Broadcast Law Blog
JANUARY 17, 2009
The term "Super Bowl" is a trademark owned by the National Football League, and it is protected very aggressively. What does that mean? The biggest no-no of all is to use the term "Super Bowl" in any advertising or promotional announcements that are not sanctioned by the NFL. This prohibition includes sweepstakes and contests as well.
The Paralegal Resource
NOVEMBER 30, 2009
Although you probably love your job as a paralegal, there is something else that you can do in addition to your regular job. Pro Bono work is a way in which you can use your knowledge, skills, and experience, to benefit others. Not only does Pro Bono work provide a much-needed service to people who would not otherwise be able to have the benefit of legal assistance, it can give you a great deal of personal satisfaction at the same time.
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Broadcast Law Blog
AUGUST 26, 2009
In the next few days, concerns about the protection of children from indecency and violence could lead to a report from the FCC to Congress urging use of the V Chip and other parental controls in devices other than television sets. Remarks several weeks ago by FCC Chair Julius Genachowski suggesting that the FCC might want to look at content regulation beyond the broadcast medium, a view reiterated in an interview yesterday in TV NewsCheck , also suggest that concerns about the exposure of child
Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 3, 2009
While we have written much about the battle over the broadcast performance royalty (or the " performance tax " as broadcasters call is) - whether broadcasters will have to pay artists and record labels for the right to play their music on the air - we have not written much about another looming issue with the royalties that broadcasters must pay to play music on their stations.
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Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 13, 2009
The Copyright Royalty Board has ordered that most digital music services provide " census reporting " of all songs played by their service, along with other information including the number of listeners who heard each song each time it was played. The decision, published in the Federal Register today, is a follow up to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking about which we wrote here , proposing this new permanent rule to replace the interim requirements that required that digital music serv
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Broadcast Law Blog
NOVEMBER 16, 2009
By December 1, 2009 , all commercial and noncommercial digital television (DTV) stations must electronically file an FCC Form 317 with the Commission reporting on whether the station has provided any ancillary and supplementary services over their digital spectrum during the twelve-month period ending on September 30, 2009. Under the Commission's Rules, in addition to providing free over-the-air broadcast television, DTV stations are permitted to offer services of any nature, consistent with the
Broadcast Law Blog
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
With today's Federal Register publication of the FCC's recent Order amending the rules governing FM Translator stations , the date is officially set at October 1st for when AM stations can begin to rebroadcast their signals on FM translators. Beginning October 1st, the long-standing prohibition on rebroadcasting AM radio on FM translators is off the books and translators are free to pick up an AM signal.
Broadcast Law Blog
AUGUST 24, 2009
A request for advertising rates by an ad agency representing the Mini Cooper serves as a reminder to broadcasters of the recently-imposed obligation to insure that broadcast advertisers do not discriminate on the basis of race or gender. As we wrote several months ago, the FCC has adopted a new requirement that a broadcaster certify at license renewal time that their advertising contracts require advertisers certify that they were not making advertising decisions based on the race or gender of t
Broadcast Law Blog
SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
Last week, the FCC issued several fines to broadcasters for failure to observe some basic FCC rules. As there many FCC rules to observe, broadcasters should use the misfortune of others who have suffered from these fines as a way to check their own operations to make sure that they meet all of the required Commission standards. In the recent cases, fines were issued for a variety of violations, including the failure to have a manned main studio, the failure to have a working EAS system, incomple
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Broadcast Law Blog
AUGUST 6, 2009
On Tuesday, just before the Senate recesses for its summer vacation, an abridged version of the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the proposed sound recording performance royalty for over-the-air radio. Internet radio royalties were also encompassed in this discussion, principally concerning the issue of " platform parity ", i.e. whether all music services subject to the sound recording performance royalty should pay a royalty determined by the same standard, or perhaps even
Broadcast Law Blog
NOVEMBER 19, 2009
At more and more broadcast conventions, station owners have been asking questions about their legal liability for the use of social media. What is their liability for the use of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or other services? Could owners have liability if their station maintains its own page on which friends and followers may post statements which are defamatory or which could otherwise give rise to a lawsuit?
Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 26, 2009
An article from TV NewsCheck last week reported on an approach by an FCC representative to television operators, floating an idea that the FCC would "buy" TV spectrum from existing television station operators , and repurpose that spectrum for wireless users - presumably some sort of wireless broadband. The funds to buy the spectrum would come from the auction of the frequencies.
Broadcast Law Blog
SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
The NAB today announced that it has selected Gordon Smith , a former Republican Senator from Oregon, as its new President. He succeeds David Rehr, who left the NAB last Spring. Smith has been practicing law in Washington since leaving the Senate after being defeated in his reelection bid in the 2008 election. While in the Senate, he served on the Commerce Committee that oversees the FCC.
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Broadcast Law Blog
JULY 29, 2009
For the first time since the term of FCC Commissioner Tate expired and Chairman Martin resigned, the FCC will be back to full strength with the Senate's approval of new FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker. What issues of importance to broadcasters will the Commission, now headed by Chairman Julius Genachowski , take up in coming months?
Broadcast Law Blog
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
Radio broadcasters all over the country have been receiving letters about music royalties – from ASCAP , BMI and the Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC). The ASCAP and BMI letters are asking for the broadcaster to sign a letter committing themselves to some royalty obligation for 2010. They pose three options to the broadcaster – sign up to pay royalties for 2010, join the RMLC negotiating group, or notify ASCAP and BMI that they will be negotiating their own royalties.
Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 30, 2009
As we expected , the FCC has set the date for the filing of the newly revised Ownership Reports on the revised FCC Form 323. All commercial broadcast stations nationwide will need to file by December 15 , according to the Public Notice released today. According to the Public Notice, the Form will be available in the FCC's CDBS electronic filing system by approximately November 16, and licensees can start to file as soon as the form is available.
Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 28, 2009
The FCC's struggles to get a new FCC Ownership Report adopted, and to establish a uniform filing date for ownership reports from all commercial broadcasters, seems to be coming to an end. The new Form 323 Ownership Report was approved by the Office of Management and Budget last week, with the OMB apparently finding the FCC's recent revisions of the form (about which we wrote here ) to be sufficient to answer objections that had been raised about its paperwork burden.
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Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 26, 2009
On Friday, the Commission formally began a rule making proceeding regarding children and electronic media. Aware of the vast opportunities, but also the potential risks inherent in today's (and tomorrow's) electronic media, the Commission is seeking to gather information about the extent to which children are using media today, the benefits and risks of the various technologies, and the ways in which society can improve the benefits while minimizing the risks.
Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 22, 2009
The FCC has released the agenda for its Workshop on the multiple ownership rules (about which we wrote here ). The workshop will span three mornings (November 2-4), and will include live testimony from a different panel each morning. The first panel will include the academic perspective on ownership rules, the second the view from "public interest organizations", and the third from industry representatives, though the participants on that panel are, at this point, the most unsettled.
Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 10, 2009
Section 312(g) of the Communications Act authorizes the FCC to cancel the license of any broadcast station that has not operated for a full year. In a recent case , the Commission clarified when it would choose to use that authority to cancel the license of a station that had not been on the air with authorized facilities within that one year period.
Broadcast Law Blog
OCTOBER 2, 2009
Just this morning, we posted a comment about the new FCC Form 323 Ownership Report that was supposed to be required of all commercial broadcasters on November 1 of this year, and then on November 1 of every other year thereafter. We wrote about how the approval of the form by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act had been held up, and that the November 1 filing deadline looked unlikely.
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Broadcast Law Blog
SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
In a Public Notice issued yesterday, the FCC announced that they would do a series of open "workshops" in connection with its review of the broadcast multiple ownership rules - the rules that restrict the number of radio or television stations which one party can own and which restrict the cross-ownership of radio and TV stations and newspapers in the same market.
Broadcast Law Blog
SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
In the past several weeks, broadcast indecency has been back in the news - seemingly almost on a daily basis. First, there was the story about Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for Virginia governor who, seemingly inadvertently, dropped the f-bomb, perhaps as a result of tripping over his tongue during a news interview on a news radio station in Washington.
Broadcast Law Blog
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
Last week, the FCC released a decision denying objections to the sale of the NY Times-owned radio station in New York City - objections based on the fears of certain listeners that the sale would mean the loss of the station's classical music service. In rejecting the petitions, the FCC relied on the long-standing policy of the FCC not to get into format questions , citing a thirty year old policy statement, upheld by a Supreme Court decision, which found that such review "would not benefit
Broadcast Law Blog
SEPTEMBER 3, 2009
The threat from the recent fires to the tower farm on Mount Wilson from which many of the radio and television stations serving the Los Angeles area operate highlight the need for broadcasters to have an emergency plan in the event that some local catastrophe affects their tower site. The fact that this fire comes near to the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, where many broadcasters lost power, but where others where able to provide a lifeline to their communities, reminds broadcasters that emer
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