Law of Mass Communication - Exam #3
Telecommunications Act of 1996
Legislation that stated cable operators had the right to refuse to transmit a public access program that contained indecency
Public domain
Refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws. The public can use public domain work without permission.
radio, television, geographical, interference
Spectrum scarcity describes the limitation of the number of segments of the broadcast spectrum that may be used for _______ or _______ in a specific _________ area without causing _________
Federal Trade Commission
A federal agency created in 1914. Its purpose is to promote free and fair competition in interstate commerce; this includes preventing false and misleading advertising
Lanham Act
A federal law that regulates the trademark registration process, but also contains a section permitting business competitors to sue one another for false advertising
Indecency
A narrow legal term referring to sexual expression and expletives inappropriate for children on broadcast radio or television
The Child Online Protection Act of 1998
A piece of legislation that has continuously been found unconstitutional; consists of overbroad restrictions against "harmful" content on the internet.
Tarnishment
A poorly made or unsavory product using a mark similar to a famous trademark that could cause consumers to think less of the well-known product
Hicklin rule
A rule that defines material as obscene if it tends to corrupt children.
Fair use
A test courts use to determine whether using another's copyrighted material without permission is legal or an infringement.
Roth Test
A test for determining obscenity that was refined several times; it was found to be ineffective and often confusing
distinctive, distinctive
A trademark will be protected only if it's ________. A trademark is __________ if it distinguishes one company's goods from another's.
Pornography
A vague (not legally precise) term for sexually oriented material
Trademark
A word, name, symbol or design used to identify a company's goods and distinguish them from similar products other companies make
Derivative work
A work that is obtained from or created in relation to an original work
Alcohol, tobacco, firearms, sexually explicit materials, drugs
A________, t_______, f_______, s_______ e_____ m______, and d_____ all fall under the umbrella of "vice products"
mislead
Ad regulation is justified if the ad has a tendency or potential to ________ consumers
Native Advertising
Ads designed to resemble the editorial content of the medium where they appear
Tacking
Allows a trademark owner to slightly alter a trademark without abandoning ownership over the original mark
Copyright
An exclusive legal right used to protect intellectual creations from unauthorized use
Statutory damages
Damages specified in certain laws. Under these laws, copyright being an example, a judge may award statutory damages even if a plaintiff is unable to prove actual damage
spectrum scarcity
In FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, the Supreme Court determined that, while broadcasters have First Amendment protection, their protection is limited because of spectrum scarcity
Literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, audiovisual, architectural, sound recordings
L_______, m______, d__________, c________, p___________, a______v______, and a_________ works are eligible for copyright protection, as well as sound recordings
obscenity, indecency
Laws that apply to sexual expression focus on ________ and ________
Digital Millenium Copyright Act
Legislation that bans software and hardware that facilitate circumventing copyright protection technology; also prohibits removing or changing copyright information, such as the copyright owner's name
Music Modernization Act
Legislation that ensures songwriters and artists receive royalties for songs recorded before 1972 and created the Mechanical Licensing Collective to help streaming services pay copyright holders
RICO Act
Legislation that forbids the use of money earned from illegal activities to finance legal or illegal businesses or nonprofit enterprises engaged in interstate commerce
Copyright Act of 1976
Legislation that specified what may be protected by copyright, what rights copyright protection includes, the restrictions on said rights, and the formalities necessary to exercise the rights. Remains the backbone of US copyright law.
Substantiation
Support of a claim with objective data or evidence
Patently Offensive
Term describing material with hardcore sexual conduct
Virginia Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council
The 1976 case in which the US Supreme Court defined commercial speech
Berne Convention
The primary international copyright treated adopted by many countries in 1886 and by the United States in 1988.
distinct
The right of a business to communicate political messages is (distinct/not distinct) from commercial speech
patently offensive, sexual, state
The second criterion of the Miller Test: The work describes, in a ________ _______ way, ________ conduct specifically defined by the applicable _______ laws
The nature of the copyrighted work
The second criterion of the fair use test
Safe harbor
The takedown notification provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that protects internet service providers and video-sharing websites from claims of infringement when they do not know about or profit from the infringement and promptly comply with a takedown notice
Federal Communications Commission
What entity defines "indecency" as "language or material that, in context, depicts or describes in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities or organs"
The United States Supreme Court
What entity defines "indecency" as "nonconformance with accepted standards of morality?"
Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today
What is the PROTECT Act?
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
What is the RICO Act?
Infringement by inducement
When a person or entity who does not directly infringe can be held liable for inducing others to infringe
Red-flag knowledge
When an internet service provider or website is aware of facts that would make infringement obvious to a reasonable person
Complexity
When it comes to intellectual property law, the core principles apply even as the _______ of law increases
Transformative use
When the reuse of an original copyrighted work has transformed the work's appearance or nature to such a degree that the use is not infringing
Arbitrary marks
Words that have ordinary meanings unrelating to the product or service
Work made for hire
Work created when working for another person or company. The copyright in a work made for hire belongs to the employer, not the creator
Accidental, contributory, vicarious
______, ______, and _______ are all terms that describe types of copyright infringement
Roth v. United States
A 1957 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the First Amendment did not protect obscene publications and materials; this case also rejected the Hicklin rule, however, and narrowed the definition of obscenity
Safe Harbor Policy
A Federal Communications Commission policy designating 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. as a time when broadcast radio and television stations may air indecent material without violating federal law or FCC regulations
Serious social value
A blanket term describing the principle that material cannot be found obscene if it has serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value determined using national standards
Puffery
Exaggerated but generally legal subjective advertising claims that no reasonable person would take literally
rejected
For cable television, local restrictions on indecent content have frequently been ________ by courts
upheld
In Roth v. United States, the Supreme Court _______ Samuel Roth's conviction for mailing sexually explicit literature
Eight
In copyright protection, there are _______ categories of eligible works
prurient, interest, redeeming, societal, importance
In its initial incarnation, the Roth Test defined speech as obscene if it appealed to __________ __________ and was without __________ _________ __________
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union
In this case, the Supreme Court rejected the indecency provision of the Communications Decency Act through strict scrutiny analysis.
patent, trademark, copyright
Intellectual property law includes _______, _________, and _______ statutes.
Fanciful marks
Invented marks, including made-up words; most likely to receive trademark protection
Prurient Interest
Lustful thoughts or sexual desires
Descriptive marks
Marks that describe the product or service and leave little to a consumer's imagination, and that must attach a distinctive meaning to the product or service to be trademarked
Suggestive marks
Marks that suggest a product's source or manufacturer's business, but do not describe what the product is
Deceptive advertising
Material claims made in the promotion, advertising or marketing of products or services that are likely to deceive consumers
Secondary meaning
Meaning beyond a word's common meaning. To obtain this, the public must associate a word with a product's source or producer - not the product itself.
are
Messages designed to promote commerce (are/are not) regulable
Vice products
Products related to activities generally considered unhealthy or immoral, or whose use is restricted by age or other conditions
First-sale doctrine
Once a copyright owner sells a copy of a work, the new owner may possess, transfer or otherwise dispose of that copy without the copyright owner's permission
Transmit Clause
Part of the 1976 Copyright Act that says broadcast networks, local broadcasters and cable television systems perform a work when they transmit content to viewers.
privacy, tort
Sexual expression issues may intersect with ______ and other ______ laws
Hicklin
The Comstock Act of 1873 used the ______ rule as the primary test for determining obscenity
deceptive
The Constitution does not protect _______ advertising
has not
The FCC (has/has not) attempted to extend its broadcast indecency regulations to cable television
Corrective advertising
The Federal Trade Commission power to require an advertiser to advertise or otherwise distribute information to correct false or misleading advertisement claims
does
The First Amendment (does/does not) protect possession of obscene material in the privacy of one's own home
obscene
The First Amendment protects filmmakers and requires proof that a work is _________
not
The Hicklin test is (still/not) used today
1870
The Library of Congress was established in _________
commercial, exploration
The Supreme Court determined that commercial speech warrants reduced First Amendment protection if it does nothing more than propose a ________ transaction and is unrelated to the _______ of ideas, truth, science and the arts
Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island
The WOW case
Statute of Anne
The first copyright law, adopted in England in 1710; protected authors' works if the authors registered them with the government
average person, community, prurient interests
The first criterion of the Miller Test: "The ______ ______, applying contemporary _______ standards," would find that the work appeals to ___________ ___________
Purpose and character of use
The first criterion of the fair use test
The effect on the plaintiff's potential market
The fourth criterion of the fair use test
Intellectual Property Law
The legal category including copyright, trademark and patent law
1866
The length of copyright protect was first extended in ______
Contributory infringement
The participation in, or contribution to, the infringing acts of another person
literary, artistic, political, scientific
The third criterion of the Miller Test: The work lacks serious l_____, a_____, p_____ or s_______ value
The amount and substantiality of the portion used
The third criterion of the fair use test
Infringement
The unauthorized manufacture, sale, or distribution of an item protected by copyright, patent or trademark law.
is
There (is/is not) First Amendment protection for commercial speech
isn't
There ______ agreement on what constitutes offensive sexual expression
Comstock Act of 1873
This legislation prohibited the mailing of obscene materials
Central Hudson Commercial Speech Test
This test states that the government may regulate advertising that is false, misleading or deceptive, in addition to advertising for unlawful goods or services; accurate advertising for legal goods and services may also be restricted based upon reasonable state interest.
Communications Decency Act
Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; The CDA made it illegal to knowingly transmit "obscene or indecent messages to any recipient under 18 years of age" or to make available "patently offensive messages to anyone under 18 years old."
Disparaging marks
Trademarks considered immoral, disparaging or deceptive under the Lanham Act; protected by the First Amendment
Vicarious infringement
Under common law principles, companies are responsible for the acts of employees if the acts are within the nature and scope of their employment and the company has a financial interest in the infringement and the ability to control it
Dilution
Using a famous trademark in a way that disparages or diminishes the mark's effectiveness in the market; can be caused by blurring or tarnishment
Fanciful, arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive
________, ________, ________ and ________ are all terms that describe types of trademarks