Media Law Flashcards
Details of Miller Case
Miller v. California (1973) – Unsolicited brochures sent to Newport Beach
Restaurant (Calif.) advertised erotic books and film – prosecuted by state authorities
Obscenity
– Obscenity is defined as material that, as a whole, appeals to a
prurient interest in sex, is found patently offensive because it affronts contemporary community
standard relating to the description or representation of sexual matter, and it is utterly without social
value.
How does 1st Amendment protect child porn?
-Is not protected by the First Amendment
Copyright, What is necessary?
-Protects expressions of ideas, applies to original works of authorship
-works must be “fixed” to a tangible means of
expression
What rights exist under copyright? There are 6
- Reproduce the work
-Prepare and create derivative works - Publicly distribute the work
-Publicly perform the work - Publicly display the work
- Publicly perform a digital sound recording
What can be copyrighted?
- Literary works
- Musical Works
- Dramatic Works
- Pantomimes and Choreographics works
- Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- Sound recordings
What cannot be copyrighted?
- Trivia materials
- Ideas
- Facts
- Formulas and equations
- Utilitarian goods
Duration of copyright under current law
- Works created after Jan 1978: life of creator + 70 years
- Works created more than one person: Life of last creator + 70 years
- Works for hire: 95 years after publication
-Works created before Jan 1978: 95 years.
When is a creative work copyrighted?
-once you create the work
How do works for hire differ from copyrighted content?
-works for hire are works whose ownership
belongs to a third party rather than the creator
What kinds of copyrighted work is considered fair use?
-To determine fair use consider the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted
work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole, and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the work.
What is not considered fair use?
- Imaginative work is less likely to support a claim of fair use
- Unpublished work
Why would someone register copyright?
-Statutory damages, attorney fees, invoking U.S. customs
to prevent importation of infringing goods
Demonstrate understanding Commercial Speech Doctrine under law, what does it mean, what is protected/ not?
-1st Amendment doesn’t protect false ads for unlawful goods or services.
- Gov. May regulate truthful advertising for legal goods and services if the following condition are met:
-Substantial state interest to justify regulation
-Evidence that regulation directly advances this interest
- Reasonable fit between state interest and gov. regulation.
What does the FTC consider as deceptive advertising?
- If it is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances.
Identify and recognize legal differences between TV entities: Broadcast, cable, streaming, O & O, affiliates, networks.
Broadcast – FCC license holders, the transmission of radio and tv through the electromagnet
spectrum (spreading of information)
Cable – exists through non-broadcast means (cable, satellite, phone lines)
Streaming – transmitting or receiving data over a computer network as a steady, continuous
flow
Explain scarcity as a guiding principle behind broadcast regulation. Why does it matter?
there is only so much space
available in the transmission pathway; the public owns it because it is too valuable to keep private