Increased Use of Blogs Creates Many New Exposures

For television fans who can't get enough of their favorite shows and characters, the Internet offers an instant fix of backstage gossip and plot extensions: Web logs, or "blogs" as they are called, combine the immediacy of a diary with the gloss of a fan magazine. Producers of many popular television shows have created blogs written by characters in the shows, or by writers and producers about the shows. In doing so they have expanded their audience but created potential new liabilities.
TV blogs give producers a new way to reach out to fans on the Internet. According to an article in the April 5, 2006 issue of USA Today, TV shows are beefing up their blogs to help market their programs in a more community-friendly way, offering eager and younger tech-savvy fans a bonus for being loyal and, in the end, boosting ratings for the shows. Dr. Nigel Townsend's blog on the series Crossing Jordan, for example, has created a story line that will be incorporated into the show later this year, according to USA Today. On other shows, like The Office, characters blog about real-life behind-the-scenes events, dishing on everything from the catering for the show to the clothing worn by fellow actors.
But media law experts worry about the dangers TV blogs pose. "It reminds me of the problems caused by extra material included on DVDs," says Lou Petrich, a partner in the Los Angeles entertainment firm Leopold, Petrich & Smith. Petrich notes that the additional commentary by directors and screenwriters included on DVDs has raised libel, privacy, and copyright claims, and extended the statute of limitations for claims that might otherwise be time-barred. Like DVDs, TV blogs can create or strengthen a copyright claim based on an allegation that material posted on the blog originated elsewhere. Blogs about backstage goings-on could raise privacy and libel issues, as well as potential misappropriation claims if actors are featured in ways beyond the scope of their contracts.
In addition, according to Petrich, because supplemental material is often added as an after-thought, without the usual rounds of legal review and executive supervision, it can include material that is more problematic than what otherwise might appear on a finished show.
Although no cases have been brought to date against producers based on material posted on a TV blog, the risks are significant as the experience with DVDs demonstrate. Any new medium of exploitation creates the potential for new claims. Because of their freewheeling nature, blogs seem particularly ripe for legal exposure. One thing is certain: as blogs proliferate, claims against them will inevitably follow.
Media/Professional Insurance Company is very aware of this development and has a solution. Like all of our media liability insurance policies, the Film and Program Producer Policy can be structured to cover the liabilities associated with this growing exposure. By adding language such as "all websites or blogs authorized by the Insured relating to the production," to the definition of Scheduled Productions on the Declarations Page, coverage will extend to claims arising out of these additional activities. Clients planning to use blogs or other similar devices should advise their Independent Insurance Agent.