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Media & Entertainment Law

Media Law Prof Blog

Media law resources, information, and news for the academic community.

Post Frequency: 34.8/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 12:48:00

Net Neutrality Bill Introduced by Congressperson Markey

Posted on February 15, 2008
Here's a link to Congressperson Markey's Net Neutrality bill (The Internet Freedom Preservation Act). Here's a summary of the bill, provided by the Congressperson's office. The Internet Freedom Preservation Act Introduced by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Rep...

Human Rights Watch Accuses Bangladeshi Authorities Of Torturing Reporter

Posted on February 15, 2008
The human right group Human Rights Watch has charged that Bangladeshi authorities tortured a reporter into making a false confession during a detention last year. The reporter, Tasneem Khalil, who still works for the group, said he was detained for...

Class Action Suit Against Bell ExpressVu Will Go Forward

Posted on February 15, 2008
A Bell ExpressVu customer has struck a blow for an angry consumer base by achieving what looked like the impossible--the certification of a class action lawsuit against the company. Peter DeWolf did not want to pay a nineteen dollar "administrative...

Industrial Action At Reuters Staved Off

Posted on February 14, 2008
The Guardian reports that the National Union of Journalists has averted, at least temporarily, a strike by journalists at Reuters. The journalists and the company will now resume negotiations. Employees are concerned over a possible merger between Reuters and Thomson,...

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A Journalism Dean and Anonymous Sources

Posted on February 14, 2008
The Chicago Tribune reports on a flap over some writing that Northwestern's dean of journalism did for its alumni magazine last year. A student reporter alleges in the Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper, that Dean John Lavine may have misused....

EU May Extend IP Rights For Musicians

Posted on February 14, 2008
The EU may extend copyright protection for musicians under new proposals from 50 years to 95 years. Advocates of the proposal note that such protections would benefit lesser known artists. Read more here.

911 Operators Had No Explanation For Failing to Answer Call For Assistance

Posted on February 14, 2008
Local authorities in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, have determined that ten 911 dispatchers acted inappropriately in failing to answer a 911 call for assistance when a woman with multiple sclerosis called to report that her bed was on fire January 29th...

Teen Convicted For Using Cell Phone To Film Attack

Posted on February 14, 2008
A court has accepted a guilty plea from a teenager who admitted filming a "happy slap" battery on a 29-year-old man who later died of his injuries. Gavin Waterhouse was attacked by two of the teen's companions who told her...

A History of American Intellectual Property Law

Posted on February 14, 2008
Steven Wilf, University of Connecticut School of Law, has published "The Making of the Post-War Paradigm in American Intellectual Property Law," in volume 31 of Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts (2008). Here is the abstract. During the New...

French Broadcasters Go On Strike

Posted on February 13, 2008
In protest over the French President's plan to pull advertising from state run television, the employees at public tv and radio are planning a massive strike today. President Sarkoczy has his eye on raising the level of quality tv, but...

ASA Finds Ad For Horror Film Not In Breach of Code

Posted on February 13, 2008
The Advertising Standards Authority okayed an advertisement for the new film Saw IV that featured a man's severed head, even though the agency received numerous complaints. Distributor Lions Gate defended the ad, saying that it was intended to be "tongue...

Comcast Defends Its Policies Before FCC

Posted on February 13, 2008
Comcast responded to allegations that it has violated the policy of Net Neutrality by saying that interrupting file sharing by some is a legitmate response in order to keep service flowing to all subscribers. Opponents of its policies say it's...

FCC Accepting Applications For Attorney Honors Program

Posted on February 13, 2008
From a February 4 News Release The Federal Communications Commission today announced that it is accepting applications from recent law graduates, graduating students, and judicial clerks for its 2008 Attorney Honors Program. This is the second and final application window...

Danish Media Reprint "Prophet Muhammed" Cartoon

Posted on February 13, 2008
A number of Danish newspapers have reprinted the cartoon featuring the Prophet Muhammed, more than 2 years after they caused such a furor. One newspaper said it was doing so "to document what is at stake in this case, and...

Gossip Site Promises To Cut Back On Some Types of Celebrity Photos

Posted on February 12, 2008
The UK gossip site Holy Moly says it will no longer publish photos of celebrities that might cause distress, saying that things have gone too far. Referring to the decision by one leading paparazzo to quit the business, the creator...

Writer Sues Mel Gibson Over Contract for "Passion of the Christ"

Posted on February 12, 2008
Writer Benedict Fitzgerald has sued actor/producer Mel Gibson over a deal gone sour regarding Mr. Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Mr. Fitzgerald claims that Mr. Gibson promised him credit...

WGA Membership Votes Tuesday On Deal, Strike Probably Over

Posted on February 11, 2008
More Presidential primary results will not be the only news breaking on Tuesday--the WGA membership will vote--finally--on whether to go back to work after a strike that has lasted since last fall. The script has writers going back to work...

Jean-Marie Le Pen Receives Three Month Sentence For Denying Crime Against Humanity

Posted on February 08, 2008
The BBC reports that Jean-Marie Le Pen has been sentenced to 3 months (sentence suspended) for describing the Nazi occupation of France as "not especially inhumane." A French court also fined him 10,000 Euros. He made the comments during a...

Time-Warner Reorganizing

Posted on February 06, 2008
Time-Warner is reorganizing, and part of its plan includes splitting AOL's advertising and online divisions. The new head of the conglomerate, Jeff Bewkes, may also ultimately divest Time-Warner of the cable end of AOL as well. Read more here.

Afghani President Meets With Journalists On Kambaksh Case

Posted on February 06, 2008
In comments made to Afghan journalists, Afghani President Karzai said there was "no reason" to worry about Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the young reporter sentenced to death for blasphemy, which suggests that he may intervene to prevent the sentence from being...

District Court Unseals Order in Amazon Subpoena Case

Posted on February 05, 2008
The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin unsealed (November 2007) an order granting in part and denying in part a motion to quash a grand jury subpoena requesting the names of third parties purchasing books from...

Copyright Protection for Fact Works

Posted on February 05, 2008
David E. Shipley, University of Georgia School of Law, has published "Thin But Not Anorexic: Copyright Protection for Compilations and Other Fact Works" in volume 15 of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law (2007). Here is the abstract. Questions about...

Information Provider Abandons Cell Phone Directory

Posted on February 03, 2008
The company busily compiling a directory of cell phone numbers without subscriber consent has abandoned its service, citing customer concerns. Intelius, the company involved, said it had determined that "in this instance we may have been ahead of our time...

Is Writers' Strike Over?

Posted on February 02, 2008
The AP reports that the WGA and the AMPTP may have reached an agreement, and that the long (nearly 90 days and counting) writers' strike may be over. Read more about a tentative solution to the impasse here. But now...

The Spy Who Came Back To the Cold

Posted on February 01, 2008
Here's an interesting piece about a former Soviet intelligence officer who is promoting a book about his experiences as an operative in the U.S. and Canada. Pete Earley wrote Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America...

TiVo Wins Appeal Against EchoStar

Posted on February 01, 2008
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a lower court ruling holding that EchoStar infringed TiVo's software patents and ordering the company to pay more than seventy million dollars in damages. But it reversed the lower court's decision....

Conrad Black Must Report to Jail While Appeal Moves Forward

Posted on February 01, 2008
Former media mogul Conrad Black cannot remain out on bail while his appeal goes forward, Judge Amy St. Eve has ruled. The judge said that while she agrees that Lord Black doesn't pose a flight risk, his appeal does not...

NBC, Dick Wolf In Lawsuit Over Meaning of 2004 Agreement

Posted on January 29, 2008
The WGA strike may have caused some additional fallout. Dick Wolf and NBC Universal are going to court over a 2004 agreement, which is now causing disagreement. Mr. Wolf claims that the pact provides him with a "kill fee", 2...

California Supreme Court: Single Publication Rule Applies To Publications Not Widely Distributed

Posted on January 29, 2008
In Hebrew Academy v. Goldman (Ct.App. 1/2 A106618, filed 12/24/07), the California Supreme Court holds that the single publication rule applies both to publications that are widely and are not widely distributed, extending its holding in Shively v. Bozanich, 31...

Turkish Academic Sentenced To Fifteen Months For "Insulting Turkishness"

Posted on January 29, 2008
In what is one of a number of similar proceedings in which academics and other intellectuals have been charged under Turkish Penal Code article 301 with "insulting Turkishness," Professor Atilla Yayla has been sentenced to fifteen months in prison for...

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