2. Defamation Act of 2013
Defamation refers to the act of spreading information that could damage the
reputation of a person/ company this could either be unreliable which is spoke and
not recorded and is called such as it is difficult to prove or liable where it is recorded
and as such is more provable.
In the uk the act of defamation can be defended in several ways, these are first of all
proving the information that has been spread is true, in cases with multiple points you
do not need to prove all the points but enough that the remaining points do do not
serve as enough evidence to put together enough of a case in the first place.
Another thing about defamation is it cannot include opinions so even if someone posts
their opinion which due to their influence damages the reputation of the target they
cannot be sued for defamation. O.M.
3. Examples of cases of defamation
A comedian Frankie Boyle won a case of defamation against the Daily Mirror after
they had labeled him as being racist. In they defended on the basis that their
accusation were true however the jury found that their was not enough evidence to
support the statement as the comedian was able to say they evidence was part of a joke
and as a result the case ended in his favor with him winning £50,400 for the actuation
of racism and a further £4,250 as their statement that he was kicked of a show as a
result was also deemed to be defamation.
O.M.
4. The watershed
The watershed refers to the time period which companies are allowed to post more
mature content. In the uk the watershed starts from 9pm and end at 5:30 for free
programs while pay for view channels have more relaxed laws and can be shown from
8pm until 6pm. 18 rated programming has harsher restrictions starting at 10pm expect
on channels which are dedicated to 18+ programming such as horror which can start
an hour earlier at 9pm. The watershed was introduced in the year of 1964.
The watershed protects children from distressing imagery, sexual content, violence and
swearing.
People do agree with the watershed as surveys from oxcom show that over 90 percent
of people understand the reasoning for and over 75% think it starts at the right time.
O.M.
5. Examples of shows before and during the watershed
Examples of shows before the watershed are much more family friendly and include
pieces such as doctor who which run from 6:30 though to 7:30 which includes little
swearing and anyone can watch while expecting to be able to show it to their children
without fear of it being inappropriate.
Shows such as Make You Laugh Out Loud on Channel 5 appear before the watershed
as this is a more family and kid friendly show which could fall under PG whereas new
episodes of Big Brother appears during the watershed. There is no given rating for this
programme as it is a reality tv show however, given the nature that there is a lot of foul
language, acts and behaviour, the audience knows that this could fall under the age
rating of 15 and why it is show is shown at 8pm or after 8pm
First paragraph O.M. second G.K.
6. Shows that broke the watershed
The tv show big brother would commonly get complaints for large amounts of searing
despite not being broadcast during the watershed which worried the company which
made the show to the point that they decided to sell the show to another company
rather than risk ofcom getting involved and shutting down the program with a fine.
A case where ofcom did get involved was after the discovery channel in one of their
shows about female killers, showed material that was deemed to graphic to be shown
before the watershed which could be bae for child when and decided to fine the
discovery channel a total of £100,00, to serve as a warning not to do so again.
O.M.
7. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
The copyright, designs and patent act from 1988 protects a variety of different forms of
media from being copied or stolen from their original creators. Different forms of
medias protection lasts for varying amounts of time but the parts that are relevant to
our works is films which has 70 years of protection form when it is released and
broadcasts which are protects until 50 years after the death of the last author.
As a result of the uk being a signatory of the Bern convention any a work is also
granted copyrights in another 164 countries (a list of which can be found here)
meaning work cannot be copied and re released in nations such as the USA or China.
How ever abroad the time may differ for example films abroad are only guaranteed to
be protected for 50 years instead of 70.
O.M.
8. Example of a case of copyright case
An example of a copyright lawsuit was when an tattoo artist s. Victor whitmill sued
warner bros for their use of a replica of mike tyson's tribal face tattoo in hangover 2 as
it was made for mike tyson specifically and was copyrighted and as he had not given
permission claimed they had no right use it in their film. This shows that films must be
careful about what they show in a film as if something is used without the copyright
holder's permission as it can lead to complications which in this case was resolved by
paying Whitmill an undisclosed amount, or they would have needed to cgi out the
tattoo of the dvd copy.
O.M.
9. Ofcom
Ofcom or the office of communications is a body ran by the UK government with many
duties to do with communication and media with several roles regarding tv.
They regulate TV, radio and telecommunications. In order to broadcast their material(s) TV
stations have to meet the guidelines of Ofcom.
Ofcom works under a set of rules, acts and regulations such as the Communications Act of
2003, the Defamation Act of 2013 and the Copyright Act of 1988. For example, the
Communications Act says that the main role Ofcom has is to increase the appeal of people,
customers and audience, suitably by advertising and encouraging competition.
“Meeting this duty is the heart of everything we do.”- Ofcom
G.K.
10. Industries codes of practice
The Ofcom (Office of communications) Broadcasting codes touches on the regulations on
which television, radio and telecommunication services must follow. There are several codes
which must be followed in order for their material(s) to be released to the public. These are:
Code on TV Advertising: Ofcom licensed tv broadcasters must abide by when advertising
Code on sports and listed events: Key sporting events and other events have been labeled as
“listed events” by the Secretary of State, authorized by the Broadcasting Act 1996
Code on TV access services: Allows people with disadvantages such as those with visual
and hearing issues to be able to access their TV(s). Services such as sign language and audio
description have helped the disadvantaged consumers
Code on EPGs: according to Ofcom, the Code on EPGs is the guidance on listening of
public service and other channels and on accessibility features
G.K.
11. BBFC (part 1)
Since 1912, the British Board of Film Classification has been working independently to
classify and rate films that we may be watching today and for all other members of the public.
The BBFC have a role of rating films depending on the content they possess to make them
suitable to certain viewers. The age ratings release by the BBFC are:
- U (Suitable for all viewers)
- PG (Parental Guidance)
- 12A (Cinema release suitable for 12 years and over)
- 12 (Video release suitable for 12 years and over)
- 15 (Suitable only for 15 years and over)
- 18 (Suitable only for adults)
- R18 (Adults works for licensed premises only)
G.K.
12. BBFC (part 2)
Ratings have also been released for music videos.
These ratings have been put out to protect the public such as kids to make sure that
they watch age-appropriate material.
Over recent years, due to the changing nature of our environment, the way we see
things have also changed for example, a movie that would’ve been rated 18 about 10 to
20 years ago may be rated 15 today.
G.K.
13. Examples of rated films
Lion King- U
Cars- PG
Spider-Man: Homecoming- 12A &12
Baby Driver- 15
Game of Thrones-18
Once Upon a Time in London- R18
G.K.
