Final Exam - W99

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Deadline: 12:00 noon., Monday, March 15. No late exams will be accepted. If your exam is not in by the deadline, you will receive a failing grade of "0" for the final exam.

GRADING: We expect complete, concise, organized answers (ONE page should be adequate). You should be able to answer the questions using the book, the J385 Web site, and lecture notes; however, you are welcomed to use other authorities should you think it worthwhile.

A premium will be placed on accuracy, precision and the application of the appropriate legal standards and concepts to the questions presented. Answers that are "sort of" right will receive few points.

The questions are intended to be ambiguous. In some instances it may be quite possible to reach different conclusions concerning the outcome of a given fact situation. We are most interested in the reasoning you use to reach a conclusion. Put maximum effort into clearing explaining the law and logic you use to reach your conclusion.

The Rules:

You are free to discuss the questions with other members of the class. Friends (especially law students), parents, lawyers and others shall not be consulted.

Once you are ready to write your answers, please do it alone without any help from others.

I will be available to discuss general questions about the class material. I will not answer any question directly related to a specific fact situation in the exam, except to clarify the facts. If you have questions, please ask, but I reserve the right to decline to answer.

1. Insider magazine, a publication devoted to investigative journalism, is using television to advertise the magazine. In each ad, photographs from recent issues and from upcoming issues are used to promote the magazine. In a recent ad, two photographs were used: one of Tom Thug, a mobster convicted of armed robbery in 1987, and the other, a photograph of Larry Lightfingers, a reputed mob boss in Chicago. As the two images appeared on the screen, an announcer said, "Last month's Insider gave you the low down on Tom Thug, one of America's most feared mobster. This month we expose the evil world of mobster Larry Lightfingers. Pick up your copy of Insider Magazine today!

Both Thug and Lightfingers file appropriation suits against Insider Magazine. Insider acknowledges that the photos were published without the consent of either Thug or Lightfingers.

Will either Thug or Lightfingers be able to win an appropriation suit? Yes or No? Explain your answer.

2. Author Bill Book has written more than 20 mystery novels set in Portland, Or. In his most recent book he developed a character named Fiona Bridget Kelly. Fiona is a criminal attorney, age 40, who defends drug dealers. She becomes involved in some questionable activities and at the end of the book loses her license to practice law.

Shortly after the book was published, Fiona Samantha Kelly (her friends call her Sam), a 25 year-old attorney in Portland who specializes in international banking law, filed a false light suit against Book. She claims that Book had taken her identity and used it in his book.

Will Kelly's suit be successful? Yes or No? Explain your answer.

3. Frank Flack is a public relations professional in Oregon. Two years ago he met with representatives of the Anytown Party, an annual three-day celebration held in Anytown in the late summer. The committee was trying to develop a marketing and public relations campaign for the Party. Flack gave the committee a detailed 40-page plan that did not include a formal copyright notice, but did include a statement that the proposal was "the property of Frank Flack." Flack proposed that the committee develop a slogan. "Anytown is Great!" was his suggestion. He also suggested that they get corporate sponsors, have balloons and fliers designed and develop a television ad campaign. His plan even included a blue and white scheme for the Party, several sample print ads and scripts for two television ads. The committee took Flack's plan and thanked him for meeting with them.

A year later the committee launched a campaign that included all of Flack's suggestions. They had a slogan -- Anytown is Great! -- several corporate sponsors, a blue and white color scheme, balloons, fliers and an ad campaign. Several of the print ads had a "feel" similar to the ads in Flack's proposal and the television ads closely followed Flack's scripts.

Flack wants to bring an copyright infringment suit. What will he have to do in order to bring suit? Is it likely that the suit will be successful? YES or NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.

4. Wally Webmaster is building a new website, "Ad World," devoted to advertising. Over the last year he has scanned into his computer database examples of print ad campaigns from magazines and has downloaded ads from websites around the world. Every week, Wally selects a different ad to be his "Great Ad of the Week." The selected ad is displayed on Wally's website with a two- or three-paragraph analysis of the ad. Wally never writes negative comments about the ads. Wally started the "Ad World" website as a hobby. He does not accept paid advertising and there is no subscription charge.

Another feature of "Ad World" is the searchable free archive of ads available on the site. Visitors to the site are able to search and download his archive of more than 300 print ads. The archive is growing by ten to twenty ads each week.

After Wally featured an ad for RunFast shoes as his "Great Ad of the Week," he received a letter from RunFast demanding that he remove "all files containing RunFast advertisement from the website." The letter said the ads were copyrighted and that failure to comply would result in legal action.

How should Wally respond to RunFast's demand? Explain the legal basis for his response.

5. Larry Loudmouth, a loyal KWAK-AM listener, is very upset over the station's reporting about development of the Riverfront Research Park. In a letter to the station he wrote:

"Over the last year and a half your coverage of this issue has lacked any sense of balance. I've kept a log and of the 142 minutes of news programming devoted to this very important controversy, over 100 minutes was pro-park. You keep ignoring the people on the other side of the issue. If you are going to quote the leaders of the pro-park movement, then you have to quote the leader of the opposition.

I am a loyal listener, but I am going to file Fairness Doctrine and Section 315 complaints with the FCC. The lack of balance in your coverage is an outrage!"

You are KWAK-AM's station manager. Briefly outline the points you would make in writing a response to the legal issues raised in Loudmouth's letter.

6. Vicky Votegetter is the Republican candidate for the U.S. Congress in the 1st Congressional District. Two weeks before the election, Larry Lobby, the campaign manager for her opponent, Pete Promise, the Democratic candidate, appeared on a daily call-in talk show on KWAK-FM. During his appearance, Lobby said that Votegetter was a "dishonest politician, who never tells the public the real truth."

When Vicky Votegetter learns of Lobby's appearance from one of her supporters who heard the show, she demands that KWAK-FM give her equal time and the opportunity to respond to Lobby's attack on her character. KWAK denies the request saying that Lobby, not Promise, appeared. Votegetter decides to file a complaint with the FCC claiming violations of the equal time and personal attack provisions of the Communications Act.

Is KWAK-FM in violation of either the equal time or the personal attack rules? Yes or No? Explain your answer.

7. Advertisers are required to provide substantiation for advertising claims only if the truth of a claim is challenged and only if the claim is very specific, e.g. "nine out of ten doctors recommend." TRUE or FALSE. Explain your answer.

8. Acme Computer Co. launched a new line of computers. The ad campaign for the new computers focused on the ease of using the computers and the company's support service. The tag line for the campaign is:

Acme Computers: Plug it in and surf the web. We're there when you need us.

GoFast Computers filed a deceptive advertising complaint against Acme with the FTC. The complaint alleged that the ad campaign promised that Acme Computers were easy to install and operate and that the Acme support services were free and available 24-hours a day. In fact, Acme charged customers $15 per call to the support service, the support desk is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, and the instructions for setting up the computer fill a 20-page manual.

Is the Acme campaign deceptive? Yes or No? Explain your answer.