What is a blog?

• ‘Web log’
• “an online publication, diary or newsletter posted on a website by an individual, organisation, a business or community” (Arts Law Centre of Australia 2010, pp. 1)
• Interactive/non-interactive

 

What legal issues can arise?

• Copyright
• Moral Rights
• Trade marks
• Defamation
• Right of Publicity

 

Copyright

• Copyright protection is automatic in Australia under the Copyright Act 1968
• Prtoects
  • Literary works
  • Artistic works
  • Dramatic works
  • Musicals works
  • Films, sound recordings, broadcasts, published editions
• Owner has exclusive rights to reproduce and communicate works to the public
• Creator/maker is the owner of the work unless the creator is:
  • An employee
  • Commissioned to create work
  • Freelancer
  • Under direction of Government
• Duration usually for the life of the creator + 70 years
• Fair dealing exceptions for purpose of:
  • Criticism/review
  • Parody/satire
  • Research and study
  • News reporting
• Creative Commons
  • Non-profit organisation
  • “a flexible range of licenses for creators wanting to allow others to use their work” (Arts Law Centre of Australia 2010, pp. 3)

 

Moral rights

• “recognise the creator’s ongoing connection with the work” (Arts Law Centre of Australia 2010, pp. 4)
• Entitle a creator to:
  • The right of attribution
  • The right against false attribution
  • The right of intergrity against derogatory treatment of the work in a way that prejudices the reputation or honour of the creator

 

Trade marks

• Used in business
• “indicate[s] that goods or services come from a particular trader or service provider” (Arts Law Centre of Australia 2010, pp. 4)
• EG; letter, name, signature, word, numeral, device, brand, heading, label, etc
• Registered trade marks and common law trade marks

 

Defamation

• “a communication to at least one person that lowers the reputation of an identifiable third person, where the communicator has no legal defence” (Arts Law Centre of Australia 2010, pp. 5)

 

Right of publicity

• None in Australia
• In the USA is “a defence against claim that you have used someone’s name or likeness in a commercial manner… without their consent, and that this has damaged their reputation or cause them injury” (Arts Law Centre of Australia 2010, pp. 6)