'...
Ministry, Jack Straw, Win Fight To Keep Names of Judges Disciplined For Misconduct Secret
Posted on June 16, 2009The Ministry of Justice has won a legal fight to keep private the names of judges who have been disciplined for improper behavior. The Guardian newspaper had wanted the names of the members of the judiciary both to "enhance public...
Ofcom Considering Changes To Commercial Advertising Rules
Posted on June 16, 2009Ofcom, the British agency that regulates broadcasting, is looking at the rules governing commercial advertising, and may allow radio stations greater freedom to make money by promoting services linked to content on air. What's at issue, says Ofcom, are "editorial...
Foreign Media Banned From Covering Live Protests Over Iranian Presidential Election
Posted on June 16, 2009The Iranian government is making it more difficult for foreign media to cover the protests over the recent Presidential election. Now it has told foreign news outlets they cannot cover such protests. The media can discuss the events, but cannot...
Non-Vanity Publishing
Posted on June 16, 2009Ricardo Urbina, a district court judge, sometimes orders micreants to write books as part of their sentences (no pun intended). Hmmm--compelled speech. A Good Thing, or a Bad Thing? Read more here in a New York Times editorial.
Examining Copyright Term Legislation
Posted on June 16, 2009Dennis S. Karjala, Arizona State University College of Law, has published "Judicial Review of Copyright Term Extension Legislation," at 36 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 199 (2002). Here is the abstract. In Eldred v. Ashcroft, the Supreme Court has...
A New Book on Defamation and Celebrity
Posted on June 15, 2009David Rolph, University of Sydney, Faculty of Law, has published Reputation, Celebrity, and Defamation Law (Ashgate: 2008). Here is the introduction to the book. The concept of reputation is the central legal interest protected by the tort of defamation but...
The First Amendment and the Right of Publicity
Posted on June 15, 2009Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, DePaul University College of Law, has published "A Perspective on Human Dignity, the First Amendment and the Right of Publicity," in volume 51 of the Boston College Law Review (2010). Here is the abstract. The right of...
Dangerous Days For Journalists In Russia
Posted on June 15, 2009Peter Preston on the danger to the press in Russia.
Is the Chilling Effect Taking Hold in English Media Law?
Posted on June 15, 2009Afua Hirsch discusses whether English libel laws have a chilling effect on investigative journalism here.
Supreme Court Nixes Bail For Conrad Black
Posted on June 15, 2009The Supreme Court has told Conrad Black he will not get out of jail, pending his appeal in the Court. Mr. Black was formerly chair of Hollinger International, which controlled numerous media outlets including the Chicago Sun-Times.
FCC Digital Hotline: It's Out There For Consumers
Posted on June 15, 2009The FCC says it's still receiving calls for help as the nation's tv grid goes digital. The agency's hotline got almost 800,000 calls for assistance as nearly all analog stations finally went to black (or snow) on June 12th. Many...
What New News Organizations Need
Posted on June 15, 2009The New York Times discusses the dangers that face reporters who work for start-up organizations such as Current TV, the network that employs Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two journalists facing 12 years in prison in North Korea. These...
Why the "S" Word, "F" Word At Oral Argument During That Fleeting Expletive Case
Posted on June 15, 2009Tony Mauro of the Blog of Legal Times passes on this tidbit from the Fox v. FCC oral arguments of a few weeks back. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reviewed the case, as well as some other things, at an appearance...
AP, Non-Profits, Agree to Deal to Make Non-Profits' Work Available to AP Members
Posted on June 14, 2009The Associated Press has agreed to begin distributing the work of four non-profits: Center for Public Integrity, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and ProPublica. Members of the media who belong to the AP...
May We Have Your Autograph?
Posted on June 12, 2009An American family has discovered its wholesome look was helping a Prague grocer sell his services. The Smiths (yes, that's their name) used a family photo (created by a third party) as their holiday card and then posted it on...
The Big Switch
Posted on June 12, 2009As the digital switchover hits, is everybody happy? NPR reports that, well, maybe not. Some cable subscribers are noting that some of their favorite channels are missing. Meanwhile,volunteers are helping those still in the dark, both literally and figuratively speaking.
Want To Get (Or Get More) Published?
Posted on June 11, 2009Ellen Bauerle, manager of the acquisitions department for the University of Michigan Press, has suggestions for those who want to get their manuscripts noticed by monograph publishers. She says that, in her experience, women more than men have some difficulty...
Sir Alan Sugar May Have To Choose, After All
Posted on June 10, 2009Sir Alan Sugar is under pressure to choose between his position as host of the BBC's The Apprentice and a position in Gordon Brown's government. The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, said in a letter to Jeremy Hunt, part of...
The Power of Mom
Posted on June 10, 2009Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is on the defensive after remarks he made about Australian television personality Tracy Grimshaw have raised hackles in her native country. Apparently, he compared her unfavorably to a pig. Ms. Grimshaw then shot back on her...
It's Over
Posted on June 10, 2009Screen Actors Guild members have agreed to the new contract between SAG and AMPTP, ending a months-long battle over terms. Said the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, "The ratification vote by SAG members is good news for the...
Update On the Soto Copyright Infringement Case
Posted on June 09, 2009An update on the Pablo Soto case: he's the young man who created a P2P software program that has become the bane of the music industry. Here's an earlier post.
Newspaper, Athletic Association Battle Over Rights To Carry High School Games On Internet
Posted on June 09, 2009The Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association are defending their right to carry high school games live on the Internet against claims by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association that it has the right to regulate such broadcasts...
Celebrity Impersonator Acquitted
Posted on June 09, 2009Trina Johnson-Finn, a celebrity impersonator, has been acquitted by a Surinam court of attempting to defraud attendees at a concert who expected to see Toni Braxton. The judge said he wasn't sure that Ms. Johnson-Finn knew the people who paid...
Major British Legal News Reporting Service Suffering Financial Woes
Posted on June 09, 2009The Guardian's Roy Greenslade reports that Strand News, which provides reports of the doings of the Royal Courts, needs financial assistance. According to its editor, James Brewster, it needs some cash to make it through the month. "All we need...
Chinese Government Orders New PCs To Come Equipped With Blocking Software
Posted on June 09, 2009The People's Republic of China is requiring PC makers to install blocking software inside all hard drives beginning in 30 days. Currently the Chinese government can block access to external Internet sites; such software would give it the ability to...
BBC Settles With Plaintiff Physician; Defamation Suit Cost One Million Pounds
Posted on June 09, 2009The BBC is settling with successful fertility doctor Mohamed Taranissi over statements made during a program broadcast in January of 2007. Dr. Taranissi sued for defamation in April of 2007, citing a "biased and irresponsible" report into his clinics...
L.A. Mayor, Reporter, Dating; Reporter Off Political Beat
Posted on June 08, 2009Media are reporting that the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, is now dating L.A. reporter Lu Parker, a former Miss U.S.A., whose beat includes local politics. This is the second time in two years that the mayor has been...
Fixing Those Entries
Posted on June 08, 2009The New York Times on the unseen battles behind those Wikipedia entries.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Access To Government Information
Posted on June 08, 2009Vincent Kazmierski, Carleton University Department of Law, has published "Something to Talk About: Is There a Charter Right to Access Government Information?" in volume 31 of the Dalhousie Law Journal. Here is the abstract. Can sections 2(b) and 3 of...
What the First Amendment Protects
Posted on June 08, 2009Steven G. Gey, Florida State University College of Law, has published "The First Amendment and the Dissemination of Socially Worthless Untruths," in volume 36 of Florida State University Law Review (2008). Here is the abstract. In contrast to other countries,...
Looking at Women Through the First Amendment
Posted on June 08, 2009Amy M. Adler, New York University, School of Law, has published "Medusa: A Glimpse of the Woman in First Amendment Law," forthcoming in the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities. Here is the abstract. In this Article, I attempt...
Current TV Journalists Sentenced To Twelve Years In Prison
Posted on June 08, 2009From CNN: A North Korean court has sentenced two U.S. journalists working for Current TV to twelve years in prison following a four day trial. CNN and other media indicate that the White House is working through many avenues to...
Slumdog Millionaire Actress Writing Life Story
Posted on June 07, 2009Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali, who's nine, is writing her autobiography. Transworld is publishing it; it's set for stores in July.
His Brilliant Careers
Posted on June 07, 2009According to the Tories, Sir Alan Sugar, who hosts the British version of The Apprentice, should choose between his tv career and any government position in Gordon Brown's Cabinet. But any position as "Enterprise Czar," Sir Alan says, would be...
Thai Paper Publishes Photos of David Carradine's Body; Family Upset
Posted on June 07, 2009Media reports are surfacing that actor David Carradine's family is upset that a Thai newspaper has published photographs of his body. His brother Keith has suggested that the family may sue for invasion of privacy. Mr. Keith Carradine's attorney Mark...
The WSJ Weighs In on Britain's Libel Laws
Posted on June 05, 2009From the Wall Street Journal: commentary on the Simon Singh verdict.
Reconsidering the Regulation of Hate Speech
Posted on June 05, 2009Alexander Tsesis, Loyola University of Chicago, School of Law, has published "Dignity and Speech: The Regulation of Hate Speech in a Democracy," in volume 44 of the Wake Forest Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. The American tradition of...
A History of the Use of Media Subpoenas
Posted on June 05, 2009RonNell Andersen Jones, Brigham Young University Law School, has published "Media Subpoenas: Impact, Perception, and Legal Protection in the Changing World of American Journalism," in the Washington Law Review (forthcoming). Here is the abstract. Forty years ago, at a time...
Author Appeals Libel Judgment; Defends Article Criticizing Chiropractic Medicine
Posted on June 04, 2009Simon Singh is appealling a defamation ruling against him. The co-author of Trick or Treatment, a study of pseudoscience and alternative medicine, lost a case against the British Chiropractic Association brought based on an article he had written for The...
Another Lawsuit For Sacha Baron Cohen
Posted on June 04, 2009Richelle Olson, Executive Director of Desert Valley Charities, is suing Sacha Baron Cohen and NBC Universal over an incident which she alleges occured during the filming of his new movie "Bruno." Ms. Olson says that during one scene, she was...
Our Bad
Posted on June 03, 2009For about a day, the U. S. Government accidentally posted online a list of civilian nuclear sites and information about the programs administered there. After inquiries from the media, the list disappeared. The government, still trying to determine how the...
Radio Host Pursuing Lawsuit Against Britain's Home Secretary
Posted on June 03, 2009Although Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said she is stepping down, radio host Michael Savage apparently intends to pursue a libel action against her. Ms. Smith had refused to allow Mr. Savage entry into the UK because his views are...
The Legal History of Branzburg v. Hayes
Posted on June 02, 2009Eric Easton, University of Baltimore, School of Law, is publishing "A House Divided: Earl Caldwell, the New York Times, and the Quest for a Testimonial Privilege," in the Utah Law Review. Here is the abstract. In the 1972 case of...
IP Law, Cultural Norms, and Traditional Knowledge
Posted on June 02, 2009Stephen R. Munzer and Kal Raustiala, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, have published The Uneasy Case for Intellectual Property Rights in Traditional Knowledge, at 27 Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 37 (2009). Here is the abstract...
J. D. Salinger Files Suit Over "Sequel" To Catcher in the Rye
Posted on June 02, 2009The notoriously reclusive J. D. Salinger has filed a lawsuit over the book 60 Years Later, which is listed as "pre-pub" by Amazon.com, and has as its author the pseudonymous "J.D. California." 60 Years Later, published by Nicotext, is described...
Iraqi Journalist Killed In Mosul
Posted on June 01, 2009Sports reporter Alaa Abdul-Wahab has died in a bomb attack in Mosul. He worked for the Baghdadiya TV station, based in Cairo. Sources report that a bomb was attached to his vehicle. Two other reporters were wounded. In another incident...
Wikipedia Blocks Church of Scientology Addresses To Prevent Editing
Posted on June 01, 2009Wikipedia has banned some editors apparently associated with the Church of Scientology and all IP addressed associated with the Church from editing Church entries in an attempt to end an on-going dispute over portrayals of the Church in the online...
Comparative Intellectual Property Law: Indonesia
Posted on June 01, 2009Simon Butt, University of Sydney Faculty of Law, has published "Intellectual Property in Indonesia: A Problematic Legal Transplant," in Indonesia: Law and Society (T. Lindsey ed.; Federation Press, 2008). Here is the abstract. Since the mid 1990s, Indonesia has significantly...
Texas Passes Shield Law; It's Already In Use
Posted on May 29, 2009Texas' new shield law has already been put to use: a judge quashed a subpoena issued to KIII reporter Katy Kiser using the Free Flow of Information Act this week. Read more here.
Spector Gets 19 Years To Life
Posted on May 29, 2009A judge has sentenced music producer Phil Spector to a term of 19 years to life for the murder of Lana Clarkson and told him he must serve a minimum of 19 years before being eligible for parole.
U. S. District Court For the Western District of Kentucky Holds That Single Publication Rule Applies To Internet In Defamation Cases
Posted on May 29, 2009The U. S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has ruled that the single publication rule applies to the Internet. The plaintiff claimed that he had been defamed per se on the defendant's website. The defendant claimed that...
Craigslist CEO: We're At Center of "Witchhunt"
Posted on May 29, 2009Craigslist head Jim Buckmaster says his company is enduring a "witchhunt" over the erotic ads it has accepted over the past few years. He notes in particular the actions of South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, against whom Craigslist was...
David Souter and Academic Freedom
Posted on May 29, 2009For the Chronicle of Higher Education, Steve Sanders writes that we may find that one of the greatest losses academics sustain now that Justice Souter is leaving the bench is one that is not immediately obvious: his devotion to academic...
New York City's Film Tax Credit Legislation May Be Revamped
Posted on May 28, 2009New York City is rethinking and re-introducing its film tax credit legislation. Maximum tax credits would drop from five to four percent, run through 2011, and cap at a quarter of a million dollars. Television shows could get the four...
Daily Mail Issues Apology, Pays Damages, Over Story About Preferring Adoption and Careers To Natural Childbirth
Posted on May 28, 2009The Daily Mail has apologized to four woman and paid out 10,000 pounds in damages to three of them after running a story that suggested that they valued their careers and figures more than having biological children, and thus chose...
Photo Agency, Online Service, Apologize For Inclusion of Photo of Disaster As Potential Jigsaw Puzzle
Posted on May 28, 2009A photo agency has apologized after an image of a fire in which more than 50 people died in 1985 was included by an online service as a potential photo for use as a jigsaw puzzle. PA Photos included the...
Science, the Brain, and the First Amendment
Posted on May 27, 2009Interesting post by Marc Blitz over at Neuroscience and Law Blog on the subject of "low value speech" and the assumptions that scholars make about it, particularly with regard to its effect on mental images. Says Professor Blitz, "Can we...
German Court Lifts Ban On Film
Posted on May 27, 2009A film starring Keri Russell may be shown in Germany after a court ruled that screening it would not infringe the rights of convicted killer Armin Meiwes, whose actions inspired the movie. Another court banned Grimm Love (German title Rohtenberg),...
D (Digital) Day
Posted on May 27, 2009Switchover day is nearly here (again), but this time it seems as though nearly everybody is ready. Nearly 3 percent of U.S. households may be in the dark when stations go from analog to digital signals, but can they say...
Banning Lawyer Advertising
Posted on May 27, 2009Nat Stern, Florida State University College of Law, has published Commercial Speech, 'Irrational' Clients, and the Persistence of Bans on Subjective Lawyer Advertising, forthcoming in the Brigham Young University Law Review. Here is the abstract. Notwithstanding a string of defeats...
Contemporary Understanding Of the Fourteenth Amendment
Posted on May 27, 2009George C. Thomas III, Rutgers University, Newark, has published Newspapers and the Fourteenth Amendment: What Did the American Public Know About Section 1? in Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues, volume 18 (2009). Here is the abstract. For over sixty years...
The Viacom v. YouTube Litigation
Posted on May 26, 2009Candidus Dougherty, Rutgers School of Law, Camden, has published Viacom International, Inc., et al v. YouTube, Inc., et al. in volume 8 of E-Commerce Law Reports (March 2009). Here is the abstract. On March 13, 2007, Viacom International, Inc. and...
Some of S. C. Nominee's Opinions
Posted on May 26, 2009For a partial list of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor's opinions, see http://documents.nytimes.com/selected-cases-of-judge-sonia-sotomayor#p=1
Keeping Defamation Suits At Home
Posted on May 26, 2009A New York Times editorial in support of anti-libel tourism legislation.
Daily Telegraph Removes Tory MP's Blog
Posted on May 26, 2009The Daily Telegraph is no longer allowing Tory politican Nadine Dorries to blog on its site, after she accused the paper's owners of improper motives in allowing reporters to pursue further investigations concerning MP expenses. She accused the paper of...
Buckingham Palace Chauffeur Allows Reporters Access To Palace Despite Security Guidelines
Posted on May 25, 2009Various media, including the BBC and ABC News, are reporting that a chauffeur who works for Buckingham Palace, is on suspension after he allowed two journalists from the tabloid News of the World to get access to the building, and...
Legal and Social Issues of Wifi Roaming
Posted on May 25, 2009Romain Robert, Mark Manulis, Florence De Villenfagne, CRID, Damien Leroy, Julien Jost, FUNDP, University de Namur, Francois Koeune, Catholic University of Louvain, Caroline Ker, Jean-Marc Dinant, FUNDP, University of Namur, Yves Poullet, CRID, Olivier Bonaventure, and Jean-Jacques Quisquater, Catholic University...
Fundamental Rights in Virtual Communities
Posted on May 25, 2009Nic Suzor, QUT School of Law, has published On the (Partially-)Inalienable Rights of Participants in Virtual Communities at 130 Media International Austrlia 90. Here is the abstract. As virtual communities become more central to the everyday activities of connected individuals,...
A Famous Cartoon
Posted on May 25, 2009The New York Times notes that on May 25, 1872, Harper's Weekly published a cartoon parodying three New York state judges--Albert Cardozo (father of Benjamin), John McCunn, and George Barnard--for providing the Tweed Ring and Tammany Hall with helpful decisions...
More On Craigslist's Ads
Posted on May 24, 2009The litigation over craigslist's "erotic ads" section is heating up. Even though the site reached an agreement with 40 states attorneys general last year, and has modified its practices since the arrest of a Boston man in the murder of...
Does International Law Apply in Cyberspace?
Posted on May 22, 2009Scott Shackelford, University of Cambridge Department of Politics and International Studies, and Stanford Law School, has published From Nuclear War to Net War: Analogizing Cyber Attacks in International Law, in volume 25 of Berkeley Journal of International Law (2009)...
The Digital Rights Management Debate
Posted on May 22, 2009Bill D. Herman has presented a dissertation, The Battle Over Digital Rights Management: A Multi-Method Study of the Politics of Copyright Management Technologies, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD in the Department of Film and Media Studies,...
Why Protect Lies?
Posted on May 21, 2009Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, University of Florida College of Law, has published Where's the Harm?: Free Speech and the Regulation of Lies, at 65 Washington and Lee Law Review 1091 (2008). Here is the abstract. Why does the First Amendment accord...
A New Look at the History of the Evolution of the Right of Privacy
Posted on May 21, 2009Neil M. Richards, Washington University School of Law, reviews Lawrence Friedman's Guarding Life's Dark Secrets: Legal and Social Controls Over Reputation, Propriety, and Privacy (2007) for the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities (volume 21 (2009))...
The Intersection of Tort Law and Media Ethics
Posted on May 21, 2009Richard T. Karcher, Florida Coastal School of Law, has published Tort Law and Journalism Ethics, at 40 Loyola University Chicago Law Journal 781 (2009). This paper compares and contrasts the ethical obligations of news reporters under journalism ethics codes with...
Danish Reporter Runs Afoul Of Animal Abuse Laws
Posted on May 20, 2009According to NPR, a Danish reporter fell afoul of the law when she tried to prove a point about toxic products by putting shampoo in water populated by guppies. She was convicted of animal cruelty. But a judge let her...
Press Complaints Commission Rules Magazine In Breach For Checkbook Journalism
Posted on May 20, 2009The Press Complaints Commission has told Take a Break magazine that its payment to the daughter of a woman convicted of arson was in violation of the Press Code. Take a Break paid the daughter of Christine Chivers, convicted of...
Chilling Effects
Posted on May 20, 2009Justice Secretary Jack Straw says the result of conditional fee arrangements, in which the plaintiffs' attorneys can charge if they win, but nothing if they lose, is causing a "chilling effect" in British media law. For well financed media, such...
"So Easy, Even A Man Can Do It"
Posted on May 20, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has determined that an oven cleaner ad that uses the line "So easy, even a man can do it," is not sexist and demeaning to men. The ASA concluded that viewers would see the ad as...
That TV License Fee
Posted on May 20, 2009The British tv license fee, which funds the BBC, has been under scrutiny for some time. Right now the House of Commons is debating whether to hold the line for a year, instead of allowing the fee to increase as...
Supreme Court Grants Cert In Conrad Black Case
Posted on May 20, 2009Conrad Black, the former head of Hollinger International, who was convicted of mail fraud, will get his day at the Supreme Court. The Court granted cert in his case. See the 7th circuit denial of his appeal here.
Evaluating the Criminalizing of Privacy Violations
Posted on May 20, 2009Dennis J. Baker, King's College London, School of Law, has published The Sense and Nonsense of Criminalizing Transfers of Obscene Material: Criminalizing Privacy Violations, at 26 Singapore Law Review 126 (2008). Here is the abstract. The recent distribution of nude...
Rapper Dies of Gunshot Wounds at L.A. Hospital
Posted on May 19, 2009Rapper Dolla (Roderick Anthony Burton II) has died of gunshot wounds at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He was 21. Mr. Burton, who was reportedly with rapper DJ Shabbazz, were outside a local mall when he was shot. Police are investigating....
Music Groups Sue Programmer For Infringement
Posted on May 19, 2009Several music industry groups, including Sony, are suing Pablo Soto for unfair competition over P2P file-sharing programs that allow free downloads. Mr. Soto claims that his programs allow use consistent with Spanish law. Read more here.
No Inquiry Into Leak Over MP Expenses
Posted on May 19, 2009Whoever leaked information about the expenses of Members of Parliament to the media--a very hot issue--is apparently safe from police investigation after the London police decided not to pursue an inquiry. Law enforcement, along with the Crown Prosecution Service, have...
Anita Ramasastry On the Duty To Remove Online Content After Barnes v. Yahoo
Posted on May 19, 2009FindLaw's Anita Ramasastry discusses whether website operators have a duty to remove "malicious content" from interactive sites. She discusses the recent 9th Circuit ruling, Barnes v. Yahoo.
Concerns Over Blasphemy Bill In Ireland
Posted on May 19, 2009The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) warns of the effects of introduction of a new blasphemy bill in Ireland, amending the existing Defamation Law.
A Bird In the Hand
Posted on May 19, 2009So, granted, this post has nothing to do with media law, but I need a break from posting about lawsuits and trials and all that. This post has to do with a man, a mama duck, and her brood. Watch...
Woody Allen, American Apparel Settle For $5 Million
Posted on May 18, 2009Actor/director Woody Allen and manufacturer American Apparel have apparently settled out of court over the company's use of an image of Mr. Allen from the film "Annie Hall." A trial was set to start today. Mr. Allen read a statement...
Do We Need a Federal Law Against Cyberbullying?
Posted on May 18, 2009Helen Popkin discusses the wisdom of laws against cyberbullying. Currently under discussion: H.R. 1966: Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act, introduced by Linda Sanchez, (CA), numerous co-sponsors. Meanwhile, Lori Drew awaits sentencing in the MySpace case: she was convicted in November...
The Media's Impact
Posted on May 18, 2009Gina Barreca discusses the impact of the media's war coverage, then (during the Vietnam era) and now.
Get the SEC on the Phone: The Profession's Looking Iffy On TV
Posted on May 17, 2009Elena Marty-Nelson, Nova Southeastern University Law Center, has published Securities Laws in Soap Operas and Telenovelas: Are All My Children Engaged in Securities Fraud? at 18 Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 329 (2009). Here is the abstract...
A New York Times Editorial on the President's Detainee Photos Order
Posted on May 17, 2009An editorial from the New York Times on President Obama's decision not to release detainee photos in spite of two court orders to do so.
More On Criminal Libel In Colorado
Posted on May 15, 2009An update in the Weichel (criminal libel) case: Mr. Weichel pled guilty May 14 to two counts of harassment and received four years of probation, a five hundred dollar fine and sixty hours of community service. Read more here in...
A New Article on Criminal Libel
Posted on May 15, 2009David Pritchard, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, has published Rethinking Criminal Libel: An Empirical Study, forthcoming in 14 Comm. L. & Pol?y (2009). Here is the abstract. The prevailing view of criminal libel among communication law scholars in the United States...
Fifth Circuit Reverses Lower Court Denial of Motion To Strike Under La. Anti-Slapp Statute In Defamation Case
Posted on May 15, 2009In Henry v. Lake Charles American Press, the Fifth Circuit has reversed a lower court ruling denying defendants' motion to strike under Louisiana's anti-SLAPP statute, La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 971. Henry was the owner and president of Chennault Jet...
Two American Journalists To Go On Trial; Roxana Saberi In Vienna
Posted on May 15, 2009North Korea is putting two U.S. journalists, detained for the past several months, on trial next month. It's not clear what charges the government has brought against Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who work for Current TV. Meanwhile, Iranian-American journalist...
Butter Wars
Posted on May 15, 2009Former Sex Pistol John Lydon has plunged into an ad war in behalf of Country Life butter, which is battling for supremacy over rival brand Anchor, a New Zealand brand. Apparently, a number of loyal Anchor buyers think it's British,...
Henry King, Nuremburg Prosecutor and Scholar of International Law
Posted on May 15, 2009From Case Western Reserve Law School's Michael Scharf: It is with great sorrow that I pass along the news that our dear friend and colleague, Professor Henry T. King, Jr. died on Saturday, May 9, 2009, just a few weeks...
The Fairness Doctrine
Posted on May 15, 2009An update on the Fairness doctrine from the Blog of the Legal Times.
More On the Google Book Search Settlement
Posted on May 15, 2009Not everyone thinks the Google Book Search settlement is a good idea. Pamela Samuelson at Boalt Hall Law School has pointed out the pros and cons of the settlement in a letter sent to Judge Denny Chin, who's overseeing the...
A Book on Detroit TV
Posted on May 15, 2009A new book of interest: Tim Kiska's A Newscast for the Masses: The History of Detroit Television News (Wayne State University Press, 2009). Mr. Kiska teaches journalism at the University of Michigan, Dearborn.
No Testimony From Farrow, Soon-Yi Previn in Allen Trial
Posted on May 15, 2009Lawyers for American Apparel say they will not call Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn to the stand. Read more here.
Examining Filtering
Posted on May 15, 2009T. J. McIntyre, and Colin Scott, University College, Dublin, School of Law, have published Internet Filtering: Rhetoric, Legitimacy, Accountability and Responsibility in Regulating Technologies (R. Brownsword and K. Yeung eds.; Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2008)...
Gender, Copyright and Filk Literature
Posted on May 14, 2009Melissa L. Tatum, University of Arizona College of Law, Robert E. Spoo, University of Tulsa College of Law, and Benjamin Pope, University of Arizona, have published Does Gender Influence Attitudes toward Copyright in the Filk Community? as Arizona Legal Studies...
Judge Rules R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Ad Violated Agreement
Posted on May 14, 2009A judge has ruled that Reynolds' Tobacco's Rolling Stone ads violated an agreement with 46 state attorneys general because it contained "cartoon imagery." He ordered the company to prepare an anti-smoking ad aimed at young people that would also appear...
Criminal Libel Cases In Colorado
Posted on May 14, 2009J. P. Weichel is apparently still awaiting trial for posts he made about his girlfriend on Craigslist. The local prosecutor decided to charge him under the state's criminal libel statute, which could land him in jail if he's convicted. Mr....
More From Julie Hilden on the Prosecution of "Sexting" Cases
Posted on May 13, 2009Julie Hilden discusses why "sexting" is not necessarily equivalent to "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" if the "sexter" is a minor.
Another Look at the EU Directive For Data Protection and Privacy
Posted on May 13, 2009Karen McCullagh, Salford Law School, has published Data Sensitivity: Proposals for Resolving the Conundrum at 2 Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology 190. Here is the abstract. The EU Directive 95/46/EC specifically demarcates categories of sensitive data meriting special...
Talking Privacy: What We Talk About When We Talk About Google
Posted on May 13, 2009Chris Jay Hoofnagle, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, has published Beyond Google and Evil: How Policy Makers, Journalists and Consumers Should Talk Differently About Google and Privacy in 14 First Monday...
Wikihoaxer Creates Wikiflap
Posted on May 12, 2009An Irish college student has proven what a lot of researchers have feared for a long time: people copy from Wikipedia without verifying the credibility of what they copy. Unfortunately, some of those copiers are journalists. Shane Fitzgerald put a...
Miss California/USA Wins Out; Moving On
Posted on May 12, 2009Donald Trump has ruled that Carrie Prejean, Miss California/USA, will continue serving, even though she posed for those infamous photos, and even though the Miss California/USA pageant officials seemed annoyed with her for failing to disclose the existence of the...
Bob Herbert On Race Conscious Coverage Of Murder Victims
Posted on May 12, 2009Bob Herbert writes about the uneven media coverage given to murder victims, even today. When he was a young reporter, he notes, the tilt toward stories about white victims was obvious. [T]he press is still very color conscious in the...
This Time It's Print, and This Time It's Personal
Posted on May 12, 2009The New York Times notes the increase of users posting copyrighted material on the Web. Many authors are understandably annoyed. The Times quotes Harlan Ellison, who has been fighting this battle for some time, as saying, "?I don?t ask to...
Iranian-American Journalist Reported Released
Posted on May 11, 2009The BBC reports that Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage, has been released from an Iranian prison. After a hearing yesterday, the Iranian appellate court reduced the charge against her and suspended...
Chinese Director Takes New Film To Cannes, Risks Trouble With Government
Posted on May 11, 2009Chinese director Lou Ye will premiere his film Spring Fever at the Cannes Film Festival this year even though in 2006 the PRC prohibited him from making movies for five years. His film Summer Palace, about the Tiananmen Square uprising...
Frank Rich on the Media Funding Crisis
Posted on May 10, 2009In today's New York Times, Frank Rich poses the elephant-in-the-room question: "Does [the public] want to pony up for news, whatever the media that prevail?" No matter who's left standing after newspapers merge, or their buildings close up and the...
Prosecutors Reach Plea Deal in Murder Trial of Man Suspected of Ordering Killing of Oakland Newspaper Editor
Posted on May 10, 2009Prosecutors have reached a plea agreement with 21-year-old Devaughndre Broussard in the death of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, murdered in 2007. Mr. Broussand has agreed plead guilty and to testify against Yusuf Bey IV, owner of a popular local...
Imprisoned Journalist Will Have Appeal Heard Tomorrow
Posted on May 09, 2009CNN reports that the father of Roxana Saberi says she will have her appeal heard tomorrow. THe told the press the Iranian Supreme Court will meet to consider her 8-year prison sentence, imposed after a one day closed day trial....
Actress Kate Winslet Sues Daily Mail For Libel
Posted on May 08, 2009Next up: Winslet v. the Daily Mail. Ms. Winslet is suing for defamation over the Daily Mail's contention that she lied about her fitness regime. The offending article carries the headline: "Should Kate Winslet win an Oscar for the world's...
Submit Your Choice To Succeed Retiring Justice David Souter, Courtesy of The New York Times
Posted on May 08, 2009In light of Justice David H. Souter's plans to retire from the Supreme Court in June, NYTimes.com is taking its readers? pulse with an interactive feature to see who they would pick as a replacement, if they were president. The...
Is the Miss California/USA Photo Flap Nearly Over?
Posted on May 08, 2009CNN reports that Miss California/USA pageant officials have called a press conference for Monday to announce whether they will "dethrone" current title holder Carrie Prejean over photos that have surfaced showing her semi-nude at a lingerie shoot. Miss Prejean maintains...
White House Military Office Director Resigns Over NY Photo Op Flyover
Posted on May 08, 2009Louis Caldera, the White House Military Office Director, has delivered his resignation to President Obama in the wake of that April flyover photo op that we now learn cost more that $350,000, scared the beejeebers out of New Yorkers who...
LSU Press May Close Due To State's Financial Crisis
Posted on May 07, 2009Proposed budget cuts at Louisiana State University have made the national news: the Louisiana State University Press may close its doors, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education news blog. Earlier this morning I heard an interview on this topic...
A Look at Statutory Damages in Copyright Law
Posted on May 07, 2009Pamela Samuelson and Tara Wheatland, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, have published Statutory Damages in Copyright Law: A Remedy in Need of Reform. Here is the abstract. U.S. copyright law gives successful plaintiffs who promptly registered their works...
Fordham Law Professor Creates Intriguing Privacy Law Internet Assignment Involving Justice Scalia
Posted on May 07, 2009Associate Justice Antonin Scalia seems miffed at a Fordham Law School professor who asked his privacy law class to see what it could find out about the justice online. So reports the Wired Campus blog. According to a related Concurring...
Elsevier Reveals It Published More Than One "Fake" Journal
Posted on May 07, 2009As it turns out, the big publishing house Elsevier didn't just put out one "fake" journal, it apparently put out seven during the early 2000s, according to this Scientist story by Bob Grant. Elsevier now says that it is conducting...
Michael Savage Wants His Name Removed From "No Entry" List
Posted on May 07, 2009Radio host Michael Savage now says he wants UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to apologize to him for including him on a list of unwanted visitors to the country. "I'm a patriotic American, and if that's a crime in England,...
Miss California/USA Debate Heats Up Over Use of Pageant Footage, Photos
Posted on May 06, 2009Speculation is increasing that Miss California/USA Carrie Prejean could lose her title after the leak of those semi-nude photos, not necessarily because of the pix, but because she failed to disclose the existence of the photos to pageant officials and...
The Webby Awards For Law Winners
Posted on May 06, 2009So who won the Webby Awards for Law this year? Here's the list. Webby Award Winner: Womenslaw.org People's Voice Winner: Getlegal.org The other nominees Immigration Advocates Network Jurist Workplace Fairness Congratulations to the winners and the nominees.
Radio Host, Denied Entry Into UK, Says He Will Sue
Posted on May 06, 2009U.S. radio host Michael Savage, who's on the list of sixteen "least wanted" people in the U.K. and thus not eligible to enter the country, says he will sue Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. The list also includes Fred Phelps of...
Advertising Standards Authority Bans Email Ad Campaign For New Film
Posted on May 06, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an email campaign for the new film Shifty after the agency received a complaint from an employee who worried that the campaign might jeopardize his or her employment. The ad featured language that suggested...
Regulating the Virtual World Without External Assistance
Posted on May 05, 2009Brendan James Gilbert, University at Buffalo Law School, SUNY, & SUNY at Buffalo School of Management, has published Getting to Conscionable: Negotiating Virtual Worlds' End User License Agreements Without Getting Externally Regulated. Here is the abstract...
Miss California Photo Surfaces; One Judge Calls It "Inappropriate"
Posted on May 05, 2009Just when we thought that the fight between Carrie Prejean, Miss California/USA and first runner-up in the Miss USA 2009 contest, and newly crowned spokesperson for the National Organization for Marriage, and gay marriage advocates could not get messier, someone...
The Allen/American Apparel Lawsuit Continues
Posted on May 05, 2009Here's an update on that Woody Allen/American Apparel lawsuit. Mr. Allen would like to block American Apparel's planned strategy: putting Mia Farrow and Mr. Allen's wife Soon-Yi Previn on the stand to show that Mr. Allen's reputation is not worth...
Defining Cyberbullying
Posted on May 05, 2009Darby Dickerson, Stetson University College of Law, has published What is Cyberbullying? in volume 29 of NASPA Leadership Exhange (Spring 2009). Here is the abstract. Cyberbullying does not yet have a generally accepted definition. Therefore, if universities are considering adding...
California Bill Intended To Reduce Libel Tourism
Posted on May 05, 2009A bill introduced into the California State Senate is aimed at reducing libel tourism. Senate Bill 320 as amended reads: 1716. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), a court of this state shall recognize a foreign-country...
Amy Winehouse Gets Paparazzi Ban
Posted on May 05, 2009A court has ordered the Big Pictures Agency as well as other "unidentified photographers" to stay 100 meters away from singer Amy Winehouse. The order follows on singer Lily Allen's similar win. Read more here.
EU Internet Copyright License Proposal
Posted on May 05, 2009Two European Commissioners think a Union-wide online copyright license is a good idea. Read more here.
Talks Continue at Boston Globe
Posted on May 05, 2009Here's an update from Boston.com, the online version of the Boston Globe, indicating that the paper may not shut down after all. Talks are continuing with the fourth union holdout, the Boston Newspaper Guild.
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Files Suit Over Domain Name
Posted on May 05, 2009The Blog of Legal Times notes that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has decided to sue 007 Productions, based in Goa, India, and holder of the domain name www.Oscars100.com, which it had offered to the Academy...
Michael Dorf on FCC v. Fox
Posted on May 04, 2009FindLaw's Michael Dorf analyzes the Supreme Court's ruling in FCC v. Fox here.
Director Says Vatican "Hampered" Filming of "Angels & Demons"
Posted on May 04, 2009Ron Howard alleges that the Vatican has interfered with the filming of Angels & Demons, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, which he is helming in Rome. Mr. Howard complains the Holy See has prevented the use of certain...
On the Google Book Search Settlement
Posted on May 04, 2009Randal C. Picker, University of Chicago Law School, has published The Google Book Search Settlement: A New Orphan-Works Monopoly? as U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 462. Here is the abstract. This paper considers the proposed...
Supreme Court Tells Third Circuit To Re-Think Ruling In Favor of CBS
Posted on May 04, 2009According to the AP, the Supreme Court has told the 3d Circuit to "re-examine" its ruling in favor of CBS in the Janet Jackson case. The case is FCC v. CBS Corp., 08-653. The case follows on the high court's...
Angels 3, Orioles 1, Journalists, Out.
Posted on May 02, 2009The Guardian reports that four journalists working for the Baltimore Sun got the news that they had joined the ranks of the unemployed while they were covering a Baltimore Orioles game. A reporter for the Orange County Register blogging the...
New York State Appellate Court Upholds Summary Judgment In Kipper v. New York Post
Posted on May 02, 2009A New York state appellate court has upheld a lower court summary judgment ruling in Kipper v. NYP Holdings, finding that the plaintiff failed to show with clear and convincing evidence that the defendant published the statements with actual malice.....
Love in the Afternoon
Posted on May 01, 2009Police finally had to intervene. A couple chose a spot on the lawn at Windsor Castle to, well, express affection for each other, and just--would--not--stop in spite of repeated comments by tourists and others present encouraging them to cut it...
I Scream, You Scream, Apparently We All Scream...
Posted on May 01, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority is investigating an ad for the designer ice cream brand Antonio Federici Gelato Italiano (warning: a parody of "That's Amore!" plays when you open up the website) which rolled out a new advertising campaign with an...
Drug Company Paid For Publication; Did Not Disclose Sponsorship Clearly
Posted on April 30, 2009The Scientist reports that the drug company Merck paid the publisher Elsevier to put out the Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine, a product that it says turned out not to be a real scientific journal but that seems...
SAG Ballots Go Out May 19
Posted on April 30, 2009The Hollywood Reporter notes that Screen Actors Guile (SAG) ballots will be mailed to the membership May 19, due back June 9. SAG members are voting up or down on whether to ratify the new tentative agreement worked out with...
Former Prime Minister's Son Sues Over Sunday Express Article
Posted on April 30, 2009Tony Blair's twenty-five-year-old son Euan, an aspiring banker, has launched a lawsuit at the Sunday Express for printing a story about his personal life. The younger Blair says the story invades his privacy. During the former Prime Minister's tenure at...
Tony Mauro on the FCC v. Fox Decision
Posted on April 29, 2009The Legal Times' Tony Mauro discusses the Supreme Court's 5-4 "fleeting expletives" decision here.
Chinese Court Finds Computer Tech Guilty of Copying, Distributing Material From Actor's Computer
Posted on April 29, 2009A Hong Kong court has found a computer technician guilty of "copying and distributing" material which he found on the laptop of Chinese-Canadian actor Edison Chen. The material was intimate photographs of Mr. Chen and various well-known actresses. Sze Ho-chun...
Britain's "Most Complained About" Ads, 2008
Posted on April 29, 2009Here's a list of the "most complained about" ads in Great Britain in 2008, according to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Daily Express Editor Testifies Before Parliament, Defends Coverage of McCann, Diana Stories
Posted on April 29, 2009Peter Hill, editor of the Daily Express, defended his paper's reporting of the Madeleine McCann kidnapping and of the coverage of the death of Princess Diana, and told Members of Parliament that he never offered to resign over it. Said...
Britney Spears' Former Manager Ordered To Stay Away
Posted on April 29, 2009A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has told both Britney Spears' ex-manager Sam Lufti and a former lawyer, Jon Eardley, to stay away from her, but both say they will appeal the orders. He also ordered a former boyfriend to...
Website Agrees It Published Defamatory Statements About Soccer Team Manager, Will Pay Damager
Posted on April 29, 2009The website Football 365 has agreed that the story it published alleging that Aston Villa's manager Martin O'Neill had lied about the possible move of player Gareth Barry from Aston Villa to Liverpool and will pay "substantial damages" to Mr....
Julie Hilden On "Sexting"
Posted on April 28, 2009The prolific Julie Hilden discusses the law of "sexting" here.
Supreme Court Rules In Favor of FCC On Administrative Issue in "Fleeting Expletives" Case; Declines To Decide Free Speech Issue
Posted on April 28, 2009The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the FCC in the "fleeting expletives" case, finding that the agency has power under the statute to change its prior policy without demonstrating "to a court's satisfaction that the reasons for the...
Qualcomm, Broadcom Settlement
Posted on April 28, 2009Qualcomm and Broadcom have settled their longstanding patent disagreement with a multi-year agreement and a payment from Qualcomm to Broadcomm of $891 million over a four year period. Here's a link to the press release.
That New York Flyover Photo Op
Posted on April 28, 2009The photo-op flyover wasn't such a good idea after all. The White House's Military Office Director, Louis Caldera, who okayed the use of one of the President's two 747's for the event, now apologizes, saying he probably should have realized...
Journalists Can Now Report On British Family Court Proceedings
Posted on April 28, 2009As new rules allowing the press to report on family court proceedings go into effect in Britain, some confusion still reigns. Read more here.
Hilden on Moreno v. Hanford Sentinel
Posted on April 27, 2009FindLaw's Julie Hilden discusses the Moreno case here; it's the one in which a high school principal submitted a former student's poem (previously published on MySpace) to a local paper without her permission. The poem was not complimentary of the...
A Critique of the Right of Publicity
Posted on April 27, 2009Steven Semeraro, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, has published Distinguishing the Right of Publicity: Property Rights, Free Speech Privilege, and Competition Policy, as TJSL Legal STudies Research Paper No. 1374110. Here is the abstract. The right of publicity is an...
Comcast v. FCC: An FCC Rule Gets a Review
Posted on April 27, 2009Here's coverage of the Comcast Corp. v. FCC case from court watchers. The April 24th showdown was, by all accounts, very interesting. From Broadcast Newsroom and from the Legal Times Blog. The BLT also noted that the case was likely...
Presidential Press Conference Will Not Be Aired On Fox Come Wednesday
Posted on April 27, 2009Fox will not air the President's prime time news conference Wednesday, instead airing its regular programming, Lie To Me. The press conference will be available on other Fox networks, including the Fox Business Channel. Read more here.
"Do You Realize" Now OK State Song
Posted on April 25, 2009Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry is signing an executive order making the Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize?" the state's rock song. The Oklahoma Senate had voted to do so but the House couldn't muster the required number of votes needed for...
ABC, Actor Sued For Sexual Harassment
Posted on April 25, 2009From TMZ.com: A former ABC employee is suing ABC and Henry Ian Cusick, "Desmond" on the show "Lost", for sexual harassment. and wrongful dismissal. The suit stems from an incident last October.
Channel 4 Wins Defamation By Fiction Claim
Posted on April 24, 2009A U.S. judge has tossed a defamation by fiction claim, saying that no reasonable person could believe that the character "Ali G" (Sacha Baron Cohen) was discussing in an interview with novelist Gore Vidal was a real person, even though...
UK Entertainment Industry Says It Needs More Assistance From the Government To Protect Itself From Pirates
Posted on April 24, 2009The Guardian's Jemima Kiss covers the Industry Trust's warning from the United Kingdom's entertainment industry to the government: do more to stamp out piracy or legitimate film, music, and tv offerings will disappear.
Author Jared Diamond Sued For Defamation
Posted on April 24, 2009According to this Chronicle of Higher Education account, author Jared Diamond is being sued for defamation over a New Yorker article in which he discusses New Guinea clan warfare. Two Papua New Guinea tribesmen are now claiming that because of...
Fulbright Scholar Program Opportunities In Law
Posted on April 23, 2009Fulbright Scholar Program for US Faculty and Professionals for 2010-2011 is open The Fulbright Scholar Program is offering 74 lecturing, research or combined lecturing/research awards in law, including six Fulbright Distinguished Chairs. Even better, faculty and professionals in law also...
Britain's Information Privacy Commissioner Rejects Complaints About Google Street View; Says Its Use Doesn't Invade Privacy
Posted on April 23, 2009The agency responsible for protecting British citizen privacy says Google Street view does not violate it, based on other current practices including Twitter, blogging, and use of services such as MySpace and Facebook. The Information Privacy Commissioner's Office says that...
Reporter Vs. Cop
Posted on April 22, 2009CNN video: a confrontation between a reporter and a police officer. The reporter wants to interview witnesses at the scene of an accident and the police officer doesn't want him to do so. The cameraman just keeps filming--well, until he...
Iranian/American Journalist Appeals Sentence
Posted on April 22, 2009Roxana Saberi's lawyer has appealed her eight-year sentence for espionage, as Iran's president has announced he will not intervene in the judicial process.
CNN and That DMCA Takedown Notice
Posted on April 22, 2009Ben Sheffner comments here on CNN's DMCA takedown notice sent to YouTube over Susan Roesgen's encounter with some "Tea Party" protesters on April 15th. Here's comment from blogger The Legal Tech Guy. Howard Kurtz and his guests also commented on...
Law Professor Wins Pulitzer Prize For Historical Work
Posted on April 21, 2009Law professor Annette Gordon-Reed has won a Pulitzer Prize (History) for her book The Hemings of Monticello: An American Family (Norton). She also won a National Book Award for her work.
Rodney Smolla On IMS Health Inc. v. Ayotte
Posted on April 21, 2009Rodney Smolla, Dean of Washington & Lee Law School, analyzes the IMS Health Inc. v. Ayotte case for Legal Times here. Here's a page on the case from the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Cheerleading Coach Poses For "Playboy," Loses Job
Posted on April 20, 2009A cheerleading coach at Casa Robles High School in Sacramento, California has lost her job after school officials learned she posed for Playboy's "Cybergirls of the Week" as "Carlie Christine." She worked for the high school as Carlie Beck. Read...
The Ups and Downs of Legislating Video Poker
Posted on April 20, 2009North Carolina legislators are taking another stab at outlawing video poker--at least, they're trying. But their efforts might interfere with an ongoing case, so they've backed off, at least for the moment. Read more here in an article from the...
Madonna Falls From Horse; She Says Paparazzi Scared It
Posted on April 20, 2009According to the Guardian, Madonna fell from her horse at a friend's place in the Hamptons when paparazzi popped out of the bushes and scared the animal while trying to get photos of her as she rode. But at least...
Father Says He Never Agreed To Allow "Slumdog Millionaire" Child Actress To Be Adopted
Posted on April 20, 2009The BBC reports that the father of one of the children who appeared in the hit film Slumdog Millionaire denies agreeing to allow undercover reporters pretending to represent a wealthy Arabic couple to adopt his daughter for cash. Rafiq Qureshi...
Journalist's Trial Is Getting Review
Posted on April 20, 2009NPR has this story on developments in the conviction of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who received a one day, closed door trial, and was then sentenced to eight years in prison. An Iranian judge has ordered further investigation into her...
London Police Seize Tourist's Vacation Snaps
Posted on April 17, 2009London police have seized an Austrian tourist's vacation photos in the name of national security. Specifically, they took all photos having to do with transportation (all those iconic London buses and bus stations). The Metropolitan Police indicated it is investigating...
Pirate Bay Team Convicted, Sentenced
Posted on April 17, 2009A Swedish court has convicted, sentenced, and fined the Pirate Bay website founders for copyright violations. The four men, Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde, were sentenced to a year in jail and fines of four...
Indonesian Supreme Court Rules For Time Magazine in Suharto Defamation Appeal
Posted on April 17, 2009Time Magazine has won a reversal of the defamation verdict against it in the Suharto case. The Indonesian Supreme Court reversed its own 2007 ruling, finding that statements in Time's 1999 article did not deviate from the Indonesian press code....
First Circuit Grants Appeal of Record Companies to Deny Webcast in Tenenbaum Case
Posted on April 17, 2009The First Circuit has granted the request of the record companies that the proceedings in the case between the RIAA and Joel Tenenbaum not be webcast. The district judge, Nancy Gertner, had granted the request, but the recording industry had...
The Regulation of Video Games
Posted on April 17, 2009Emile Loza, Technology Law Group, has published Video Software Dealers Ass'n v. Schwarzenegger: A Rising Ninth Circuit Case on the Constitutionality of States' Regulation of Minors' Access to Violent Video Games, at 25 Computer & Internet Lawyer 1 (May 2008)...
That Amazon Glitch
Posted on April 16, 2009Helen Popkin updates us on the Amazon.com "glitch." She says the problem was customer service.
Law Professors Sue West Publishing Over Treatise Pocket Part
Posted on April 16, 2009Two law professors have sued West over a supplement to Pennsylvania Criminal Procedure: Law, Commentary, and Forms, which they say does not fairly represent their work. The publisher issued the 2008 pocket part, which normally contains summaries of about 150...
Nurse Fired After She Secretly Films Patients At British Hospital
Posted on April 16, 2009A nurse has been dismissed from her position after she secretly filmed patients at the hospital where she worked for the benefit of BBC documentary filmmakers who were doing undercover work to discover bad conditions at the institution, the Royal...
"Tranquility" Gets the Nod For Node
Posted on April 15, 2009Astronaut Sunita Williams revealed on last night's Colbert Report that NASA has decided to name the new International Space Station module "Tranquility" after the Sea of Tranquility, the original landing spot for humans on the moon. But the agency did...
American Apparel/Woody Allen Lawsuit Gets Ugly
Posted on April 15, 2009The clothing company American Apparel is defending itself against a lawsuit by Woody Allen by saying that billboards using his image can't have damaged his reputation any more than he damaged it on his own. The company used a still...
Subpoenas, ISPs, Anonymous Posters, and Public and Private Plaintiffs In Defamation Suits
Posted on April 15, 2009Jason C. Miller, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Law School, has published Who's Exposing John Doe? Distinguishing Between Public and Private Figure Plaintiffs in Subpoenas to ISPs in Anonymous Online Defamation Suits in volume 13 of Journal of Technology Law...
Privacy Law and Criminal Law In Hong Kong
Posted on April 15, 2009Dennis J. Baker, King's College London School of Law, has published The Sense and Nonsense of Criminalizing Transfers of Obscene Material: Criminalizing Privacy Violations at 26 Singapore Law Review 126 (2008). Here is the abstract. The recent distribution of nude...
Advisor To Gordon Brown Quits Over Emails
Posted on April 15, 2009An advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has resigned over emails that have been called "smears" of opposition party members. Civil Service head Sir Gus O'Donnell also said they breached civil rules. Damian McBride quit his position as an...
Judith Krug, Head of ALA's Office For Intellectual Freedom, Dies
Posted on April 15, 2009Judith Krug, the first head of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, died Saturday at the age of 69. NPR has this remembrance.
Name For New ISS Module To Be Announced On "Colbert Report" Tonight
Posted on April 14, 2009So will it be the "Colbert Chamber"? Or the "Serenity Space"? Or some other choice for the new module on the International Space Station? Astronaut Sunita Williams gets the honor of revealing the name on the Colbert Report tonight.
Louisiana's Governor To Write Book About His Life, Policies
Posted on April 14, 2009Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has signed a publishing deal with Regnery Books to write a book about his experiences and political views. The book, to be co-written with Peter Schweizer, should be out next year.
Doe, a Deer
Posted on April 14, 2009Viral Julie Andrews in a train station. A Dutch talent show staged it to find an actress to play Maria in a new version of The Sound of Music, but hey, if it brings out the grins....
Regulating Digital Privacy Online
Posted on April 14, 2009Jacqueline D. Lipton, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, has published 'We, the Paparazzi': Developing a Privacy Paradigm for Digital Video, in volume 95 of the Iowa Law Review (2009). Here is the abstract. In January 2009, the Camera...
Former NPR Journalist Tried On Espionage Charges
Posted on April 14, 2009NPR reports that Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who has reported for NPR in the past, was tried in secret, according to Iranian sources, on espionage charges. The court will issue its verdict soon.
Amazon.com At the Center of a Rankings Storm
Posted on April 14, 2009A new Amazon.com policy through which the giant online retailer is trying to make its lists of top selling books more "family friendly" is apparently backfiring with a vengeance. A large variety of books have lost their sales rank because...
Jury Finds Phil Spector Guilty of Murder In Death of Lana Clarkson
Posted on April 13, 2009The jury deliberating in the murder trial of record producer Phil Spector has found him guilty of second degree murder in the death of Lana Clarkson. Members of the panel rejected the option of finding him guilty of a lesser...
Project Runway Back On the Catwalk
Posted on April 12, 2009Lifetime and NBC Universal have finally settled that Project Runway lawsuit. The Weinstein Company paid NBC for the rights, so Heidi, Tim, and the gang are finally moving to Lifetime. Look for Season 6 (already taped) later this year.
VA Objects To Veteran Interview; Demands Reporter's Equipment
Posted on April 11, 2009An American University college radio station student ended up giving his sound card to a Veterans Administration public affairs officer who objected to his interview of an attendee at VA Town Hall meeting. Things deteriorated from there. Nevertheless, Mr...
Is It a Live Photographer, Or Is It a Taped Zombie?
Posted on April 11, 2009A second TMZ photographer has filed a complaint over an altercation with actor Woody Harrelson, this time out of an event at La Guardia Airport. Mr. Harrelson and his daughter were returning from filming of the actor's new movie Zombieland....
Kanye West and "South Park"
Posted on April 10, 2009Rapper Kanye West told the AP that the satiric show South Park had enough of an effect on him to cause a reality check. Something about not always telling people how dope he is. Read more here, and check out...
Appellate Court Reverses Trial Court; Suggests Test For Identification of Anonymous Posters In Defamation Action
Posted on April 10, 2009In Independent Newspapers v. Brodie, the appellate court ruled that the trial judge abused his discretion when he ordered the defendants to identify anonymous posters in an Internet forum pursuant to a defamation action. The Court reviewed the record and...
Iraqi Journalist's Sentence Reduced To One Year
Posted on April 09, 2009An appellate court has reduced Muntadhar al-Zeidi's sentence from three years to one year, citing his prior lack of a criminal record. Mr. al-Zeidi was convicted last month of throwing his shoes at former President George W. Bush. Read more...
London Police Offer Apology To Press Over G20 Restrictions
Posted on April 09, 2009London's police have issued an apology to media photographers who had difficulty covering the G20 summit last week. Some photographers say some officers used section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to prevent them from taking pictures of police...
Ofcom May Investigate Propriety of BBC Host's Remarks To Winning Grand National Jockey
Posted on April 09, 2009Ofcom may investigate a BBC host's comment about a jockey's teeth after both it and the BBC received numerous viewer complaints that the remark was offensive. Host Claire Balding urged jockey Liam Treadwell, who had just won the Grand National,...
Adult Content Loose In Cyberspace
Posted on April 09, 2009In a recent column, FindLaw's Eric Sinrod discusses access to adult content in cyberspace.
French Assembly Just Says "Non" To Internet Piracy Bill
Posted on April 09, 2009The French National Assembly has rejected an Internet piracy bill that would have allowed ISPs to turn off service to users who download material illegally. Many legislators failed to turn up for the vote, which turned out to be 21-15....
Kicking Google Maps to the Curb
Posted on April 08, 2009FindLaw's Anita Ramasastry discusses the recent debate over whether Google Maps should be allowed to continue its mapping of local neighborhoods--it's been disinvited in parts of the UK, where some citizens find its activities intrusive and where it may be...
Texting Teen Costs Parents Big Bucks, Earns A Lot of Failing Grades
Posted on April 08, 2009These Wyoming parents thought they had disabled the texting capability on that cell phone they gave their thirteen year old. Think again. They got a four figure bill when she racked up 10,000 text messages in a month. Oh, and...
The Devil Is In the Details
Posted on April 08, 2009The Chronicle of Higher Education has this story about an embarrassing typo in Brigham Young University's student newspaper.
The Ward Churchill Verdict
Posted on April 08, 2009Ward Churchill, the controversial University of Colorado prof who sued after he lost his tenured position at the University of Colorado, won his lawsuit and a $1 damages award from the jury. Why the $1 award? One juror explained that...
House of Lords Committee Suggests BBC Fees Should Support Rival Network Programming
Posted on April 08, 2009A House of Lords committee studying the BBC license fee says part of it should be diverted to help support regional broadcasters that provide arts and news programming. The committee also noted the dangers of the BBC's possible cultural dominance...
Former NPR Journalist Charged With Espionage
Posted on April 08, 2009NPR reports that journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been detained for some time in Iran, is being charged with espionage. Her visa ran out in 2006 but she stayed in the country doing some reporting and gathering material for a...
AP Wants More Control Over Its Content
Posted on April 07, 2009The Associated Press is taking aim at news aggregators, blogs, and other media that use its content without paying, says a New York Times article. I won't quote from it.
Max Mosley Files Lawsuit Against News of the World For Defamation
Posted on April 07, 2009Max Mosley has filed another lawsuit, this time a defamation suit against the tabloid News of the World. He won an invasion of privacy suit last year against the same paper for its coverage of his sex life. (Here's a...
Ofcom Hits BBC With 150,000 Pound Fine Over Sachsgate
Posted on April 07, 2009The Russell Brand/Jonathan Ross "Sachsgate" mess continued with a 150,000 pound fine for the BBC. Ofcom ruled that Mr. Brand and Mr. Ross left "gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning" messages on Mr. Sachs' answering machine and that the network is...
Jade Goody's Family Threatens Paper With Lawsuit Over Funeral Photos
Posted on April 07, 2009The late Jade Goody's family is threatening The People with a lawsuit after the tabloid published photographs of the reality celeb's funeral. Other papers did not, acceding to the family's request for privacy.
Movie Critic Joins Ranks of Unemployed After Downloading Leaked Movie
Posted on April 07, 2009Movie critic Roger Friedman has left his position at Fox News after reviewing the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine using an illegally downloaded copy. Mr. Friedman gave the film a good review, but that wasn't enough to salvage an act his...
Choreographer Arrested On Suspicion of Rape
Posted on April 05, 2009The AP reports that choreographer Alex Da Silva has been arrested on charges of rape. An arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday. Apparently he was investigated on similar charges in 2003, 2004, and 2005 but no charges were filed. Mr. Da...
The First Amendment Audience
Posted on April 04, 2009Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky has published Nobody's Fools: The Rational Audience as First Amendment Ideal as University of Florida Levin College of Law Research Paper No. 2009-19. Here is the abstract. Assumptions about audiences shape the outcomes of First Amendment cases...
The First Amendment and Anonymous Speech
Posted on April 04, 2009Paul Horwitz, University of Alabama School of Law, has published Anonymity, Signaling, and Silence as Speech. Here is the abstract. This short article responds to a paper delivered by Professor Martin Redish at a symposium on Speech and Silence in...
Advertising Standards Authority Says VW Ad Too Violent For Children's Hour
Posted on April 02, 2009The Advertising Standards Authority has nixed a VW ad for pre-watershed viewing; it takes its inspiration from the Jason Bourne and Matrix films, and the agency notes that it's too violent for children and might lead to "copycatting." Here's the...
Keira Knightley Appears As Victim In Ad
Posted on April 02, 2009Keira Knightley appears as a domestic abuse victim to raise awareness of violence against women in a new ad for Women's Aid.
House Passes Reporter's Shield Bill
Posted on April 02, 2009The House has passed the Free Flow of Information Act, designed to provide reporters with some "shield" protections at the federal level. A Senate committee is considering a similar measure.
Copyright's Originality Standard
Posted on April 02, 2009Joseph Scott Miller, Lewis & Clark Law School, has published Hoisting Originality, as Lewis & Clark Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2009-4. Here is the abstract. Copyright's originality standard is ripe for reappraisal. Many have described how copyright...
Another "Sexting" Case, This Time in Pennsylvania
Posted on April 01, 2009Three Pennsylvania teens facing child pornography charges got something of a reprieve when a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent a local district attorney from proceeding with the case. The girls appeared in photos taken more than...
YouTube Suspends Account of Prominent Skeptics Organization
Posted on April 01, 2009YouTube has suspended the account of skeptical organization JREF, headed up by astronomer Phil Plait, but it's unclear why. Dr. Plait indicates that he's trying to "work things out," but JREF supporters are miffed.
Julie Hilden on the Noonan v. Staples Case
Posted on March 31, 2009FindLaw's Julie Hilden discusses the 1st Circuit's recent decision in Noonan v. Staples. See an earlier Media Law Blog post on the ruling here.
Max Mosley's Attorney and the PCC's Chair
Posted on March 31, 2009Attorney Dominic Crossley speaks up in defense of his client Max Mosley here after Sir Christopher Meyer, head of the Press Complaints Commission, defends its role.
U. S. Journalists To Go On Trial In North Korea
Posted on March 31, 2009The New York Times reports that North Korea will put two U. S. journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, on trial for entering the country illegally and for committing "hostile acts" against it. Read more here.
Iowa Bill Would Restrict Campaign Speech, Political Cartoons
Posted on March 30, 2009Here's a link to the text of that Iowa bill that would ban political cartoons and restrict the distribution of campaign material without the permission of candidates. Here's short commentary from Eugene Volokh and Rick Hasen, both of whom note...
SCOTUS Won't Hear Virginia's Appeal In Spam Law Case
Posted on March 30, 2009FindLaw reports that the Supreme Court has denied cert in the case of Virginia v. Jaynes, the anti-spam case in which Jeremy Jaynes, the "spam king," had obtained reversal of his conviction under a Virginia anti-spam statute. The Virginia Supreme...
The Courts and Academic Speech
Posted on March 30, 2009Peter Schmidt reviews the application of Garcetti v. Ceballos in the courts in a column for The Chronicle of Higher Education here. See his follow-up, discussing a loss for Delaware State University professor Wendell Gorum in the Third Circuit here.
Fulbright Scholar Competition Now Open
Posted on March 30, 2009From the Fulbright folks. The Fulbright Scholar competition for 2010-2011 is open. The Fulbright Scholar Program is offering lecturing, research or combination lecturing/research awards in over 125 countries for the 2010-2011 academic year. Opportunities are available not only for college...
Encouraging the Marketplace of Ideas
Posted on March 30, 2009Maurice E. Stucke, University of Tennessee School of Law, has published Concentrated Media is Something We Can't Ignore: A Response to Speaker Pelosi. Here is the abstract. This essay briefly responds to a request that the U.S. Department of Justice....
Under the New Administration, Lesser Known Media Enter the Spotlight
Posted on March 29, 2009From the New York Times, a report on the black news media under the Obama administration.
British Home Secretary Apologizes Over Charges For Movies
Posted on March 29, 2009British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith says she will repay the costs of films that she and her husband watched at home and then charged taxpayers. The films include some adult movies. The Home Secretary has apologized and says the charges...
Call For Papers in Semiotics and Law
Posted on March 27, 2009SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS 8th International Roundtable for the Semiotics of Law (IRSL 2009) (2-5 December 2009) TRANSPARENCY, CONTROL AND POWER: ISSUES IN LEGAL SEMIOTICS Convenor: Vijay K. Bhatia Conference Venue: Department of English, City University of Hong Kong ...
Wiki Knowledge and Wiki Law
Posted on March 27, 2009Matthew Rimmer, Australian National University, ANU College of Law, has published Wikipedia, Collective Authorship, and the Politics of Knowledge, in Intellectual Property Reforms: Fostering Innovation and Development (Christopher Arup & William Van Caenegem (Edward Elgar, 2009)...
New Jersey Teen Faces Charges For Posting Explicit Photos of Herself On MySpace
Posted on March 27, 2009NPR has aired this story about a teen facing charges of distributing child pornography for posting explicit nude photographs of herself on MySpace. More and more youngsters are posting such photos without understanding the possible legal consequences.
Father of Jade Goody's Children Asks Media To Stop Taking Photos of Them
Posted on March 25, 2009The father of late reality star Jade Goody's children has asked media to show restraint in taking photographs of their two small children, aged five and four. Pictures of the two boys have been prominent in newspapers and tabloids since...
Constitutional Protection of Free Speech and Australian Copyright Law
Posted on March 25, 2009Melissa De Zwart, Monash University Faculty of Law, has published The Future of Fair Dealing in Australia: Protecting Freedom of Communication, in volume 4 of SCRIPT-ed. Here is the abstract. This article considers the role of the concept of freedom....
The Votes Are In--It's Colbert By a Landslide
Posted on March 25, 2009ABC News first reported this tidbit a few days ago, but the votes are now in. Pseudocommentator Stephen Colbert got his real fans to keyboard in his name as the moniker for the International Space Station's new add-on, and it...
Bad Little Britney
Posted on March 25, 2009Jesse Sheidlower riffs on Britney Spears' new song "If U Seek Amy" and its not so hidden meaning here for Slate. The Parents Television Council has already complained about the lyrics, notes the Volokh Conspiracy's Jonathan Adler.
"Hillary: The Lawsuit"
Posted on March 24, 2009NPR's Nina Totenberg covers the hotly contested lawsuit over "Hillary: The Movie" at the Supreme Court today here. Notes Ms. Totenberg, During the 2008 presidential primary campaign, a conservative advocacy group called Citizens United produced Hillary: The Movie, a 90-minute...
Department of Justice Makes Position Known In Sony/Tenenbaum Case
Posted on March 24, 2009Here's a piece from the Wired Campus Blog (Chronicle of Higher Education) on the Sony/Tenenbaum lawsuit, discussing the position taken by the Department of Justice.
Supreme Court Denies Cert In Berkeley Evolution Website Case
Posted on March 24, 2009The Supreme Court has denied cert (2009 U.S. LEXIS 1996) in the University of California, Berkeley evolution website case. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the plaintiff's failure to establish standing. In a published opinion, the district...
Boxing Films and Censorship
Posted on March 23, 2009Barak Y. Orbach, University of Arizona, has published, "Prizefighting and the Birth of Movie Censorship," as Arizona Legal Studies Discussion Paper 09-08. Here is the abstract. This Article offers an important historical corrective to the history of movie censorship in...
Sixth Circuit Certifies Questions Concerning Electronic Communications To Ohio Supreme Court
Posted on March 23, 2009In American Booksellers Foundation v. Strickland, the Sixth Circuit certified the following questions to the Ohio Supreme Court. We certify the following questions of state law to the Supreme Court of Ohio pursuant to Rule XVIII of the Rules of...
Caught In the Middle
Posted on March 23, 2009Tim Arango reports on the fallout from the dispute between YouTube and rights holders as other parties discover that the popular video sharing site is removing their flicks. Read more here.
More British Reporters May Strike Over Job Layoffs
Posted on March 23, 2009Journalists from the Manchester Evening News may be the next to strike over job cuts. The National Union of Journalists has scheduled a vote later this week. Read more here.
New Jersey State Senator Files Lawsuit Over Sports Betting
Posted on March 23, 2009A New Jersey State Senator has filed a lawsuit to force sports betting in the 46 states that currently cannot offer it, including his own. State Senator Raymond Lesniak says the federal prohibition treats the four states allowed to offer...
Judge Orders British Newspaper Not To Publish Leaked Documents; Docs Already Publicly Available
Posted on March 20, 2009The Guardian reports that a judge has upheld a request from Barclays' bank to prohibit the paper from publishing tax documents relevant to a current Barclays' lawsuit, even though the documents are available elsewhere. The Guardian obtained the documents from...
Lawyer Says Blogger Client Has Died in Iranian Prison
Posted on March 20, 2009Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, an Iranian lawyer, says he believes that his client, blogger Omid Mir Sayafi, has died in prison. Mr. Sayafi was jailed for insulting the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Internet post. Another inmate, a physician, got the...
First Circuit Allows Defamation Case To Proceed; Massachusetts Law Allows Plaintiff To Try To Show Defendant Acted With "Actual Malice" Even If Statement Is True
Posted on March 19, 2009The First Circuit has reversed itself in the Noonan case, ruling that the plaintiff presented sufficient grounds on which to proceed on a defamation claim. Noonan claims first that Staples committed actionable libel against him through the sending of the...
ASA Tells Universal Studios "Wanted" Television Commercial Unsuitable For Younger Viewers
Posted on March 18, 2009An ad for Angelina Jolie's new film Wanted is unsuitable for children of all ages, according to the Advertising Standards Authority, which has told Universal Studios that it can no longer show the ad when youngsters are likely to be...
BBC Journalists Will Strike In April
Posted on March 18, 2009BBC journalists are planning to strike in April over planned job reductions. A local of the National Union of Journalists okayed the action in a vote today.
Indian Courts and Wikipedia
Posted on March 17, 2009Raghav Sharma, National Law University, Jodhpur, has published "Wikipedian Justice." Here is the abstract. This short article highlights the increasing reliance by Indian courts on Wikipedia. The Supreme Court seems to have accepted Wikipedia as a reliable source of information...
Sheet Music Websites and Copyright Infringement
Posted on March 17, 2009James T. Tsai, George Mason University School of Public Policy and Case Western Reserve University School of Law, has published "The Unlitigated Case: A Study of the Legality of Guitar Tablatures," forthcoming in Boston College Intellectual Property and Technology Forum...
Call For Papers
Posted on March 17, 2009From Nick Federico, Deans Fellow to Professor Anthony Varona, Professor of Law at the American University, Washington College of Law CALL FOR PAPERS & PANELS OUTSIDERS INSIDE: CRITICAL OUTSIDER THEORY AND PRAXIS IN THE POLICYMAKING OF THE NEW AMERICAN REGIME...
America's Next Top Brawl
Posted on March 16, 2009Pandemonium broke out at the auditions for America's Next Top Model Saturday. It's not clear what set off the crowd of folks competing for spots on Tyra Banks's show, but several people were injured and three were arrested. Read more...
Student Blogging In the Courtroom
Posted on March 16, 2009Journalism and law students are blogging in the public interest at the W. R. Grace trial. Read more here.
Hilden On Anonymous Speech In Defamation Cases
Posted on March 16, 2009Julie Hilden discusses a Maryland ruling that sets forth rules for the unmasking of anonymous online posters in defamation cases and calls for Congress to settle the debate.
BBC Uses Botnet For Demo In TV Program
Posted on March 16, 2009An upcoming episode of the BBC's program BBC Click TV will demonstrate how botnets send spam. But the network used its own botnet to show how easy it is to do so, and might have broken British law when it...
From the Guardian: The Guardian Student Media Awards
Posted on March 16, 2009From the Guardian The Guardian Student Media Awards 2009 have now launched! Now in their 31st year, the Guardian Student Media Awards have made 100s of media moguls out of mere mortals including some of the country's most successful journalists,...
Jon Stewart, Jim Cramer Have Verbal Slugfest On "The Daily Show"
Posted on March 13, 2009Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer had it out last night on Mr. Stewart's "The Daily Show" over Mr. Cramer's financial predictions and Mr. Stewart's disapproval thereof. Is it safe for the rest of us to watch tv now?
Buffalo TV Exec Pleads Not Guilty in Death of Wife
Posted on March 13, 2009Muzzammil Hassan, the Bridges TV exec accused of killing his wife days after she filed for divorce, has pled not guilty. Officers found his wife beheaded at the television station after he turned up at a local police station telling...
The First Amendment and Hate Speech
Posted on March 13, 2009Steven J. Heyman, Chicago-Kent College of Law, has published "Hate Speech, Public Discourse, and the First Amendment," forthcoming in Extreme Speech and Democracy (Ivan Hare and James Weinstein eds.; Oxford University Press). Here is the abstract. In recent decades, American...
The Aesthetics of Pornography
Posted on March 13, 2009Fernando Munoz Leon, Yale Law School, has published "Political Pornography." Here is the abstract. Isn't it nonsensical to suggest, as Susan Sontag does, that "the pornographic imagination says something worth listening to?" The relationship between constitutional law and pornography is...
Government Regulation and Student Speech
Posted on March 13, 2009Josh Paul Davis and Joshua D. Rosenberg, University of San Francisco School of Law, have published "The Inherent Structure of Free Speech Law: Government as Patron or Regulator in the Student Speech Cases." Here is the abstract. Free speech law...
Sexual Harrassment Among "Friends" and Other Annoyances
Posted on March 13, 2009Kimberly D. Phillips, Texas Tech University School of Law, has published "My Body is a Sacred 'Garment': Does the First Amendment Protect Clothing Designers Who Work Naked?" Here is the abstract. A Warner Brothers employee, Ms. Lyle, sued the writers...
The End of Libel Tourist Holidays?
Posted on March 13, 2009Sarah Staveley-O'Carroll has published "Libel Tourism Laws: Spoiling the Holiday and Saving the First Amendment," in volume 4 of the NYU Journal of Law & Liberty (2009). Here is the abstract. On April 28, 2008, New York Governor David Paterson...
Military Judge Rules That Qualified Privileges Applies; CBS Does Not Have To Turn Over Outtakes In Haditha Trial
Posted on March 13, 2009A judge has refused to order CBS News to turn over unaired video of an interview with Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, a Marine charged in conjunction with the 2005 deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha. The government had sought...
Cell Phone Service Contract Fun
Posted on March 13, 2009An interesting post from Bob Sullivan of the Red Tape Chronicles regarding his attempt to cancel cellphone service with Sprint, and his subsequent communications with Sprint and the FCC when he discovered that his final month's service was not pro-rated.
Shoe Throwing Journalist Receives Three Year Sentence
Posted on March 13, 2009That Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former President Bush was sentenced to three years in jail. Read more here.
SNL Parodies Hawaiian Tourists, and Hawaiian Lt. Gov. Takes Offense
Posted on March 13, 2009Hawaii's Lieutenant Governor is among those objecting to a recently aired Saturday Night Live skit that parodies locals who entertain visitors to the islands. Lieutenant Governor James "Duke" Aiona says he'll send a letter of protest to SNL executive producer...
Newspaper Asks Court To Void Labor Contract
Posted on March 12, 2009The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, now seeking bankruptcy protection, wants to invalidate a labor contract in order to put its financial house in order. Read more here.
North Carolina Writer Says Warner Brothers Swiped "Monster-in-Law" Idea
Posted on March 12, 2009North Carolina writer Sheri Gilbert is suing Jane Fonda, Jennifer Lopez and other involved with the 2005 movie Monster-in-Law, alleging that the film is based on her script, written in 1998. The defendants say a hostile mom-in-law from hell is...
Trademarks as False Advertising
Posted on March 12, 2009Shahar Dillbar, University of Alabama School of Law, has published "Trademarks as a Media for False Advertising," as University of Alabama Public Law Research Paper NO. 1351862. Here is the abstract. This article explores an unnoticed aspect of trademark law...
ASA Says Christian Party Slogan OK As Advertisement
Posted on March 12, 2009Even though it has generated more than one thousand complaints so far, that Christian Party advertisement is staying up wherever it is. The Advertising Standards Authority considers it "electioneering material" and according to ASA codes, it is permissible even though...
MP Released After Two Weeks
Posted on March 12, 2009The "texting peer," Lord Ahmed, is free after serving two weeks of a three month sentence. The Court of Appeal has ordered his release. See an earlier post on his conviction and sentence here.
An ECHR Ruling On Internet Defamation
Posted on March 12, 2009Cearta blogger Eoin O'Dell has a long and informative post on the recently decided ECHR case of Times Newspapers v. United Kingdom. The Court considered whether the UK's law violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On...
Pillow Fight!
Posted on March 11, 2009San Francisco authorities appear to have had ENOUGH after a "flash mob" of up to 3000 people appeared on February 14 armed with pillows and had great fun for six hours having at one another. Participants didn't clean up, leaving...
What Not To Say
Posted on March 11, 2009The tabloid OK! has apologized for updating former Spice Girls Victoria Beckham's wardrobe in a recent cover. She was actually wearing a red dress, but OK! fashion police editors apparently thought she looked better in black. The photo also shows...
Anti-Putin Song Out of Eurovision Song Contest
Posted on March 11, 2009The Republic of Georgia may be anti-Putin, but the Eurovision song contest folks aren't. They've told Georgia to pull its entry, "We Don't Wanna Put In," and submit something else. The song and its lyrics are, well, against the rules,...
Medical Justice
Posted on March 11, 2009A hot blogosphere topic this week: the website Medical Justice, which advertises that it is "Relentlessly Protecting Physicians From Frivolous Lawsuits." According to the site's founders, its purpose is to promote an agreement between physicians and patients that would deter...
Christopher Hitchens in Beirut
Posted on March 11, 2009Michael J. Totten, who has written for Commentary, Reason, and the Wall Street Journal, recounts about what happened when écrivain engagé Christopher Hitchens wrote on a Syrian Social Nationist Party sign during a recent visit to Beirut, and members who...
Novelist Must Pay Lawyers' Fees In Dispute Over Film
Posted on March 10, 2009Novelist Clive Cussler, who lost a suit against Crusader Entertainment, the studio that took his book Sahara to the big screen, now has a big bill for lawyers' fees. The movie starred Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey, and it got...
Appeals Court Reverses Trial Court, Finds Anti-SLAPP Statute Applies To Reporter's Conduct
Posted on March 10, 2009In an unpublished opinion out of the 1st Circuit court of appeal (California), the court reversed the lower court. Plaintiff had sued a San Francisco newspaper and its reporter/photographer for invasion of privacy. The defendants filed an anti-SLAPP motion...
Google, PRS Negotiations Over Licensing Break Down
Posted on March 10, 2009Google and the (British) Performing Rights Society for Music have been unable to come to an agreement concerning licensing fees. As a result, YouTube is yanking popular videos from labels such as EMI, Warner, and Sony as well as smaller...
An Added Burden For Speakers In Copyright Law
Posted on March 10, 2009Ned Snow, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, School of Law, has published "Proving Fair Use: Burden of Proof as Burden of Speech." Here is the abstract. Courts have created a burden of proof in copyright that chills protected speech. The doctrine....
Mexican Journalist Asks For Asylum in US
Posted on March 10, 2009National Public Radio has this story about Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto's request for political asylum in the U.S., based on stories he has written about crime in northern Chihuahua. He alleges that members of the military have made threats...
Cook County Sheriff Sues Craiglist Over "Erotic Ads"
Posted on March 10, 2009As if Cook County weren't in the news enough lately, its sheriff is suing Craigslist over its "erotic services" section, alleging that it promotes prostitution. Sheriff Thomas Dart says that Craigslist is ""the single largest source of prostitution in the...
SSRN Announces New Journal In Law, Politics and the Media
Posted on March 10, 2009SSRN, the abstracting service, has announced a new journal in law, politics, and the media. Here's more information. View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Law-Politics-Media.htmlPreview the First Issue: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/sample_issues/1321348_CMBO...
Japanese Magicians Lose Case Over Disclosure of Secrets
Posted on March 09, 2009That Japanese magicians' lawsuit against the Nippon Television Network alleging exposure was apparently dismissed. I'm relying here on a blogpost since I don't read Japanese. The problem here for the magicians was that the broadcasts involved centered on the delivery...
BBC Institutes New Producer Policy
Posted on March 06, 2009The BBC is putting in place a new policy that prevents talent and agents from producing their own shows, either on radio or television. The reason? A new emphasis on compliance with BBC and Ofcom rules. However, some individuals, like...
Manhattan D.A.'s Office Charges Son With Identity Theft, Impersonation, In Attempt To "Influence Debate" on Dead Sea Scrolls
Posted on March 06, 2009The Chronicle of Higher Education discusses the arrest of Raphael Haim Golb, a New York attorney, on "charges of identity theft, criminal impersonation, and aggravated harassment" for allegedly going after those who challenged or in his opinion refused adequately to...
Institute for Justice Videos
Posted on February 26, 2009The Institute for Justice is making available "Freedom Flix" on its website to highlight cases and issues in which it takes an interest.
Authoring Opinions
Posted on February 26, 2009Ryan Benjamin Witte, Columbia University Law School and Florida State University College of Law, has published "The Judge as an Author/The Author as a Judge." Here is the abstract. For Federal judges, a life-tenure also comes with a life-long publishing...
Facing Off on Facebook
Posted on February 26, 2009FindLaw's Anita Ramasastry discusses Facebook's recent attempts to change its user agreement here.
Australian Returns Home After King of Thailand Pardons Him
Posted on February 26, 2009That Australian convicted of lese-majeste has been pardoned by the King of Thailand. Harry Nicolaides has returned home after nearly six months in jail. He had self-published a book, which sold seven copies, in which he discussed the sex life...
The Law of Holocaust Denial: Comparative Perspectives
Posted on February 26, 2009Russell L. Weaver, University of Louisville Law School, has published "Holocaust Denial and Govermentally Declare 'Truth': French and American Perspectives." Here is the abstract. This paper involves a comparative examination of free speech principles as applied in the context of...
LSU Law Center Student Wins Scribes Award
Posted on February 26, 2009Michelle Shamblin?s article, Silencing Chicken Little: Options for School Districts after ?Parents Involved,? 69 La. L. Rev. 219 (2008), has won the annual national award given by Scribes (The American Society of Legal Writers). Articles from law reviews throughout the...
Grievance Hearing Over "Speed the Plow" Complaint Set for Today
Posted on February 26, 2009FindLaw notes that a grievance hearing is set for today at which Actors Equity reps will hear details of the producers' complaint against actor Jeremy Piven, who left the Broadway production of Speed the Plow last year. He was reported...
Linguistic Diversity and Muslim Law
Posted on February 26, 2009Ali Khan, Washburn University School of Law, has published "Speech Diversity under Islamic Law." Here is the abstract. The Islamic law of speech diversity recognizes two distinct divine rights, one applying to speech communities and the other to individuals...
Check Here To Register Authors' Rights In That Google/Authors Rights Class Action Settlement
Posted on February 26, 2009Here's a link to the website with information concerning the Authors Guild/Google lawsuit settlement.
British MP Sentenced For Driving Dangerously; Was Texting at the Time
Posted on February 25, 2009A British Member of Parliament has received a three month prison sentence for "texting" while driving; he was driving dangerously as well at the time and hit another car on December 25, 2007; the driver was killed. The MP, Lord...
Supreme Court Reverses 9th Circuit, Rules "Price Squeezing" Not An Antitrust Violation
Posted on February 25, 2009The Supreme Court has reversed a 9th Circuit decision and found unanimously for AT&T (Pacific Bell Telephone) in Pacific Bell Telephone v. Linkline. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Roberts held,The plaintiffs in this case, respondents here, allege that a...
SAG Gives Final Answer To AMPTP's Last Offer
Posted on February 22, 2009The Screen Actors Guild has rejected the AMPTP's "last offer," because it would not date beginning from the expiration of the last contract (June 2008), but prospectively, when economic conditions are much worse. SAG wants a contract that would put...
Ninth Circuit Strikes Down California Video Game Law
Posted on February 20, 2009The Ninth Circuit has struck down California's video game statute, saying it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the federal Constitution. The case is Video Dealers Software v. Schwarzenegger. Here's an excerpt.We hold that the Act, as a presumptively...
SAG May Need To Call a Friend
Posted on February 20, 2009The AMPTP has made what it says is its last, best, and "final" offer to the Screen Actors Guild, and it claims this one represents a substantial jump over what members of the union received in the contract that expired...
TMZ.com Publishes Photo Of Woman It Says Is Chris Brown's Victim
Posted on February 20, 2009The website TMZ.com has published what it says is a photo of the singer Rihanna after singer Chris Brown allegedly assaulted her. Presumably the photo was leaked by law enforcement. Other media have also published the photo. CNN, however, has...
Some Criticize BBC Policy of Reading Phone Numbers, Other Material
Posted on February 20, 2009Some have criticized the BBC's policy of reading phone numbers aloud for the visually impaired, saying it is "political correctness gone mad." Peter Horrocks, head of the BBC's newsroom, defended the policy, explaining, "I asked them [BBC news presenters] if...
More On the Politkovskaya Trial
Posted on February 20, 2009The Guardian's Luke Harding discusses mysteries of the Anna Politkovskaya trial here.
New York Post Publishes Apology For Delonas Cartoon
Posted on February 20, 2009The New York Post has issued an apology over that Sean Delonas cartoon picturing two officers shooting, then discussing, a dead chimpanzee. Some critics say the apology is half-hearted, or not an apology at all. Read more here in a...
Anna Politkovskaya Murder Investigation Reopens After Acquittal of All Defendants
Posted on February 20, 2009After three men were acquitted in the Anna Politkovskaya murder case, law enforcement has begun a new investigation. One man believed to be involved, Rustam Makhmudov has still not been brought to trial. Read more here.
Charges Against James Tobin Dismissed
Posted on February 20, 2009James Tobin will not face further prosecution in a "phone jamming" case. Mr. Tobin, who was a regional GOP official, had been convicted of interfering with New Hampshire residents' rights to vote by jamming a Democratic phone bank in 2005,...
Marci Hamilton on Geert Wilders' Attempt To Visit Britain
Posted on February 20, 2009Marci Hamilton of FindLaw and the Cardozo School of Law discusses the British government's refusal to grant entry to Dutch MP Geert Wilders because of his views on Islam. "There is no question that Wilders's views are disgraceful and offensive,...
FCC Reports Increase In Calls To Help Line Earlier This Week
Posted on February 19, 2009The FCC reports a spike in consumer calls to its phone center Monday and Tuesday, which seems linked to the switchover of some television stations from analog to digital signals. On Friday the 13th the center got some 11,000 calls,...
Oxford Study Suggests British Newspapers Effectively Unable To Defend Against Libel Suits
Posted on February 19, 2009The Guardian reports on a new study that says the high cost of libel suits is "shackling" the media. "Conditional fee agreements are making defamation cases in England and Wales 140 times more costly than in the rest of Europe...
Psst---Who's That Guy In the White Coat?
Posted on February 18, 2009NPR has this short piece on the Chinese government's recent move to prohibit actors and other non-physicians from posing as real doctors in ads--apparently to prevent consumers from being confused, or worse. The prohibition actually extends to the portrayal of...
The Rushdie Fatwa After Twenty Years
Posted on February 18, 2009Cearta, the interesting Irish rights blog, updates us on the Rushdie fatwa twenty years on.
Press Complaints Commission Will Look Into Checkbook Journalism Charges In Teenage Dad Story
Posted on February 18, 2009The Press Complaints Commission is investigating claims that two media outlets paid for stories about the 13-year-old who appears to have fathered a baby with a 15-year-old girl. Paying for stories is a violation of the PCC's code of ethics...
TV Broadcaster Arrested For Murder of Wife
Posted on February 17, 2009Muzzamil Hassan, the head of a Buffalo, New York, television station who wanted to "counteract negative stereotypes" about Muslims went to a local police station and told law enforcement that his wife was dead. Officers found her decapitated at the...
Liberty Media Buys a Stake In Sirius XM
Posted on February 17, 2009Sirius XM Satellite Radio has struck a deal with Liberty Media to avoid a bankruptcy filing and, apparently, to block a takeover by the Dish Network. Liberty Media will invest $530 million in the struggling business and get 12.5 million...
Prosecutors Drop More Serious Charge In Pirate Bay Case
Posted on February 17, 2009Prosecutors have dropped copyright infringement charges against The Pirate Bay founders, leaving a less serious charge of making copyrighted material available (via links to other servers). The defendants hailed the move as a win but affected parties view it as...
Obama Administration May Lift Ban On Photos of War Dead
Posted on February 17, 2009The White House is rethinking the media ban on photographs of coffins of war dead returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, a ban put in place under the Bush administration. Most Americans favor lifting the ban. The prior administration prohibited the...
The Facebook Debate
Posted on February 17, 2009The New York Times covers the current debate over Facebook's change in its terms of service. It recently changed those terms to indicate that users grant Facebook "an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to...
Australia's Defamation Laws
Posted on February 16, 2009David Rolph, University of Sydney Faculty of Law, has published "A Critique of the National, Uniform Defamation Laws," at 16 Torts Law Journal 207 (2008). The national, uniform defamation laws, which came into effect across Australia in 2006, represent the...
A Review of Damages
Posted on February 16, 2009The Guardian's Sam Wollaston notes the return of the U.S. legal drama Damages.
Team Behind Internet Site Pirate Bay Stands Trial In Sweden
Posted on February 16, 2009The founders of the Pirate Bay filesharing website have gone on trial for copyright violation. The Swedish prosecutor is seeking a sentence of up to two years in prison and nearly $150,000 in fines. Read more here. The Pirate Bay...
FTC Releases Report On Online Advertising
Posted on February 13, 2009While the Federal Trade Commission isn't moving toward regulation, it is telling Internet companies that they are not informing consumers adequately about privacy policies. An FTC press release says in part,Over the last decade, the FTC has periodically examined the...
The History of Musical Copyright Law
Posted on February 13, 2009Frederic M. Scherer, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, has published "The Emergence of Musical Copyright in Europe from 1709 to 1850," at 5 Review of Economic Research on Copyright Issues 3 (2008). Here is the abstract.This paper, written for...
The Latest On Lott v. Levitt
Posted on February 12, 2009The Seventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court ruling in Lott v. Levitt, the defamation case concerning the popular book Freakonomics.John Lott, an academic and economist, believes that his reputation was sullied by Freakonomics, the popular and off-beat book written...
Evaluating "United States v. Williams" and Protecting Children on the Internet
Posted on February 11, 2009Audrey Rogers, Pace University School of Law, has published "Protecting Children on the Internet: Mission Impossible?" Here is the abstract. Congress's latest effort to protect children from on-line predators banned the pandering or soliciting of child pornography regardless of whether...
Some Stations Plan Complete Switch To Digital In Spite of Congressional Okay For Delay To June 12th
Posted on February 11, 2009A number of tv stations plan to make the digital leap February 17th, even though Congress has put off the transition until June 12th. They include outlets in San Diego, Lubbock, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Mobile, Alabama. Read more here.
Missouri Court of Appeals Remands False Light Case To Allow Plaintiff To Amend Petition
Posted on February 10, 2009The Missouri Court of Appeals is remanding a false light case and may allow it to proceed in Meyerkord v. Zipatoni. Plaintiff, Greg Meyerkord (? Meyerkord?), appeals from the judgment dismissing Meyerkord's action for false light invasion of privacy against...
New Report Says British Public Cynical About Press
Posted on February 10, 2009The Media Standards Trust has published a report, A More Accountable Press, critical of the Press Complaints Commission and the current system under which the media as a whole operates, saying the media and the PCC are not sufficiently transparent...
Shepard Fairey Sues AP In Dispute Over Image
Posted on February 10, 2009Shepard Fairey has now upped the ante in that dispute with the Associated Press. He's gone to court to ask for a ruling that he did not infringe any copyright the AP has in the original photo of President Obama...
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