COMM 216 - Visual Communications Law

3 Credits: (3 lecture)

Course Description
This course introduces visual communications students to the legal requirements for today’s visual communications for their own protection and that of their clients. The course will include copyright law for legally protecting the original visual work of the designer, contracts, releases, and emerging legalities.

Text
Belmas, Genelle Irene, and Wayne Overbeck. Major Principles of Media Law. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2023.

Objectives
The student will be able to

A. Explain laws regarding releases and explain copyright laws.

B. Write or use a formal release.

C. Explain fair use of copyrighted material.

D. Explain the statutory rights of copyright owners.

E. Apply for a legal copyright.

F. Name the contract specifications between artist and client.

G. Write a client-artist contract.

Content
A. Legal release laws

B. Copyright laws

C. Client-artist contract requirements

D. Rights to privacy

E. Damages to reputation

Student Evaluation
Evaluation will be based on assignments, presentations, written contracts and the work presented by the student. Bibliography
Brennan, Linda, and Victoria Johnson. Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Information Technology. Hershey: Idea Group, 2004.

Crawford, Tay, and Kay Murray. The Writer’s Legal Guide: An Author’s Guild Desk Reference. New York: Allworth, 2002.

Ebay And Napster: Change Agents. (videorecording). Princeton: Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 2001.

Harris, Lesley Ellen. Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians. Chicago ALA Editions of the American Library Association, 2002.

Hoffmann, Gretchen. Copyright in Cyberspace: Questions and Answers for Librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2001.

Jones, Hugh, and Chris Benson. Publishing Law. London: Routledge, 2002.

Lipinski, Tomas A. The Complete Copyright Liability Handbook for Librarians and Educators. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2006.

Passman, Donald. All You Need To Know About The Music Business. New York: Free Press 2006.

Stamatoudi, Irini. Copyright and Multimedia Products: A Comparative Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge U P, 2002.

Vaidhyanathan, Sira. Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It Threatens Creativity. New York: New York U P, 2001.