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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.
Twitter.com Hacked
Posted on September 21, 2010MSNBC.com reports that someone hacked Twitter early today, sending users willy-nilly to third party sites. Twitter now assures users that it has fixed the problem.
The Derivative Works Right
Posted on September 20, 2010Christina Bohannan, University of Iowa College of Law, has published Taming the Derivative Works Right: A Modest Proposal for Reducing Overbreadth and Vagueness in Copyright, at 12 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law 669 (Summer 2010)...
Pirates Ho!
Posted on September 20, 2010The Motion Picture Association of America says a piracy group fighting back against anti-piracy efforts completed a denial-of-service attack against the MPAA's website on Saturday. More here from the Hollywood Reporter.
Where's the Cable Person?
Posted on September 19, 2010Barring any last minute problems, New York City residents will soon have the satisfaction of knowing that they are guaranteed a full month's credit on their cable bills if the cable guy (or woman) doesn't show up on time. More...
Comparative Libel Law: British and US
Posted on September 17, 2010Itai Maytal, Cardozo School of Law, has published Libel Lessons from Across the Pond - What British Courts Can Learn from the United States' Chilling Experience with the 'Multiple Publication Rule' in Traditional Media and the Internet, at 3 Journal....
Negligent Speech Torts
Posted on September 17, 2010Deana Pollard-Sacks, Texas Southern University, THurgood Marshall School of Law, and Florida State University, has published Negligent Speech Torts. Here is the abstract. Recent research on the effects of violent media on children has elevated longstanding controversy over civil liability...
Wireline Competition Bureau Statistical Reports
Posted on September 16, 2010The FCC has released the latest common carrier statistics report. Link here.
Craigslist Tells House Judiciary Committee It Has Shut Down US Adult Services Section Of Its Site
Posted on September 16, 2010From the New York Times: a Craigslist official and a member of its legal team told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the website has "discontinued" its adult services section. However, CNN reports that concerns continue over sex trafficking in...
Cartoonist Goes Into Hiding After Receiving Threats
Posted on September 16, 2010Molly Norris, a cartoonist who declared "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" in response to threats against the creators of "South Park," has gone into hiding on the advice of the FBI, according to her boss. More here from MSNBC.com.
ECHR Rules Against Turkey In Dink Case
Posted on September 15, 2010The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled for the widow and brother of assassinated journalist Hrant Dink and against Turkey, finding that the Turkish government did not adequately investigate his murder or protect his rights under Article 10...
The Canadian Charter and Defamation
Posted on September 15, 2010Jamie Cameron, York University (Osgoode Hall Law School), has published Does Section 2(B) Really Make a Difference? Part 1: Freedom of Expression, Defamation Law, and the Journalist-Source Privilege, as Osgoode Hall CLPE Research Paper No. 28/2010. Here is the abstract...
Translation of the Pirate Bay.org Injunction Granted November 26, 2008
Posted on September 15, 2010Henrick Stakemann Spang-Hanssen, University of Vienna School of Law, has published Appeal Case: Sonofon A/S v. IFPI Denmark, November 28, 2008 (English Translation). This is a translation of the Danish court's order granting an injunction in the Pirate Bay...
The Internet and Access To Trials
Posted on September 15, 2010Stephanie Weiner and Charles R. Nesson, Harvard Law School, have published Public Trial in the Age of Internet. Here is the abstract. The Judicial Conference of the United States has a longstanding policy prohibiting television and other electronic media coverage...
The Paradox of Government Speech
Posted on September 15, 2010Joseph Blocher, Duke Law School, has published Government Viewpoint and Government Speech. Here is the abstract. Government speech creates a paradox at the heart of the First Amendment. In order to satisfy traditional First Amendment tests, the government must show...
User Generated Content and Platforms on the Web
Posted on September 15, 2010Niva Elkin-Koren, University of Haifa Faculty of Law, has published User-Generated Platforms, in Working Within the Boundaries of Intellectual Property (Rochelle C. Dreyfuss, Diane L. Zimmermann, & Harry First eds.; Oxford University Press, forthcoming)...
Programme In Comparative Media Law and Policy Announces Registration For Monroe E. Price International Media Law Moot Court Competition Begins
Posted on September 14, 2010From Dr. Nicole Stremlau, University of Oxford The Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford is pleased to announce that registration has opened for the 2011 Monroe E. Price International...
More Celebrities Discovering They Were News of the World Targets
Posted on September 14, 2010Two more celebrities are contemplating legal action against News of the World after being notified that their personal information was found in the newspaper's possession. Actor Steve Coogan ("Tropic Thunder") and Chris Tarrant ("Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," British...
The Unknown Past of a Chronicler of Our Times
Posted on September 14, 2010From the New York Times: the unsettling news that famed photojournalist Ernest Withers was also an F.B.I. informant.
Ninth Circuit Strikes Down City Ordinance Banning Tattoo Parlors
Posted on September 13, 2010The Ninth Circuit has held a municipal ban on tattoo parlors unconstitutional. In Anderson v. City of Hermosa Beach, the court ruled that "tattooing is purely expressive activity fully protective by the First Amendment, and that a total ban on...
The Ownership of Digitally Created Works
Posted on September 08, 2010Mark Perry and Thomas Margoni, University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law, have published From Music Tracks to Google Maps: Who Owns Computer Generated Works? Here is the abstract. Increasingly the digital content used in everyday life has little or...
Ninth Circuit: Downloads "Licensed" Under Eminem's Contract; Entitled To Fifty Percent Royalties
Posted on September 08, 2010The Ninth Circuit has decided that rapper Eminem's iTune downloads, according to his contract with Universal Music Group (UMG), fall under the definition of "license" and has determined that the artist and his company are entitled to 50 percent royalties...
Snooki's In Court--Really
Posted on September 08, 2010Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, of the reality show "Jersey Shore," will appear in court to enter a not-guilty plea to disorderly conduct and other charges relating to an incident in Seaside Heights in July. More here from the AP, here from...
Iraqi Journalist Killed
Posted on September 08, 2010The AP reports the second murder in two days of an Iraqi journalist in Iraq. Riyad Assariyeh, who worked at Iraqiya TV, was killed in western Baghdad.
Paws For the Cause
Posted on September 08, 2010Smithy, a two year Labrador, is attracting some bad publicity for his Twitter account. It's really not his fault, though. He works for the West Midlands Police, and they set up his account in an attempt to publicize the work...
First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition Underway
Posted on September 08, 2010From the ABA Forum on Communications Law: Announcement of the 2010/2011 First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition. Teams from any ABA accredited law school are encouraged to apply to participate in the competition. Students must be members...
UK Government May Re-Draft Child Actor Legislation
Posted on September 07, 2010The UK is re-examining child actor laws as reality shows gain in popularity. More here.
Peabody Award Winning Journalist Harold Dow Dies
Posted on September 05, 2010CBS' Harold Dow died suddenly on August 21, 2010, apparently from an asthma attack. He had recently been diagnosed with adult onset asthma. Mr. Dow was an acclaimed journalist at the network, and had interviewed many well-known figures. He was...
Out From Under the Boardwalk
Posted on September 05, 2010On TV, a new HBO series that examines the beginnings of Prohibition and the rise of the mob: Boardwalk Empire.
Giving Out the Word
Posted on September 05, 2010Some Internet security gurus say what keeps you safe online isn't a complex password that you change regularly. It's a smart security squad. More here from an article in today's New York Times.
Pulitzer Prize Winning Cartoonist Dies
Posted on September 05, 2010Cartoonist Paul Conrad, who commented via his drawings on a host of political events, has died. He was 86.
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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....








