Media Law Prof Blog

Italian Journalists Lodge Protest Over Government's Wiretapping Bill

From the BBC: Members of the Italian media are striking over a bill proposed by Silvio Berlusconi's government. Among other things, it would limit the right of journalists to report on high profile political cases. More here.

Google "Street View" Program May Have Broken Australian Privacy Laws

Google infringed on Australian privacy law when it collected information for its "Street View" program, say law enforcement authorities there. More here. Australia's Privacy Commissioner, Karen Curtis, says, "'On the information available, I am satisfied that any collection of personal information would have breached the Australian Privacy Act."

Charges In Death of "Thundercats" Writer, Stephen Perry

Zephyrhills, Florida, police have charged James Davis, a roommate of "Thundercats" writer Stephen Perry, with the writer's murder. Mr. Perry was last seen in late May. His abandoned van was then spotted, leading to the discovery of some of his remains. In addition to "Thundercats," Mr. Perry wrote for Marvel Comics and was known for his science fiction stories. More about his work here. He leaves a five year old son, Leo.

More On Climategate

From the New York Times.

FCC Media Bureau Holds Public Forum at Northwestern Law School July 13th

From the FCC:

 

The Media Bureau today announced the agenda for its July 13, 2010, public forum being held from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Northwestern University Law School, Thorne Auditorium, 375 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611.  The two-panel forum will discuss the Comcast/NBCU/GE joint venture proposal, followed by a public comment period on the proposed transaction.

 

    The event is open to the public.  The audience will be given an opportunity to participate via “open microphone” during a special segment from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.  Individuals wishing to comment must sign up at the registration desk beginning at 5:00 p.m.  Slots for this two hour segment will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.  The forum also will be carried live over the Internet on the FCC Live web page at http://reboot.fcc.gov/live.  Questions from the Internet audience can be submitted throughout the event via e-mail to livequestions@fcc.gov and via Twitter using the hash tag, #fccNBC.

 

Agenda and Panelists

(Central Standard Time)

 

1:00 p.m.     Introduction and Opening Remarks

    Commissioner Michael Copps, Federal Communications Commission

   

1:15 p.m.     Panel 1:  Online Video Distribution Considerations

    John Flynn, Senior Counsel to the Chairman for Transactions, FCC (Moderator)

    Jeffrey Blum, Deputy General Counsel, DISH Network

    Susan Crawford, Professor, Cardozo Law School, and Visiting Research     Collaborator, Princeton University

Markham C. Erickson, Partner, Holch & Erickson LLP, and Executive Director, NetCoalition

Travis Parsons, Senior Director, Business Development, Sezmi

Josh Silver, President and CEO, Free Press

    Scott Wallsten, Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow, Technology

      Policy Institute

    Susan Whiting, Vice Chair, The Nielsen Company

   

3:00 p.m.     Break

 

3:15 p.m.     Panel 2:  Multichannel Video Programming Distributor Considerations

    William Lake, Chief, Media Bureau, FCC (Moderator)

    Colleen Abdoulah, President and CEO, WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone

    Tyrone Brown, President, Media Access Project

Brian Lawlor, President-Chairman, NBC Television Affiliates and Senior Vice  

  President of Television, The E.W. Scripps Company

William Rogerson, Professor of Economics, Northwestern University

Ken Solomon, Chairman & CEO, The Tennis Channel

James Speta, Professor, Northwestern University School of Law   

 

5:00 p.m.     Break

 

6:00 p.m.     Public Comments

   

8:00 p.m.     Adjournment

 

    Open captioning will be provided.  Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request.  Include a description of the accommodation you will need.  Also include a way we can contact you if we need more information.  Last-minute

requests will be accepted, but may not be possible to fill.  Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).

 

    For further information, contact Jessica Almond, Media Bureau, 202-418-2721. 

 

A Report on "Climategate" Released

From the Chronicle of Higher Education, an article on the report issued by the University of East Anglia panel that investigated "Climategate," the unauthorized release of over one thousand email messages concerning climate research. The panel found no wrong-doing, but said the researchers should not have deleted messages in order to try to get around open records laws.

New Fashion Law Blog Hits the Catwalk

New student edited fashion law blog: Case Clothesed.com. Very stylish name. Other blogs in this particular area that I follow include Susan Scafidi's quite wonderful Counterfeit Chic.

Pennsylvania Judge Clarifies Expungement Order, Removes Requirement On Newspapers

A Pennsylvania judge has excluded two Pennsylvania newspapers from an order that expunges the records of defendants in several cases. The papers were originally included in the expungement orders signed by him and another judge earlier this month. The judge, Thomas Kistler, said the First Amendment rights of the newspapers to leave their archives intact are "clear."

New E-Book Review Makes Its Debut

The Intellectual Property Law Center at Golden Gate University Law School has launched the IP Law Book Review. The inaugural issue carries book reviews by Kara Swanson, Shubha Ghosh, Jeffrey Lefstin, Jessica Silbey, Joseh Meckes, Christopher Holman, and Andrew Torrance of books by Catherine Fisk, Dan L. Burk and Mark Lemley, James Bessen and Michael Meurer, Jessica Reyman, Randall Kay and Rebecca Edelson, David Hricik and Mercedes Meyer, and Holger Hestermeyer.

Private Charged In Leaking of Video

From CNN.com: Private First Class Bradley Manning is being charged in an Article 32 hearing with leaking classified information (a video) about a helicopter attack on or near Baghdad in July 2007 which killed several civilians, including two journalists. Wikileaks has posted the video, noting it is still classified. Here is a link to documents relating to the investigation, courtesy of CNN. Here is more coverage from the Guardian.

Larkin Music Gets Five Percent of "Down Under" Royalties

An Australian judge, who had earlier ruled that Men at Work had plagiarized the song "Kookaburra," in its piece "Down Under," has told the band it must pay Larkin Music, which owns the rights to "Kookaburra" five percent of royalties earned since 2002. The publishing house had wanted sixty percent, but the judge decided the amount was "excessive."

Head of BBC Trust Tries To Protect Organization From Criticism

Sir Michael Lyons, the head of the BBC Trust, is trying to save it from dissolution as he fights against criticism of the BBC and the Trust itself, in particular against its funding. Earlier this month he revealed not just that the Trust has been taking in far more in license fees than it needs but that BBC talent and administrators will be taking pay cuts. Here are the BBC's own proposals for change.

The Suggestion of Higher Postage Rates Is In the Air and Magazine Publishers Are Upset

The U.S. Postal Service may raise rates, and magazine publishers say they may sue. More in a New York Times article.

NYT: Why Financial Writers Have "The Right To Be Wrong"

From the New York Times, an editorial on the denial of cert in Pirate Investor LLC. v. SEC. Here's a link to the 4th circuit opinion.