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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 Recent Entries: 2853
Go to Media Law Prof Blog, find other Media & Entertainment Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
When You Can't Hit "Delete"
Posted on October 20, 2008Siobhain Butterworth, the Guardian's "reader's editor", discussses whether ordinary people should be allowed to "unpublish" their comments after publishing them. As she says, When you write a blog, agree to be interviewed, send a letter for publication or post a...
Max Mosley Opens Up
Posted on October 20, 2008The Guardian's Angelique Chrisafis interviews Max Mosley here.
British Lawyers and Libel Tourism
Posted on October 20, 2008The Guardian's Roy Greenslade's discusses the reaction of British media lawyers to the likely passage of a federal law against "libel tourism." Read more here.
McCain Campaign Objects To YouTube Policy of Taking Down "Infringing" Clips
Posted on October 17, 2008The McCain campaign and YouTube are having a difference of opinion on how the popular video sharing site takes down clips alleged to have infringed on copyright. The campaign would like YouTube to hold off on pulling such clips until...
Trial Begins In Case of Murdered Russian Journalist
Posted on October 17, 2008Three men have gone on trial for the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was killed two years ago outside her Moscow apartment. But this week, the attorney who represents Ms. Politkovskaya's children reported finding high levels of mercury...
Outcoming Ofcom Chair Says Agency May Get More Power To Regulate Internet
Posted on October 17, 2008The outcoming Chair of Ofcom says the agency is likely to get more powers over the Internet because of a perceived demand for more control over content. David Currie noted that the Internet is no longer a nascent medium, but...
Jury Selection Will Begin Soon In Spector Retrial
Posted on October 17, 2008Here's an update on the progress of record producer Phil Spector's trial for the murder of Lara Clarkson. Jury selection will begin soon. Mr. Spector's earlier trial ended in a mistrial last year.
Former al-Jazeera Employee Loses Discrimination Case
Posted on October 17, 2008Jo Burgin has lost her wrongful dismissal and discrimination case against al-Jazeera. A London-based tribunal that heard the case issued a unanimous ruling in favor of the network. Read more here.
Express Newspapers Issue Apologies To McCann Dining Companions
Posted on October 17, 2008Yet another apology from the Express Newspapers over false statements printed to persons the Daily Express and Daily Star linked to the Madeline McCann disappearance. This time the papers issued apologies to seven dining companions of Kate and Gerry McCann,...
Turkish Court Issues Order To Block Newspaper Website
Posted on October 17, 2008Adnan Oktar, a Turkish writer who believes in creationism, has succeeded in getting an order to block the website of Vatan, one of Turkey's most popular newspapers, within the country. Mr. Oktar alleges and has gotten a court to agree,...
Vietnamese Reporter Sentenced To Two Years in Prison for "Abusing Democratic Freedoms"
Posted on October 17, 2008Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Viet Chien has been sentenced to two years in prison for "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state". He had written articles about the actions of members of a government ministry who had...
Journalist Alleges Man Acquitted of Killing Another Reporter Is Harassing Her
Posted on October 17, 2008The BBC reports that a man recently acquitted of murdering a TV anchor is now being investigated after a reporter for Sky News who interviewed him after his acquittal complained that he had subsequently harassed her. Journalist Kay Burley apparently....
Customers Sue DirecTV Over Early Cancellation, Change of Service Fees
Posted on October 16, 2008Two California subscribers of DirecTV have filed suit in state court, alleging that the company hides fees and charges them without customer approval when subscribers terminate or change service. The company has responded that the information is in the form...
TipToe Through the Footwear: Nike Sues WalMart Over Nike Shox-Like Shoes
Posted on October 16, 2008Nike is suing WalMart over WalMart's brand of footwear for patent infringement, saying that it's a "me-too" shoe based on its design. Read more here.
May Voters Tout Their Choices When Casting Their Ballots?
Posted on October 16, 2008Here's FindLaw's Julie Hilden on Election Day buttons, stickers and other hoopla worn by voters at the polls.
Italian Author of Book on Neopolitan Mafia Plans To Leave Country
Posted on October 16, 2008An Italian author says he plans to leave the country in fear of his life. Roberto Saviano, whose book Gomorrah has been made into a film, says the subjects of the book, the Naples-based Mafia, the Camorra, are after him...
British Official Says Government, Police Need More Information To Protect Public
Posted on October 16, 2008The BBC reports that the British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, believes that law enforcement needs the power to monitor or otherwise obtain information on suspects, including terrorists, and much of that information might be held by communications and internet companies...
FCC May Vote On New Payment Fees, Intended to Assist With Broadband Access, Soon
Posted on October 16, 2008The AP reports that FCC Chair Kevin Martin will propose a reworking of the payment scheme now in effect when telecommunications companies route phone calls to one another. Commissioner Martin would like to restructure the rates so that the calls...
FCC Commissioner Says Some Consumers Still In the Dark With Regard to Digital Switchover; Broadcasters Need To Do More
Posted on October 15, 2008One FCC Commissioner says the February 2009 transition to digital will be "messy", according to an MSNBC.com story. Robert McDowell recommends that broadcasters do more to educate consumers about the upcoming move from analog to digital that will leave "rabbit-ear"...
Zach and Miri Make a Movie About Something I Probably Shouldn't Mention In This Headline
Posted on October 15, 2008Director Kevin Smith is having trouble advertising his latest flick. The film, which the Weinstein Company is releasing, stars Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Betty Aberlin and Jeff Anderson, and is titled "Zach and Miri Make a Porno" but its full...
Water Ad Not So Innocent
Posted on October 15, 2008The Advertising Standards Authority has told a bottled water marketer that its advertising campaign is misleading after its ad for This Water failed to disclose that one of the ingredients in the flavored beverage is added sugar. Said the ASA...
ASA Rules That Two Candy Companies Cross the Line With Recent Ads
Posted on October 15, 2008Two candy companies have gotten into trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority over their ads for popular treats. Both the Mars and McVitie Companies cannot claim that two of their products are either low cal or low fat. For the...
Website That Provided Pirated Textbooks Closes Up Shop
Posted on October 15, 2008The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the renegade site Textbook Torrents is shutting down permanently. Its owner, "Geekman", had set up shop as a way to circumvent the high cost of textbooks. But now he says possible legal action...
The Media and Cold Case Civil Rights Prosecutions
Posted on October 14, 2008Janis L. McDonald, Syracuse University College of Law, has published "Heroes & Spoilers: The Role of the Media in Unsolved Civil Rights Era Murder Prosecutions," in volume 34 of the Ohio Northern University Law Review. Here is the abstract. The...
Fight Over King Papers May End Book Deal
Posted on October 14, 2008FindLaw reports that three of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King's children are fighting over the use of the late Mrs. King's papers, so much so that they've now ended up in court. Penguin USA, which had planned to...
Aiding and Abetting Copyright Infringement and the Internet
Posted on October 14, 2008Mark Bartholomew, University at Buffalo Law School (SUNY), has published "Contributory Infringers and Good Samaritans," as Buffalo Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-25. Here is the abstract. The introduction of online technologies has put increased pressure on the doctrine of...
More Borat Litigation
Posted on October 14, 2008The U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that the plaintiffs who signed releases for use of their images in a "documentary style" film (the infamous Borat movie) and consented to appear in the...
Texas Journalists Killed While Covering Breaking News Story
Posted on October 13, 2008A local Houston news bureau has announced that a helicopter pilot and a cameraman have been killed in a crash while attempting to cover some breaking news in Montgomery County, Texas. Read more here.
Fashion Law, Yes!
Posted on October 13, 2008If you're at all interested in IP law and have missed law prof Susan Scafidi's clever and illuminating blog Counterfeit Chic, check it out. She takes on Project Runway, case law, pop culture, and legislatures, all with style.
The Unanticipated Success of State Film Tax Incentive Plans
Posted on October 12, 2008In an article in today's New York TImes, MIchael Cieply discusses the costs of all those film tax credits. To legislators and some residents, they seemed like a good idea at the time....
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If a person defames me and threatens me to pay a bill that they made and it is posted to others besides myself, can I sue ?
The documentation of your actions in this case pretty much preclude any legal ac...
Is it libel to write blog posts and/or online reviews about a local business that defames one's reputation?
Libel is the form of defamation expressed in fixed-- usually written form. Sland...
Is it illegal to resell dvds/cds?
Nope, it is not illegal, assuming you are in the U.S.; there is a "first sa...
How can I make my blog more popular?
You have to write and submit articles, with backlinks to your blogsite....

If a person defames me and threatens me to pay a bill that they made and it is posted to others besides myself, can I sue ?
The documentation of your actions in this case pretty much preclude any legal ac...
Is it libel to write blog posts and/or online reviews about a local business that defames one's reputation?
Libel is the form of defamation expressed in fixed-- usually written form. Sland...
Is it illegal to resell dvds/cds?
Nope, it is not illegal, assuming you are in the U.S.; there is a "first sa...
How can I make my blog more popular?
You have to write and submit articles, with backlinks to your blogsite....








