Victoria Holt

Legal and Ethical for Unit 65 Assignment 2

Legal:
Copyright:
Copyright is a law which protects things such as documents, images, text, music files and
videos, these are mostly things found on a computer as it is easier to steal work especially if
its published on the web. The reason why copyright is used is because it ensures that your
work is safe and cannot be copied by anyone. Another purpose of copyright is to make sure
that a creators work is protected if it ever gets stolen. It also made sure that people got
rewarded for the things they made themselves. The law was created and put in place in
1988. If this act wasnt put in place, there would be little anyone can do legally if their work
was stolen or claimed as their own. You can only break the copyright law if you have taken
something, which was initially someone elses without their permission. If the copyright isnt
with the creator themselves, it can sometimes be hard to track but using primary assets
without their permission may put you in trouble due to you being in violation of this
copyright law. The person who holds the copyright is the only person who can authorise the
reproduction of work even if the work is on an electronic device.
Currently you dont need to apply or register for this law to be put in place as it is done
automatically, this then lasts for a lifetime and an extra 70 years after the creator has died.
After the 70 years has passed the copyright is then usually handed down to the creators
heirs. If someone is commissioned to do any kind of design work, they will retain the
copyright until both parties decide otherwise. If the visual creators are employed and not
working for themselves, the employer is the one who retains the copyright.
For my web banner I will need to make sure that all the copyright laws are kept in mind and
that none of them are broken.
Libel:
This tends to mean that a document contains a false statement, which could potentially ruin
someones reputation or decrease respect/confidence for someone. It could possibly
include feelings against someone as well. If someone is accused of doing something like this
they must provide evidence of the message which contained false information, prove that
the information was published, the person can be identified as being harmed and prove of
the damage done to the person reputation. Normally there are 4 defences truth, consent,
accident and privilege. There can also be a use of opinions on my websites web banner,
which could potentially be used to make allegations towards other. The action can be
against an individual person or an organisation.

Victoria Holt

Ethical:
In any part of a multimedia project there will always be restrictions in concerns to exactly
what you want to say and what youre allowed to do. This is normally put in place to protect
people from things such as racism, which not only may offend someone but may also cause
problems. The internet is not somewhere where you can escape these problems. It is clear
that it is easier to break these laws online as it is all done anonymously (so no-one knows
who you are). Things can still be tracked and so therefore some things on the internet are
still not allowed. Different media roles such as radio presenters and television channels have
more restrictions and are more heavily enforced, where content may be published
nationally. If someone finds a piece of information offensive to them in any way then they
may be able to sue the company for a lot of money. There are some rules in which you can
avoid this such as:
Not being allowed to use a picture, video or sound clip of anyone unless you have
their permission (sometimes this may be needed in writing).
Youre not allowed to make a verbal statement about anyone, which can be seen as
abusive or could harm his or her reputation. This is called Slander.
You cant write a written statement about an individual which could be seen as
abusive or harm their reputation. This is called Libel.
The copyright laws suggest that we are not allowed to use any part of someone
elses work without their permission.
Being careful when representing and describing content, as you have to make sure
you are both unbiased and accurate. This applies to race, gender, sexuality,
disability, nationality, class, religion and age.
From all of this we know that one of the groups is inferior to the other otherwise you are
definitely in breach of this rule and the product may not be viewable. One of the laws,
which works alongside these rules, is The Race Relations Act. The Race Relations Act was the
first legislation in the UK, which has dealt with the racial discrimination issues.
When creating my multimedia web banner, Im going to ensure that I dont break any of
these rules. I will do this by getting permission when using any images from the internet or
just make sure there not copyrighted ones. On the other hand if I dont get any permission
from the owner I will use a different picture or try and take my own. The same will also be
applied to videos. Basically I will need to get permission before downloading and adding the
videos/images into my product, even if there not copyrighted.
The most important thing I will consider is the content as this will need to be appropriate
and safe to include in my software, I will have to make sure not to discriminate anyone.
As for my logo for my web banner, I will be making it myself but will again need permission
to use a couple of images, which I will incorporate into my design. I will use different
softwares throughout the production of my product and I am sure that the college has
legally bought all of them already. This means I am licenced to use it in college but I cant
use it at home because I havent personally bought it.

Victoria Holt

In conclusion it is essential when Im designing my web banner that I take into consideration
all of the ethical issues above and ensure all the Acts are complied with. Most of the above
are sensible considerations but I will check with the client that they are aware of them. It is
important to check the ethical issues, as this will ensure that I dont cause any problems
with anyone and dont discriminate anyone.
Confidentiality:
This is a set of rules or promise that restricts access to certain types of information. I will
make sure that any information on my web banner is fully accessible and wont put anything
on that I dont want people to see. I will also make sure no ones personal details or
information is accessible to others using this type of multimedia. This can also include things
like clients details, private images and anything that I dont have confirmation to share.

Decency:
Decency is also a way of demining what age range the media product/web banner should
be. The ways in which you can check for decency is by looking for anything such as: violence,
bad language, nudity, and explicit material. Most of the time the decency of a product is
harshly examined, in order to be rated as accurately as possible. In media, products are rated
and any which are highly rated will be out of reach so that it prevents children from
potentially viewing harmful material. My web banner will be checked by the client to make
sure there is none of the things listed above and if there is they will be changed by the
creator (me) quickly.
Privacy representation:
Representation is when a person or organisation that speaks, acts or is present changes the
way they do things officially for something else. It is also the way that someone or
something is described. In media, representations are the ways in which people are treated
in different groups, communities, experiences or topics and then judging them from a
different viewpoint. It can sometimes be based on race, religion, gender, sexuality and web.
The way I will represent my project is so that people can clearly access the web banner and I
will make sure that it fits the client needs and all the users purposes. In terms of
representation on web it is quite tricky however I will make sure all the content I use is
suited fairly to all communities and groups.
Web and TV:
In terms of making sure my web banner is suitable for the web and TV I will make sure it is
in a suitable format and in a reasonable file size. In terms of copyright and ethical I will make
sure I have asked permission from the peoples pictures I am using if they give their consent

Victoria Holt

of being seen on TV or a website. I will also make sure I wont discriminate in terms of race,
religion, etc. anyone in my video.