Unit 1 FACT SHEET Ashley Hill

Legal and Ethical Issues

Legal Issues

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

The law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings,
broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the
ways in which their material may be used.

The rights cover: broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and
lending copies to the public.

This is a CIVIL law not a CRIMINAL law.

This means it is not a criminal offence to break the law, which could result in a fine or jail
sentence.

Instead, the person who owns the copyright has to sue the person they believe has broken
the law. The case is then heard in a civil court and if the person is found guilty of breaking
copyright law then they will have to pay damages to the owner of the copyright. The
amount of damages is set by the court.

Types of work protected

Literary  
Song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs, commercial documents, leaflets,
newsletters and articles etc.
Dramatic  
Plays, dance etc.
Musical  
Recordings and score.
Artistic  
Photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical drawings/diagrams, maps, logos.
Typographical arrangement of published editions
Magazines, periodicals, etc.
Sound recording
May be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical and literary.
Film  
Video footage, films, broadcasts and cable programmes.
The Copyright (Computer Programs) Regulations 1992 extended the rules covering literary
works to include computer programs.
Duration of copyright

For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works: 70 years from the end of the calendar year
in which the last remaining author of the work dies.
If the author is unknown, copyright will last for 70 years from end of the calendar year in
which the work was created, although if it is made available to the public during that time,
by publication, authorised performance, broadcast, exhibition etc, then the duration will be
70 years from the end of the year that the work was first made available.
Sound Recordings: 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was
created or, if the work is released within that time, 70 years from the end of the calendar
year in which the work was first released.
Films: 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last principal director, author
or composer dies.
If the work is of unknown authorship: 70 years from end of the calendar year of creation, or
if made available to the public in that time, 70 years from the end of the year the film was
first made available.
Typographical arrangement of published editions: 25 years from the end of the calendar
year in which the work was first published.
Broadcasts and cable programmes: 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the
broadcast was made.

APPLICATION:
The copyright law is a civil law used to stop people and companies from plagiarising others'
work and pretending that it is theirs. The consequences of this is that the copyright owner
could choose to sue the offender and have to pay damages. The copyright law affects the
plagiarism of things such as Song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs,
commercial documents, leaflets, newsletters, articles, Plays, dance, Recordings, score,
Photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical drawings/diagrams, maps, logos,
Magazines, periodicals, Video footage, films, broadcasts and cable programmes, musical and
literary. The copyright law impacts magazine production as magazine producers must have
permission to use certain photographs or writing. To use Images or writing that is protected
by the copyright law magazine producers must get documented permission from the
owners of the copyright.

The law specifically applies to Empire magazine as they have and will use Images and articles
that are copyrighted. As a result, the producer of Empire magazine will need to get
documented permission for the use of these or use original work so it is not copyrighted.
This is unique for Empire magazine as to get permission to use details from movies they will
be given a press kit, which is a pre packaged set of materials and this gives Empire the
permission.

Equality Act 2010

This law legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:
⮚ Age
 ⮚ Being or becoming a transsexual person

⮚ Being married or in a civil partnership

⮚ Being pregnant or on maternity leave

⮚ Disability

⮚ Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin

⮚ Religion/belief or lack of religion/belief

⮚ Sex

⮚ Sexual orientation

This is a CRIMINAL law.

Therefore anyone who is considered to be breaking the law could be arrested. It would
result in a criminal trial which if found guilty could result in a fine or jail sentence.

APPLICATION:
The equality act is used to protect against discrimination of others in the workplace
environment that covers Race/ethnicity, sex and sexual orientation, religion, Disability,
Pregnancy, Age and transexual. The Equality act is a criminal law which means the breach of
this law could result in a criminal trial which if found guilty can lead to a fine or even a
prison sentence.
This impacts the production of magazines as the text and images used in the magazine can’t
discriminate against or offend the highlighted groups of people. This will lead to the whole
magazine being checked multiple times so it does not contain any breaches of the Equality
Act. This law applies specifically to Empire magazine as the magazine company will have
many people go through the magazine to look for any discriminating content. Empire
magazine producers will have to not separate people or discriminate people for
Race/ethnicity, sex and sexual orientation, religion, Disability, Pregnancy, Age and
transexual. They must not use images that are stereotypical. The text of the magazine must
not use prejudiced thoughts on people or groups within this law which crosses the ethical
line and Empire magazine will also have protocol l in their workplace to stop discrimination
against their employees.

Intellectual property
What intellectual property is
Having the right type of intellectual property protection helps you to stop people stealing or
copying:
⮚ the names of your products or brands

⮚ your inventions

⮚ the design or look of your products

 ⮚ things you write, make or produce

Copyright, patents, designs and trade marks are all types of intellectual property protection.
You get some types of protection automatically, others you have to apply for.

You own intellectual property if you:

⮚ created it (and it meets the requirements for copyright, a patent or a design

⮚ bought intellectual property rights from the creator or a previous owner

⮚ have a brand that could be a trade mark e.g. a well known product name

If you believe anyone has stolen or copied your property you would sue them in civil court.

Types of protection
The type of protection you can get depends on what you’ve created. You get some types of
protection automatically, others you have to apply for.

Automatic protection

Protection you have to apply for

Type of protection Examples of intellectual property Time to allow for application
Trade marks Product names, logos, jingles 4 months
Appearance of a product including,
Registered designs shape, packaging, patterns, colours, 1 month
decoration
Inventions and products, eg machines
Patents Around 5 years
and machine parts, tools, medicines

APPLICATION:
The Intellectual property law is used to stop others from stealing or copying certain things
you have made such as product names and brands, inventions, design or look of products,
things written, made or produced. The law is not a criminal law which means it can only be
taken into civil court where somebody or company has to sue the offenders. The
consequences of breaking the law is being sued by the owners of the intellectual property.
This law affects the production of magazines as producers of a magazine have to make sure
not to include other companies intellectual property such as Take a Break magazine cannot
use Empires brand name unless they get permission. This law specifically applies to Empire
magazine as if the producers use another company's intellectual property then they could
be sued. This means the producers of Empire magazine need to have multiple people to
make sure they do not break this law and have a legal team if another company uses their
intellectual property. Empire magazine must also make sure that all their designs, logos and
house style they use is original otherwise they can be sued which can also affect their
reputation.

Obscene Publications Act 1959

For the purposes of this Act an article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect or (where
the article comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items is, if taken
as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to
all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.

In this Act ‘article’ means any description of an article containing or embodying matter to be
read or looked at or both, any sound record and any film or other record of a picture or
pictures.

This is a criminal law.

APPLICATION:
The obscene publications act is the protection against the publications of an article that is
deemed obscene. This legal issue is used to stop the publications of an obscene article that
is used for personal gain or for another's gain. This is a criminal law and can be taken to
court and be issued a prison sentence. An article can be deemed obscene for many reasons
and for example an article can be deemed obscene if it includes Possession of an extreme
pornographic image, Taking, making, distributing or publishing indecent images or pseudo-
images of children, Disclosing private sexual images without consent and Encouraging or
assisting an offence.
This is linked to the production of magazines as the producers must not include any nudity
or speak about nudity or harming others in articles. The producers must have many people
check the magazine for any of the actions that deem an article as obscene. This impacts the
industry as if a magazine does not follow the obscene publications act it can harm its
reputation and could mean that the magazine can not be published.
This affects Empire magazine as they use many images and articles throughout the magazine
and must not include any obscene content for example they must not Disclose private
sexual images without consent otherwise they can be taken to court. Empire magazine must
follow the law and to make sure they do they must have the magazine checked before
publishing the magazine.

Trespass
This is a civil law.
Trespass to land consists of any unjustifiable intrusion by a person upon the land in
possession of another.
Civil trespass is actionable in the courts.

APPLICATION:
This law is the protection against people from standing or walking or entering onto
somebody else's property. This law is a civil law and the consequences for breaching this law
is the possibility of being sued by the property owners.
This law impacts magazine production as there needs to be permission from the property
owners to use their land for example for a photoshoot a magazine company would need
permission to take photographs on someone else's property. This law applies to Empire
magazine as if they want to access a private property then the producers must get
permission to do so otherwise they can get prosecuted.

Privacy
The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated into English law the European
Convention on Human Rights.

Article 8.1 of the ECHR provides an explicit right to respect for a private life:
Article 8 protects your right to respect for your private life, your family life, your home and
your correspondence (letters, telephone calls and emails, for example).
 
Privacy Law is a law which deals with the use of people’s personal information and making
sure they aren't intruded upon. These laws make sure people can't have their information
wrongly used without permission.

APPLICATION:
The privacy law is put in place to protect people from the use of their information being
intruded upon and/or being used without permission. This law is considered to be a criminal
law and the offenders that break this law can be fined or given prison time for breaking this
law.
This law impacts the production of magazines because if a magazine company wants to use
somebody's personal information for an article then they must get written permission from
that person otherwise the magazine responsible can be taken to court for the matter.
However there are some things that are just not published regardless of whether permission
is granted.
This applies to Empire magazine as Empire are well known for using celebrities for articles
in their magazines, to do this Empire must get permission from the person to use the
information in the magazine and must not be used wrongly by Empire as they could then be
taken to court over the matter.

Defamation Act 2013

This Act reformed defamation law on issues of the right to freedom of expression and the
protection of reputation. It also comprised a response to perceptions that the law as it stood
was giving rise to libel tourism and other inappropriate claims.

The Act changed existing criteria for a successful claim, by requiring claimants to show
actual or probable serious harm (which, in the case of for-profit bodies, is restricted to
serious financial loss), before suing for defamation in England or Wales.

It also enhanced existing defences, by introducing a defence for website operators hosting
user-generated content (provided they comply with a procedure to enable the complainant
to resolve disputes directly with the author of the material concerned or otherwise remove
it), and introducing new statutory defences of truth, honest opinion, and "publication on a
matter of public interest“.

LIBEL
A written, published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation.

SLANDER
Making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

Defamation is a civil law and so you would need to sue someone who you believe has
damaged your reputation.

APPLICATION:
The defamation act is a civil law which means the offenders of the law can be sued. This law
is in place to protect against freedom of speech and expression and protect reputation. The
law is to protect against the damage of someone's reputation caused via slander or libel.
Both slander and libel are both relevant as slander is a false spoken statement used to
damage one's reputation and libel is a written false statement to damage one's reputation.
The defamation act is put in place to stop any wrongful statements about others whether it
be slander or libel to damage someone’s reputation and due to it being a civil law a person
can take an offender to civil court.
This law links to the production of magazines as the producers of a magazine must not use
false statements such as libel to damage a person's reputation . Libel comes into effect here
as false statements in a magazine are written. The producers of the magazine must make
sure the writers do not make statements that are false and should be researched properly.
This act links directly to Empire magazine as they have many articles which include the
reputation of other people. This means the producers of Empire magazine must check the
contents of the magazine to make sure there is no libel in play. They must research
thoroughly before publishing statements about others to make sure they do not break this
law. They must make sure that all their statements are accurate and might avoid negative
statements in general.

Ethical Constraints
Ethical constraints are linked to what is morally right and wrong, however, it is not a legal
issue which means there is no criminal court involved. Ethical constraints are heavily linked
to social standards as social standards are basic morals of what is right to say or do and
what is wrong to say and do. If ethical lines are crossed by a person or corporation it can
lead to people being offended and could cause harm as well as controversy. Ethical
constraints are associated with media products, media products have to have social
standards and not cause offence, harm or controversy. If a media product crosses the
ethical line it can have big impacts on the company, this can be a bad reputation/ publicity
and they could lose their audience. Complaints can also be submitted about a media
product to the regulatory bodies. For print media this is ISPO and for advertisements this is
ASA.

Protecting under 18s

This ethical issue is in place for the protection of under 18s. The protection of people under
the age of eighteen within magazines and the audience of the magazine. Protection for
under 18s is done by protecting them within the magazines including images and articles.
This is done to stop any distress or harm to the under 18s within the magazine and to stop
any bad publicity about them. This is because under eighteen need protection for certain
content as they are under age.

This affects the magazine industry as magazines must not include Images that include nudity
or gruesome content such as blood of under 18 year olds,the text of the magazine must not
use any sensitive info about an under eighteen person. For example an article or picture
within. A magazine should not include explicit or sensitive info like what they have done
badly.

This applies specifically to Empire magazine as they will need to take precautions when
adding information about under eighteen in their magazine and check the article after it is
completed to ensure they do not break this ethical issue . To do this Empire magazine
producers must be cautious when writing information about an under eighteen year old
Empire magazine as they are advised to follow it to stop any bad publicity and legal action
against them. To do this they must not include any harmful or offensive content about an
under 18 in an article and they should have articles that include under 18s to be checked
multiple times to assure there is no breach of this issue.

Representation
This ethical issue is about representation which refers to the way in which people are
portrayed in a media product, this also includes places and events.
In media products there is nothing real within the contents of it, this is because it is all a
representation of reality as the product has been constructed. For example an article in a
media product such as a magazine is not real as it is just a representation of the interview
and is edited and some things have been taken out and added in meaning it is not real and is
constructed things like camera shots are used to create a particular representation of a
person or place.
This ethical issue also covers stereotypes which means it is often a prejudice specific
representation of a group of people and their characteristics. Stereotypes are almost always
negative, this can cause harm, offence or distress to the particular group that has been
stereotyped.
This affects the production of magazines as producers of a magazine will have to avoid for
example negative stereotypes and to do this they will get the magazine checked by multiple
people for stereotypes within the text and the images. As a whole magazine producers
should try to not include content about harmful or offensive content about a media
product, place or event .
This ethical issue is linked to Empire magazine as they cant add anything like stereotypes to
do this Empire magazine producers should go over the magazine and check for anything
that can harm the representation.

Production methods
Production methods are linked to ethical constraints as production methods can be used to
catch people off guard and is about the way journalists approach situations. For example
using a secret hidden microphone is prohibited for this as it is not ethically right. The reason
for this ethical issue is that it tries to prohibit any methods to receive information that is
acquired wrongly.
This affects magazine production as journalists must not exploit people, especially
vulnerable people with disabilities and this can be taken to civil court if a journalist has been
found to exploit a vulnerable person. To stop this from happening Magazine producers
should inform their journalists that they should not breach this ethical issue otherwise there
are consequences. Magazine producers should also check how the information is acquired
and should not use external sources if they have no certainty of how it was acquired.
This ethical issue specifically applies to Empire magazine as they must not allow journalists
to exploit people in different methods for example by using either hidden cameras or
microphones or exploiting someone who has a learning disability. For this to not happen the
Producers of Empire magazine must have confirmation of the methods that their journalists
have used and from external sources. External sources of information should be checked to
see how it was obtained. The reason Empire magazine producers should do this is that it
stops any repercussions from the use of unethical methods.

Content
The content is linked to ethical issues as images and text of any media product need to be
checked as a whole to make sure all content is appropriate for all audiences . This is done so
that the media product does not offend or harm anyone; this includes not using prejudiced
thoughts about specific people or groups.
Producers of a magazine need to make sure that all content within the magazine is
appropriate for all people, the producer can do this by checking magazines for any content
like images and text that could contain stereotypes, exploits of people and so on. The
producers of the magazine should not use other sources that contain any content that could
breach this ethical issue.
The ethical issue applies to Empire magazine as the producers of the magazine will get the
magazine checked for inappropriate content. Empire do this so they do not gain a bad
reputation with the media like the news and so they can keep their audience to keep
making a steady profit and to stop getting complaints submitted to the regulatory body
which is IPSO, this could ruin the reputation of Empire magazine if the ethical line is crossed.