LO1 : Legal Issues

LEGAL ISSUES

Legal issues are a requirement by the law,  it has to be adhered to as its a legal requirement, Some consequences which you may face if you do not follow the legal requirements could be a fine, production of your product stopped, negative effects to the reputation of your company 

Examples 

• Copyrighted images/branding/Trademarks 
• Permits
• Signed contracts 
• Employer liament 
• Health and Safety 
• Release and consent forms 
• Location permission consent form
• Location recce form 
• Privacy and confidentiality/ Data Protection Act  
• Discrimination and disfamintry 
• Ethical issues

• Freedom of information acts 2000
• Intellectual Property rights
• Data Protection 
• Copyrights,Designs and patents act 1988
• Libel
• Slander

1. Definition of what it means 
2. Three reasons why it is important 
3. What are the consequences of not adhering to the law 
4. Find an example of where this legal issue was breached 
5. How does this law effect pre-production of media product?

Data Protection Act 

Definition of what it means - An act which protects personal data e.g name address 

Three reasons why it is important - allows only certain amount of people to access ur data, these people are called data commissioner, preventing fraud and leaks 

What are the consequences of not adhering to the law - criminal prosecution, fines or aduit

Find an example of where this legal issue was breached - Craphone Warehouse leaked data by accident and got fined £400,000 and because of this the GDPR was introduced

How does this law effect pre-production of media product? - making sure your staff and clients information is safe and secure, and the data needs to be encrypted to be stored safely.

Intellectual Property Rights 

Definition of what it means - the protections granted to the creators of IP including trademarks, copyright and design rights 

Three reasons why it is important - Prevent competitors or thieves from stealing your idea, you may have to stop trading if your name is already copyrighted,  

What are the consequences of not adhering to the law - its called infringement if its breached, criminal penalties, lawsuits and fines.

Find an example of where this legal issue was breached - The associated Press vs Fairey, Fairey copyrighted the associated press' picture of Obama and therefore The associated press sued Fairey. 

How does this law effect pre-production of media product? - Cant have copyrighted music, Cant have copyrighted images.

Freedom of information acts 2000

Definition of what it means - Gives a general right of access by the public of the local authorities 

Three reasons why it is important - it gives a greater understanding of what the government is doing and how it affects the country, its a way for the public to trust the government 

What are the consequences of not adhering to the law - fined, imprisonment , loss of the staff , loss of future staff and loss of productivity 

Find an example of where this legal issue was breached - A council in Wales breached the act as didn't release information, they were given 30 days to release the information or face the high court 

How does this law effect pre-production of media product? - before the act people would set out false stories and create false news from it.

Any media product that uses information in documentaries, magazines etc on authorities, the information used has to be factual and correct.

Libel & Slander

• Definition of what it means - When you communicate false information about a company or people, Slander means any information that can harm damage to a person or people.
• Three reasons why it is important - Libel is important because it can ruin a company/reputation and if you are the company who committed the slander against another company this can also lead to a ruined reputation, Slander is important so you can gain justice or gain money to make up for your misfortune in compensation
• What are the consequences of not adhering to the law - legal actions, court cases/fines, It can affect companies also because suppliers, investors could not want to be associated with the company after the incident has happened, Consequences of slander is a civil matter so not as severe however may be taken to the court or a public apology given.
• Find an example of where this legal issue was breached - Kevin Peterson took action against Specsavers advert as Kevin was suggested by their advertising that he had tampered by his bat.
• For slander Joe Franics didn't pay his casino debut which led to Steve Wyn suggesting that Wyn ran his casinos deceitfully.
• How does this law effect pre-production of media product? - Companies will have to take full precautions so that no false accusations are made in the making of the product, With slander it will be effect full if someone  mentions something during  the preproduction process and something needs to be done to solve the case, it will put a stop on the products creation and having a bigger issue to solve.