Libel
law
You
can be sued for damages if you publish or broadcast things about a person which
are untrue and damage their reputation (defame them) The law was created to protect individuals or
organisations from unwarranted, mistaken or untruthful attacks on their
reputation.
example:A US
federal judge in Los Angeles has dismissed David Beckham's claim for libel and
slander against a celebrity magazine that alleged he slept with a prostitute.
Obscene
publications act
The definition of this is content that is "likely to
deprave and corrupt" the audience for which it is intended.Lawyers
may need to check whether a production breaks this law before it is released.
Content such as sexually explicit, violent and/or drug taking is reviewed for
suitability. Decisions are made dependent on factors such as age range of the
audience, the time a production is broadcast.
examplesThe
British Board of Film Classification today reversed its decision to refuse
classification to controversial horror film The Human Centipede II. In June
this year Tom Six's horror sequel was rejected by the board for a UK DVD rating
on the grounds of sexual violence, graphic gore and the possibility of breach
of the obscenity law.
The
official secrets act
It
is a criminal offence to obtain or publish any information from a serving or
former member of the security and intelligence services or from certain
categories of civil servants or public contractors where that disclosure would
be damaging.
example:
The maximum sentence for spying is 14 years' imprisonment; however,
longer sentences may be passed as consecutive sentences for a series of
offences. George Blake, who spied for the Soviets in the 1950s, was sentenced
to 42 years' imprisonment - three consecutive 14-year terms.
Copyright
law
This
law exists to protect people's creative endeavours so that they can properly
benefit from their work. If such protection didn't exist and people were able
to copy or sell or profit from another's work, there would be little incentive
for people to create in the first place. Programme-makers
are responsible for ensuring that all necessary clearances (copyright,
trademarks etc.) have been obtained for their programmes.
example:
The popular films, dating from the Soviet era, are being made available to
download as smartphone apps.But the original film-makers have not given their permission for the films to
go on sale.Apple said it took copyright complaints seriously and took action as soon as
it received a complaint.Films available via iTunes include old favourites such as Gentlemen of
Fortune, Assa, The Diamond Arm, Kin-dza-dza and Cheburashka.Despite their age, the films and cartoons are still protected by copyright.
The owners of the copyright on the films - Russian film studio Mosfilm and
the Joint State Film Collection (Obyedinennaya Gosudarstvennaya Kinocollectsia)
- have told the BBC they have not given consent for their films to be sold in
the app stores.
Privacy
law
If a media company
publishes information about someone which is information that should be
considered private, that is to say, information in respect of which you had a
‘reasonable expectation of privacy’, then legal action for misuse of private
information can be brought under the Human Rights Act 1998.
example:
Milly Dowler's family have been offered a multimillion-pound settlement offer by Rupert Murdoch's News International, in an attempt to settle the phone-hacking case that led to closure of the News of the World and the resignation of the company's chief executive, Rebekah Brooks.
It is understood that News International has made a settlement offer estimated by sources at close to £3m, a figure that would include a £1m donation to charity. But the publisher has not yet reached agreement with the Dowler family, whose lawyers were thought to be seeking a settlement figure of closer to £3.5m.
