Senate anti-piracy
legislation ups penalties
Hollywood
is getting further support from the government in its battle on
bootleggers. On Tuesday the Senate unanimously passed the Family
Entertainment and Copyright Act (FECA), a package of four independent
anti-piracy bills originally introduced in the previous Congress and
reintroduced just last week. A main part of the new legislation stems from
the Art Act, which increases penalties for illegal distribution of
copyrighted works before they are released and establishes a way copyright
owners may be compensated for their losses. The act makes it a federal
crime to record a film in a theater.
Carson guest books go up for bid on eBay
TV news producer Steve North is turning trash into treasure. When North
was 14 years old, he began collecting autographs backstage at "The
Tonight Show," where his father, Jules, was unit manager. From
1963-'65, celebrity guests of the show put over 400 signatures, notes and
drawings in books for Johnny Carson, a tradition that ended in the third
season. The guest books were headed for the trash in 1967 when a program
executive suggested North might like them. The books contained signatures
from the likes of Groucho Marx, Paul Newman, William Saroyan, and Joan
Rivers. Carson’s lawyer tried to acquire the books in 1987 but was
unsuccessful. North’s books are now for sale on eBay in an auction that
ends Sunday.
For temperance fans, a new beer bash site
Indecency watchdogs have yet another channel to
express their views. The Marin Institute, an alcohol abuse prevention
group based in San Rafael, Calif., has added a feature to its web site
called Talk Back that seems particularly timely with Super Bowl Sunday
upcoming. The new service, which debuted in test mode in December, allows
television viewers to enter a complaint about a beer ad that is then
automatically drafted into a complaint letter that goes straight to the
advertiser, the relevant industry trade group and the Federal Trade
Commission. Marin says that several ads were pulled or edited within hours
of receiving complaints. The Marin Institute has asked Anheuser-Busch, the
country’s top beer producer, to stop advertising in places where more
than 15 percent of the audience is under 21, and 19 percent of the Super
Bowl's audience is under 21.
Paris
the heiress avoids s#ex tape suit
It wasn‘t enough for heiress Paris Hilton that her
infamous homemade sex tape, 2003's "One Night in Paris," has
been downloaded by every frat boy in America. She decided to cause herself
further embarrassment. The Hilton Hotels heiress was accused of
shoplifting that very tape in Los Angeles and was caught on a security
video that was aired by TV show "Celebrity Justice.” Lucky for her
the county district attorney's office has dropped the case of petty theft
for lack of evidence. Newsstand employee Gerry Castro told “Celebrity
Justice” that on Dec. 15 Hilton purchased several magazines from his
West Hollywood newsstand before spotting her film debut for sale. He said
she then threw her change at him and took the video. He later told KABC-TV
of Los Angeles that Hilton and her bodyguards attempted to rip up a poster
and pull down a display advertising the video.
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