Media Law Prof Blog

Reading As a Solitary Activity

Will 2013 be the year of the privacy advocate's push back? Neil Richards thinks so. Read his article on the subject in Wired magazine (via SSRN).

Howard Kurtz On Media Coverage Of the Petraeus Scandal

Howard Kurtz thinks the media should back off from its panting coverage of the David Petraeus affair. In a piece on CNN.com, Mr. Kurtz opines,

Journalists are secretly grateful to the former four-star general for rescuing us from six weeks of sober coverage about the fiscal cliff. Not that anyone wants to plunge over the cliff, but daily reports on White House negotiations with John Boehner are no one's idea of a wild time. So let's face it: We are wallowing in the tawdriness of this tale. But are the media losing perspective -- and rushing to judgment?

 

Hank Comes In Third In Virginia Senate Race (Apparently)

According to the Constitution Daily, Hank the Cat seems to have placed third in that hard-fought Senate race in Virginia. Tim Kaine won out over George Allen. However, Hank apparently garnered six thousand write in votes, which admittedly didn't make a dent in the overall total, but are a respectable total for a feline who ducked a nasty attack ad from a Canine Superpac that suggested he took catnip, had never served in the military and refused to release his birth records. He does seem to have won over the media, if not the voters. Will Hank be back in six years? It's not clear he's feline-another run for national office. Maybe Official Rodent Control Officer is more his style.

The Petraeus Question and Email Privacy

Scott Shane of the New York Times discusses email privacy with regard to the Petraeus affair.

Justice Kennedy's First Amendment Jurisprudence

Helen J. Knowles, Grinnell College, has published What a Difference Five Years Haven't Made: Justice Kennedy and the First Amendment, 2007-2012. Here is the abstract.

This paper shows that for all the changes that have taken place on the U.S. Supreme Court during the past five Terms, what has not altered in any appreciable manner is the First Amendment free speech jurisprudence of Justice Kennedy. Several of Kennedy’s colleagues have said that he has 'a thing’ about the First Amendment.' In my book about Kennedy (The Tie Goes to Freedom (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009)), I argued that this 'thing' was the 'universal element' of his jurisprudence. This is Kennedy’s commitment to a robust, libertarian defense of expressive freedom, and the belief that the concept of toleration underpinning the First Amendment prohibits governmental attempts to choose which viewpoints are socially acceptable. Reflecting upon the time since the end of the October 2006 Term – the end of the period analyzed in my book about Kennedy, this paper demonstrates that this element is alive and well by analyzing the opinions penned by the Justice in two cases involving content-based restrictions on free speech (Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and United States v. Alvarez (2012)).

Download the paper from SSRN at the link.

Call of Duty

Move over, Leon Panetta. Retired General David Petraeus may be out at the C.I.A. but he's in with respect to Activision's new video game "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2." He (or his avatar) plays the Secretary of Defense. More here from the Hollywood Reporter.

Licensing IP and Liability

Dan Burk, University of California, Irvine School of Law, has published Intellectual Property in the Cathedral in Access Challenges in the 21st Century (Dana Beldiman et al., 2013). Here is the abstract.

A variety of commentators have called for the increased application of liability rules, including compulsory licenses, to intellectual property. Such arguments are well taken, but unfortunately stop short of advocating the full range of potential intellectual property entitlement allocations. Property theory offers a range of allocative structures, including reverse liability rules and “put”-type entitlements that could be beneficially applied to intellectual property. This chapter describes several such rules and argues for their consideration in the canon of intellectual property entitlements.

Download the essay from SSRN at the link.

Licensing IP and Liability

Dan Burk, University of California, Irvine School of Law, has published Intellectual Property in the Cathedral in Access Challenges in the 21st Century (Dana Beldiman et al., 2013). Here is the abstract.

A variety of commentators have called for the increased application of liability rules, including compulsory licenses, to intellectual property. Such arguments are well taken, but unfortunately stop short of advocating the full range of potential intellectual property entitlement allocations. Property theory offers a range of allocative structures, including reverse liability rules and “put”-type entitlements that could be beneficially applied to intellectual property. This chapter describes several such rules and argues for their consideration in the canon of intellectual property entitlements.

Download the essay from SSRN at the link.

Cookie Crumbs

More from the NYT: Online tracking is getting more popular among companies, which use cookies to trail after web visitors. Check out UC Berkeley Law School's Web Privacy Census for more information.

Changes At NBC Over Slide In "Today Show" Ratings

From the New York Times: Discussion of the succession of Alexandra Wallace to responsibility for the Today show, replacing Jim Bell. The changes follow a drop in the morning show's ratings; it now trails the popular "Good Morning America" on ABC after having won the ratings war for early morning eyeballs for 16 years. 

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For November 30 Meeting

From the FCC:

 

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: November 9, 2012 Justin Cole, 202-418-8191 Email: justin.cole@fcc.gov

FCC ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER OPEN MEETING Washington, D.C. – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the following item will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting scheduled for Friday, November 30, 2012: Expanding Nationwide Low Power Radio Opportunities Fifth Order on Reconsideration and Sixth Report and Order: The Commission will consider a Fifth Order on Reconsideration and Sixth Report and Order, which address the final procedures to approve more than 6,000 pending FM translator radio applications and implementation of the Local Community Radio Act. The consideration of these items will represent the final steps toward enabling non-profit groups nationwide to apply for low power radio licenses to further expand the diversity of local voices in the media landscape. The Open Meeting is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The event will be shown live at FCC.gov/live.

-FCC- News about the Federal Communications Commission can also be found on the Commission’s web site www.fcc.gov.

More BBC Employees Step Aside Over Saville Investigation

The Hollywood Reporter and CNN report that two other BBC execs are stepping down as news of the aborted investigation into the Jimmy Saville sex abuse scandal at the venerable network spreads. Both Helen Boaden and Steve Mitchell of the BBC's news department are gone, at least temporarily, from their posts at the BBC. Meanwhile, former BBC Director General Mark Thompson begins work at the New York Times.

Balancing Defamation Law, Anonymity, and the First Amendment

Jason M. Shepard and Genelle I. Belmas, both of California State University, Fullerton, have published Anonymity, Disclosure and First Amendment Balancing in the Internet Era: Developments in Libel, Copyright, and Election Speech in volume 15 of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology (2012). Here is the abstract.

The Supreme Court has long protected anonymity for speakers and writers under the First Amendment. The Internet enables anonymity for individuals who post writings, download music, and participate in political discussion. However, this poses a challenge for plaintiffs who want to sue anonymous speakers for libel, copyright infringement, or election speech. This article evaluates current legal developments in these areas and makes recommendations about how the law should deal with these different but related areas of anonymous speech.

The full text is not available from SSRN.

BBC Gets Acting Head After New Director General Steps Down

From the Hollywood Reporter: The acting director general of the BBC takes over, announces he will "get a grip of the situation."