4Legal and ethical

In 1988 the copyright designs and patents act was created. It was created
to ensure that people who had worked hard on a project could claim the
rewards without the idea being stolen from somebody who claims its their
own. Before the act was introduces there was nothing to stop people from
stealing someone elses work. This act was specifically drawn up to
protect work made on ICT systems especially that which has been
published to the internet, as it can be stolen easily. The act deems it
illegal to copy software, music etc. that somebody has created without
written permission from the creator. This act covers the ownership of:

Text - is covered for 70 years from the end of the calendar year of
the death of the last remaining author.
Pictures and graphics same as text
Logos same as text Buttons same as text.
Icons same as text
Images same as text
Music and songs same as text
Plays and screen plays- are covered for 70 years from the end of the
calendar year in which the last principal director, author or
composer dies
Sound recordings - is covered for 50 years from the end of the
calendar year of the death of the last remaining author.

Images can only be used freely if the copyright holder has decided that
they can be freely used by the public. This is the case with google images.
Some copyright holders may only allow use of their content in a certain
country or at a certain time. On rare occasions copyright holders sell the
rights to use their assets, however it doesnt mean that you are a
copyright holder, it just means that youre allowed to use them.
If you purchase software then you dont get the rights to redistribute the
software, but only a licence this allows you to use the software on the
stated number of computers. If you were to download it on more than the
stated number of computers it would be considered as illegal and a
breach to the act. To get around this, some companies offer a multi user
licence, this allows a certain number of people to use the software at once
but it can be on all of the networked computers.
When finding images online the best place to search is google images, if
you use a site you will sometimes have to ask the copyright holder for
written permission to use the image. Some people will allow the purchase
of their image if you want to use it. Google and MS clipart are free to use
as they do not have any copyright owners.
Big sites such as YouTube do not allow the downloading and use of their
videos unless the owner has provided written permission or there is a
disclaimer saying so in the description of the video.

To ensure that I do not breach the copyright designs and patents act I will
make sure that all assets used are either created by me or I have written
permission by the copyright holder to use them. The content I use will not
be offensive, vulgar or unethical in any way.
Ethics
When creating a multimedia product restriction will apply on what I can
say and do in relation to the course, this is to ensure that the work is
ethically and morally correct in the eyes of the examiner. This is to protect
myself from possible law suits and to avoid offending anybody. This is also
an important feature to follow as it stops anybody from being offended by
the products I create.
It is also illegal to reveal any confidential information in any product as
every single one is bound by the privacy act. This includes financial,
personal and medical information. Sites such as Facebook come under
scrutiny on this as people can post anything for anyone to see, though it
will be taken down people could have seen potentially damaging
information.
I will conform to the Obscene Publications Act. This act stops anything that
is deemed obscene or unethical to be used on a product for example you
cant say Mr X is stupid for Y reason it also made it illegal to publish
anything that is likely to deprive corrupt (weather intended or not) this
can include images of extreme sexual activity such as bestiality,
necrophilia, rape or torture.
As there is a big issue with race, gender, religion and sexuality I have to
be careful how I describe items in my products as I have to give a nonbiased impartial opinion on certain aspects of the media world. This
means that I cannot suggest that any race, gender, religion, or sexuality is
lesser than any other. The race relations act is a big part of media. The
race relations act is an older act and all of the points covered in this act
are also covered in the equality act (2010). This act stops the
discrimination of anybody, anywhere; this includes any age, race,
sexuality and religious discrimination.

Ofcom
Ofcom or the office of communications is the government selected
authority when it comes to television, Radio, Telecoms and postal sectors.

Its duty is to represent the interests of every UK consumer by promoting

friendly competition and protecting the public from material that is
considered harmful or offensive,
though the things that Ofcom
have the most power over are:
licencing, research competition,
complaints, protecting the radio
spectrum from abuse and codes
and policies. Ofcom received full
authority over the matters stated
above in 2003 when the
communications act 2003 was
passed.
Advertising standards
authority
The advertising standards
agency (ASA) is the regulator
of advertising in the UK
covering all of the media.
When advertising you have to
stick to the rules of the agency.
They act on complaints and
they check the media to take
action against misleading,
offensive or harmful
advertisements.

BIMA
The British interactive media
association is a company that
rewards people for their hard
work in interactive media it is like
a union, as it follows similar
principles to most unions: protect
their members from harm.

Television

Accuracy is a fundamental issue in the media when you consider the huge number of people
who you are communicating to. It is probably the most important issue. Whilst you cannot be
taken to court for 'getting it wrong' it can be damaging to your reputation and it can lead to
litigation, e.g. in the case of libel.
The BBC's guidelines state:
"Research for all programmes must be thorough. We must be prepared to check, crosscheck and seek advice, to ensure this. Wherever possible we should gather information firsthand by being there ourselves or, where that is not possible, by talking to those who were."
Impartiality & Bias
The BBC's Editorial Guidelines state:

4.2.1 We must do all we can to ensure that 'controversial subjects' are

treated with due impartiality in all our output.
4.2.2 News in whatever form must be treated with due impartiality, giving
due weight to events, opinion and main strands of argument.
4.2.3 We seek to provide a broad range of subject matter and perspectives
over an appropriate timeframe across our output as a whole.
4.2.4 We are committed to reflecting a wide range of opinion across our
output as a whole and over an appropriate timeframe so that no
significant strand of thought is knowingly unreflected or underrepresented.
4.2.5 We exercise our editorial freedom to produce content about any subject, at any
point on the spectrum of debate, as long as there are good editorial reasons for doing
so.

Defamation: Libel & Slander

TV and radio defamation is libel, not slander because it is in a permanent form.
Current affairs and news programmes are most likely to be faced with issues of libel, but
gossip in chat shows may also cause concern. All television companies have media lawyers
who cover libel and the script or transcript of a pre-recorded interview can be referred.
Privacy
According to Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has
the right to privacy for private and family life and the right to freedom of expression. This was
incorporated into UK law in the Human Rights Act 1998.
All codes of practice give guidance related to the issue of privacy on the use of recording
telephone interviews, hidden microphones and cameras, scenes of extreme suffering and
distress, interviewing children, set-up situations and interviews without prior arrangement
Web
Collecting, using and sharing data in research with people requires that ethical
and legal obligations are respected. Laws such as the Data Protection Act,
Freedom of Information Act and Statistics and Registration Services Act also
govern the use of some kinds of data.

Every researcher is expected to maintain high ethical standards. Ethical

guidelines for research involving people are typically issued by professional
bodies, host institutions and funding organisations. The key principles of research
ethics that have a bearing on sharing or archiving confidential research data are:

A duty of confidentiality towards informants and participants

A duty to protect participants from harm, by not disclosing sensitive
information
A duty to treat participants as intelligent beings, able to make their own
decisions on how the information they provide can be used, shared and
made public (through informed consent)
A duty to inform participants how information and data obtained will be
used, processed, shared, disposed of, prior to obtaining consent
A duty to wider society to make available resources produced by
researchers with public funds (data sharing required by research funders)