4/7/2011 On March 28, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held in Facebook, Inc. v. MaxBounty, Inc.< sup>1 that messages sent by Facebook users to their Facebook friends’ walls, news feeds or home pages are “electronic mail messages” under the CAN-SPAM Act. The court, in…
Articles Posted by Pillsbury's Comm Law Center Team
The iPad App Flap – What’s the Big Deal?
Ever since Time Warner Cable released an app that allows users to watch two or three dozen cable channels on iPads we’ve been barraged by press reports of litigation and plans of other multichannel providers to launch similar services. Cablevision has announced it’s launching a similar app that lets subscribers…
FCC Enforcement Monitor
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Florida FM Translator Fined $13,000 for Unauthorized Operations Latest Public Inspection File Violation Nets Upwardly Adjusted Fine Failure to Monitor…
Client Alert: Biennial Ownership Reports are due by April 1, 2011 for Noncommercial Educational Radio Stations in Texas, and for Noncommercial Television Stations in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Tennessee
3/18/2011 The staggered deadlines for filing Biennial Ownership Reports by noncommercial radio and television stations remain in effect and are tied to their respective license renewal filing deadlines. Noncommercial educational radio stations licensed to communities in Texas, and noncommercial television stations licensed to communities in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and…
2011 First Quarter Children’s Television Programming Documentation Advisory
The next Children’s Television Programming Report must be filed with the FCC and placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by April 10, 2011, reflecting programming aired during the months of January, February and March, 2011. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements As a result of the Children’s Television Act of 1990…
2011 First Quarter Issues/Programs List Advisory for Broadcast Stations
The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ local public inspection files by April 10, 2011, reflecting information for the months of January, February and March, 2011. Content of the Quarterly List The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive…
Broadcast Station EEO Advisory
This Broadcast Station EEO Advisory is directed to radio and television stations licensed to communities in: Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas, and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC’s EEO Rule. Introduction April 1, 2011 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in the…
Client Alert: New Generic Top-Level Domain Application Process Brings Business Opportunities, Issues
3/10/2011 Beginning later this year, ICANN is expected to accept applications for new generic domain suffixes for industries, interests and communities, such as “.bank,” “.movie” or “.music.” In addition to the generic terms, this round also includes the potential for various geographic tags that are not country codes (e.g., “.nyc”…
Client Advisory: FCC Adopts Order in its Proceeding to Promote Rural Radio Service
As we reported previously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in 2009 which requested comment on a number of proposals to modify its allotment criteria. In particular, the NPRM sought to restrict the ability of rural radio stations to move into Urbanized Areas. The…
Perspectives on the FCC’s First Broadcast Spectrum Reallocation Rulemaking
More than two months after the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing preliminary steps to reallocate and reassign television broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband, the government machinery has finally announced comment deadlines: March 18 for initial comments and April 18 for replies. This is the first of several…