We typically publish our article about upcoming regulatory dates before the beginning of each month, but this month, the looming FCC shutdown and determining its effect on filing deadlines pushed back our schedule. As we wrote on Friday, the effect of the shutdown is now becoming clear – and it has the potential to put… Continue Reading
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Another Caution on Social Media – Be Careful What You Share
Posted in Intellectual Property, On Line Media, Podcasting, Website IssuesCan retweeting or sharing someone else’s content get you into trouble? Possibly, based on news reports of a recently filed lawsuit seeking damages for defamation from a cable TV host who retweeted a twitter photo suggesting that someone has made racially derogatory comments. This case seems similar to the one about which we wrote here,… Continue Reading
FCC Reminder About Activation of the Online Public Inspection File – Potential Impact of Noncompliance at License Renewal Time
Posted in FCC Fines, General FCC, License Renewal, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, Website IssuesBy March 1 of 2018, all radio stations were to have activated their online public file. We wrote about how that activation should be done here, and answered other questions about the online public file for radio here. Yet, from my own review, and from what I have heard from engineers who conduct reviews of… Continue Reading
More on the Need to Make Clear Who Owns Digital and Social Media Assets
Posted in Intellectual Property, On Line Media, Podcasting, Website IssuesLast week, we wrote about legal issues for podcasters, and made the point that media companies should be making clear by contract or otherwise who owns the podcasts that their employees and independent contractors have created. This week, there was press coverage (see, for instance, the article here) about a law suit filed by a… Continue Reading
A Presentation on Legal Issues for Podcasters – Who Owns What?
Posted in Advertising Issues, Intellectual Property, On Line Media, Podcasting, Website IssuesLast week, I spoke at Podcast Movement 2018 – a large conference of podcasters held in Philadelphia. My presentation, Legal Issues In Podcasting – What Broadcasters Need to Know, was part of the Broadcasters Meet Podcasters Track. The slides from my presentation are available here. In the presentation, I discussed copyright issues, including some of the… Continue Reading
Hey, Alexa, How Are Your Affecting My Podcasting Music Royalty Obligations?
Posted in Appearances, Digital Radio, Intellectual Property, Internet Radio, Music Rights, On Line Media, Podcasting, Website IssuesNext Wednesday, July 25, I will be speaking at the Podcast Movement Conference in Philadelphia, as part of the Broadcasters Meet Podcasters Track, discussing legal issues that broadcasters need to consider as they move some of their content into podcasts. One of the topics that I will be discussing will be the music royalty obligations… Continue Reading
What Do Broadcasters and Media Companies Need to Know About the GDPR?
Posted in Internet Radio, Internet Video, On Line Media, Privacy, Uncategorized, Website IssuesBy now, you have probably heard that the European Union (EU) has a new data protection law on the books, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – but what are the new rules, and how might they apply to broadcasters? Below we address these and other commonly asked questions about the GDPR. What is the… Continue Reading
12 Years of the Broadcast Law Blog – Where We Have Been and What We Are Looking at Next
Posted in Advertising Issues, AM Radio, General FCC, Intellectual Property, Music Rights, On Line Media, Television, Uncategorized, Website IssuesIn 10 days, we’ll mark the 12th anniversary of my first post welcoming readers to this Blog. I’d like to thank all of you who read the blog, and the many of you who have had nice words to say about its contents over the years. In the dozen years that the blog has been… Continue Reading
June Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – EEO, Translators, Political Rules and Earth Stations
Posted in AM Radio, EEO Compliance/Diversity, FM Translators and LPFM, General FCC, License Renewal, Low Power Television/Class A TV, Political Broadcasting, Television, Website IssuesFor radio and television stations with 5 or more full-time employees located in Arizona, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia, June 1 brings the requirement that you upload to your online inspection file your Annual EEO Public Inspection File Report detailing your employment outreach… Continue Reading
Moving Broadcast Political Advertising Rules to the Online World – NY State Adopts a New Law While Congress Considers Online Political Advertising Disclosures, and the FEC Considers Enhanced Online Sponsorship Identification
Posted in Internet Radio, Internet Video, On Line Media, Payola and Sponsorship Identification, Political Broadcasting, Website IssuesWith high profile primaries in numerous states and similar elections last week, and more coming over the next few months in preparation for the November election, broadcasters are dealing with the legal issues that arise with on-air advertising that either promotes or attacks candidates and which addresses other important matters that will be decided in… Continue Reading
Legal Issues for the Broadcaster in Digital and Social Media Advertising
Posted in Advertising Issues, Children's Programming and Advertising, Digital Radio, Internet Radio, Internet Video, On Line Media, Payola and Sponsorship Identification, Privacy, Website IssuesLast week, Aaron Burstein of our law firm and I conducted a webinar for several state broadcast associations on legal issues in digital and social media advertising. As broadcasters become more active in the digital world, whether it be through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, or by posting their content online through their… Continue Reading
Using Copyrighted Content on a Website – Including News Articles and Videos – Secure the Rights!
Posted in Intellectual Property, On Line Media, Website IssuesIn recent weeks, I have had several calls from broadcasters asking if it was permissible to copy articles from other news sources and post them on the station website – with attribution to the original source. As I told them, posting content without permission of the copyright holder can lead to big problems. We have… Continue Reading
Court Finds That Embedded Twitter Photo on Website May Subject Website Owner to Copyright Liability – Be Careful What You Post
Posted in Intellectual Property, On Line Media, Website IssuesLast week, a US District Court Judge in the influential Southern District of New York issued an opinion finding that the fact that a picture of New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady that was displayed on the websites of a number of media defendants was potentially infringing – even though the photo was not copied… Continue Reading
With the March 1 Deadline Looming, What Should Radio Stations Be Doing to Prepare Their Online Public File? – Five Questions About Station Obligations
Posted in AM Radio, FM Radio, General FCC, Noncommercial Broadcasting, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, Website IssuesOn a day when the rest of the country is thinking about chocolate and Champagne, many radio stations need to be considering the FCC requirement that their public inspection file be made available online in a system hosted by the FCC. From the calls I have received in the last few days, it appears that,… Continue Reading
Copyright Office Issues Reminder About Need for Services Seeking Safe Harbor for User-Generated Content Under Section 512 to File in Electronic System by December 31
Posted in Intellectual Property, On Line Media, Website IssuesThe Copyright Office yesterday issued a “Final Reminder” to Internet Services that want to be able to assert that they are insulated from Copyright liability for content posted on their sites by third-parties. Services need to be sure that they have used the Copyright Office’s new online system to the register the names of their… Continue Reading
December Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – EEO, TV and Translator Filing Windows, Ancillary Revenue Reports, Main Studio Rule Effective Date, Copyright Office Take-Down Notice Registration and More
Posted in AM Radio, Digital Television, EEO Compliance/Diversity, FM Translators and LPFM, General FCC, Incentive Auctions/Broadband Report, Intellectual Property, Low Power Television/Class A TV, On Line Media, Television, Website IssuesWhile the end of the year is just about upon us, that does not mean that broadcasters can ignore the regulatory world and celebrate the holidays all through December. In fact, this will be a busy regulatory month, as witnessed by the list of issues that we wrote about yesterday to be considered at the… Continue Reading
December FCC Meeting to be an Important One for Broadcasters and Other Media Companies
Posted in Cable Carriage, Emergency Communications, General FCC, Multiple Ownership Rules, On Line Media, Television, Tower Issues, Website IssuesLast week, just before Thanksgiving, the FCC released the tentative agenda for its December meeting. From that agenda, it appears that the meeting will be an important one for broadcasters and other media companies. Already, the press has spent incredible amounts of time focusing on one item, referred to as “Restoring Internet Freedom” by the… Continue Reading
Reminder: Electronic Registration of Designated Agent for DMCA Safe-Harbor Take-Down Notices Due at Copyright Office by December 31
Posted in Intellectual Property, On Line Media, Website IssuesThe Copyright Office yesterday issued a reminder, here, that their electronic system for “designated agents” of Internet service providers – those who are to receive notice of any claimed infringing content posted on a service provider’s site – is active and all services must register in that system by December 31 for such registrations to… Continue Reading
Music in Podcasts – Reminder that ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and SoundExchange Licenses Don’t Cover Music Use in Podcasts
Posted in Intellectual Property, Internet Radio, Music Rights, On Line Media, Podcasting, Website IssuesI was recently interviewed by Steve Goldstein of Amplifi Media, a firm that consults for podcast companies, on the difficulties with the use of music in podcasts. That interview has been turned into an article on Steve’s blog, here, discussing these legal issues. That article discusses the same issues that we’ve written about here several… Continue Reading
Copyright Office Makes Changes to Registration of Designated Agents for Take-Down Notices for User Generated Content – Reminder of December 1 Deadline to Register in New Electronic System
Posted in Intellectual Property, Internet Video, On Line Media, Website IssuesThe Copyright Office last year announced changes to its system for registering designated agents for receiving take-down notices that are sent by copyright owners when they believe that user-generated content posted on a website is infringing on the copyright owner’s content (see our article here). The new system makes these registrations electronic, and requires all… Continue Reading
FTC Puts “Influencers” on Notice: Disclose Marketing Relationships in Social Media Posts
Posted in On Line Media, Payola and Sponsorship Identification, Website IssuesBroadcasters and advertisers should take note of the more than 90 warning letters that the FTC sent out this week as a reminder of the need to disclose material sponsorship connections in social media promotions and endorsements. The FTC has since 2009 announced a policy that any online content for which anything of value has… Continue Reading
Copyright Office to Extend Comment Dates on Examination of DMCA Section 512 Safe Harbor for User-Generated Content
Posted in Intellectual Property, Music Rights, On Line Media, Website IssuesThe Copyright Office is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register tomorrow an extension of time for parties who wish to comment on the Request for Additional Comments in its study of Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the “safe harbor” for those Internet Service Providers who host websites or run networks on… Continue Reading
January Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists and Children’s Television Reports, Ownership and EEO Comments, Copyright Issues and More
Posted in Children's Programming and Advertising, EEO Compliance/Diversity, General FCC, Intellectual Property, Internet Radio, Internet Video, Multiple Ownership Rules, Music Rights, On Line Media, Programming Regulations, Public Interest Obligations/Localism, Television, Website IssuesHere we are at the start of a new year, and right away we have numerous regulatory deadlines for broadcasters. By the 10th of the month, all broadcast stations need to have placed in their public inspection files (online for TV and for those radio stations that have already converted to the online public file,… Continue Reading
Public Comments Requested on Qualifications for Copyright Office Chief
Posted in Broadcast Performance Royalty, Intellectual Property, Internet Radio, Internet Video, Music Rights, On Line Media, Website IssuesThere is now a vacancy in the top position at the Copyright Office, the Register of Copyrights, and the Librarian of Congress, who appoints the Register, has asked for comments on the role and qualifications for the new Register. These comments are due by January 31, 2017. While setting copyright law has thus far been… Continue Reading