The use of social media may be contributing to violations of copyright law and can create legal challenges for school districts trying to balance ease of communication and First Amendment freedom of speech rights against compliance with federal regulations. In this case, a district is threatened with a lawsuit for copyright violation when one of…

One of the most important topics for today's information technology professional is the study of legal and regulatory issues as they relate to privacy and security of personal and business data and identification. This manuscript describes the topics and approach taken by the instructors that focuses on independent research of source documents and…

The backlash against public access to information, coupled with misinterpretations of the relationship between fair use and the First Amendment, not only threaten educators' ability to access information for educational purposes, but create roadblocks for the public's constitutionally supported right to participate in democratic dialogue. The…

The Constitution empowers Congress to protect the rights of authors. There is disagreement, however, over whether Congress may grant authors a limited monopoly on their works or may regulate authorship by permitting reasonable public access to creative works. The traditional view of expansive pre-publication rights for authors is supported by…

In the twenty-first century, differences in the treatment of trade in alcoholic beverages in comparison to other commercial goods seem at odds with the federal regulation of interstate trade under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, which prohibits "differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that…

Discusses the World Intellectual Property Organization's proposed Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Databases and suggests that because it disagrees with United States copyright law and the First Amendment, it should be rejected. Topics include public interests and individual property rights; journalists' reporting; and the fair use…

Discusses concerns regarding the Internet and its relationship to law and ethics. Answers questions about use of Internet sites, copyright issues, graphics, and other features in stories. (PA)

This paper explores the rights of authors before publication of their works, if those works are to be published at all, and how these rights might yield to fair use of the works by other authors. Firstly, the paper examines the interests at stake of the three main groups involved: authors, the public, and people who wish to quote or closely…

The legal action brought by author J. D. Salinger against Random House Publishers to prevent certain letters--now the property of various university libraries--from being published in a biography illustrates how the long-standing accommodation between the Copyright Act and the First Amendment can occasionally break down. Although the biographer…

The Media and Law section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 12 papers: "An Analysis of the Role of Insurance, Prepublication Review and Correction Policies in Threatened and Actual Libel Suits" (Elizabeth K. Hansen and Roy L. Moore); "Private Defamation Plaintiffs and Falsity since 'Philadelphia…

Implications of the 1985 Supreme Court ruling in Harper & Row v Nation Enterprises, dealing with copyright protection in unpublished material include: ownership of copyrighted works prepared by faculty or students, infringement through performance or classroom use of copyrighted works, and application of fair use to classroom and scholarly…

Contending that potential conflict between copyright and free speech inevitable if present provisions of the copyright bill providing copyright for television are enacted, the author suggests an alternative approach based on analysis of English and American background, copyright and the law of unfair competition, and policies of the copyright…

Explores five issues related to technology's impact on privacy and access to information--regulation and licensing of the press, electronic surveillance, invasion of privacy, copyright, and policy-making and regulation. The importance of First Amendment rights and civil liberties in forming a coherent national information policy is stressed.…

The Law Division of the proceedings contains the following 8 papers: "Trademarks and the First Amendment: The Anatomy of a Conflict" (Retha J. Martin); "Exit Polls and Other Bad Habits: An Analysis of First Amendment Considerations Concerning Policy Recommendations to Control or Prohibit Media Election Forecasts" (Niels…

Argues that First Amendment rights are not possible without the grant of public access to information provided by the doctrine of fair use. Notes that, with digitalization and electronic transfer, many corporate intellectual-property lawyers are pressuring for tightening public access. Argues that educators must understand that the existence of…