World Media Law Report
August 21 2008   
World Media Law Report

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Special feature
The Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement: smoke without fire?
The Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement is causing consternation in cyberspace, with civil libertarians claiming that it will give the content industry carte blanche to infringe upon basic freedoms and individual privacy. Others suggest it is simply a necessary measure to curb large-scale international trademark fraud and piracy. So which is it? The negotiators aren't talking, so World Media Law Report garnered a few expert opinions. Full text
  Ronald Clayton


Legal updates

 
Use of publicity footage in news story was fair, court rules
Canada  
Iana Alexova   (24/07/2008) A Quebec court has rejected Clinique de Lecture et d'Ecriture's claim that the use of its publicity footage by TVA in a television news story was unlawful. Having viewed the submitted footage, the judge concluded that TVA acted within the scope of the fair dealing exception provided by the Copyright Act. Full text  

 
Landmark ruling finds music downloading to be illegal
Netherlands  
  (24/07/2008) The District Court of The Hague has turned its back on previous precedent to rule that making a private copy of illegal material constitutes an unlawful act. Previously, the use of peer-to-peer services was allowed even if this involved making a private copy from material that had been made available illegally. Full text  

 
Movie and Video Act 2008 ushers in new film rating system
Thailand  
Say Sujintaya   (24/07/2008) The recently enacted Movie and Video Act 2008 has replaced the long-established Thai film censorship system with a film rating system similar to those in force in other countries. From now on, all films to be shown, distributed or available for rental in Thailand will have to be approved and rated (as opposed to censored) by the Movie and Video Commission. Full text  

 
No Cashback for writer in "you stole my story" claim
United Kingdom  
Jeremy Phillips   (24/07/2008) The Chancery Division of the High Court of England and Wales has struck out a claim of film storyline theft filed by Elizabeth Obisanya against writer and film-maker Sean Ellis. Given the chronology of events, the judge found that Obisanya could not reasonably establish that there was any possibility that the defendants had gained access to her screenplay. Full text  

 
Copyright protection denied to digital models created for ad campaign
USA  
Mark J Diliberti   (24/07/2008) The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has denied copyright protection to the digital models created by Meshwerks Inc for Toyota's model-year 2004 advertising claim. The court applied the reasoning used for photographic copyright to the digital models, concluding that they were nothing more than substitutes intended to copy Toyota's vehicle designs. Full text  

 
Federal appeals court considers challenge to Copyright Royalty Board
USA  
I Fred Koenigsberg   (24/07/2008) The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is to consider arguments that, if persuasive, would overturn the webcasting royalty rates set in 2007 by the Copyright Royalty Board, and possibly even dissolve the board as unconstitutional. The action follows the board's rejection of an application by Royalty Logic to be recognized as an administrator of compulsory licences. Full text