DESCRIPTION:  This course covers aspects of entertainment litigation, beginning with copyright (what is copyrightable, how to copyright, rights and duration, transfer of copyrights, and infringements and remedies).  Other topics include authors' moral rights, unfair competition, and contractual protection of ideas.  Major emphasis is placed on the torts of defamation and invasion of privacy (appropriation, false light, intrusion, private facts, and right of publicity) and the applicability of the First Amendment to each of the topics covered in the course.

REQUIREMENTS:  (1)  Students should read the cases and statutes in the book according to the above schedule and should be prepared to recite oral briefs and answer questions in class.  As time permits, students are encouraged to read the other textual material as well.  (2)  Students should check the course TWEN page periodically for announcements and other information posted by the instructor or by other students.  (3)  Students will take a traditional, in-class, closed-book final examination consisting of four essay questions, each weighted equally.  The questions will be based on issues raised in the casebook and/or supplement and/or class discussion.

ATTENDANCE:  The ABA and Widener University policy is that students must attend at least 80% of all classes without exception.  No excuses can be accepted for failing to meet this residency requirement.  This means that every student must attend a minimum of 22.0 classes.  Any student who is absent for 6.1 or more classes will receive a course grade of "W" (Withdrawal); the instructor will endeavor, but does not guarantee, to notify students who are approaching this limit.  Arriving late or leaving early is counted as a partial absence.  A student who misses the roll call at the beginning of class is irrebuttably presumed to be absent unless he/she makes his/her presence known to the instructor immediately after class.

COMMUNICATION:  Students are encouraged to contact the instructor at any time, either privately via email or phone, or publicly via the TWEN bulletin board for the course.  Individual meetings can be arranged at a mutually convenient time and place.

GRADING:  The course grade will be determined by the grade received on the final examination, which may be raised or lowered by one grade (e.g., from B+ to A-, or from C to C-) on the basis of the student's class participation.  The instructor will be available over the summer to review the final exams with any student who is interested and to suggest means for improvement in writing successful essay answers.

MINIMUM FAULT STANDARD FOR EACH LIBEL ELEMENT	At Common Law	After New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)	After Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974)	After Dun & Bradstreet v. Greenmoss Builders (1985)	After Philadelphia Newspapers v. Hepps (1986)
Publication	At least negligence	At least negligence	At least negligence	At least negligence	At least negligence
Identification	Strict liability	Strict liability, but must actually identify	Strict liability, but must actually identify	Strict liability, but must actually identify	Strict liability, but must actually identify
Defamation	Strict liability	Strict liability	Strict liability, but P who cannot prove actual malice (as to falsity) must prove actual injury	Strict liability, but P who cannot prove actual malice (as to falsity) must prove actual injury	Strict liability, but P who cannot prove actual malice (as to falsity) must prove actual injury
Falsity	Strict liability, with burden on D to prove truth	Strict liability, with burden on D to prove truth; but if P is a public official being criticized for performance of official duties, then P must prove actual malice	(Topic is of public concern):  At least negligence, with burden on D to prove truth; if P is seeking presumed or punitive damages, or if P is a public figure seeking ANY damages, then P must prove actual malice	(Topic is of private concern):  Same as before, but as long as P is a private figure, then negligence is sufficient to receive presumed or punitive damages	If there is a media D and the topic is of public concern, then P (public or private figure) must prove falsity     © 1992 by Wm. Martin Sloane

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