MEDIA LAW

Media Law

Media Law

BEEP STAYS HUSH-HUSH ON 'THE STIG' The BBC

A press release stated that dispute surrounded Stig's dissatisfaction at being unable to exploit his fame, and earning an estimated £5,000 and £10,000 per show, compared to six and seven figure earnings by other Top Gear presenters. It described situation as incredibly tense, with Clarkson said to be deeply upset, and with show insiders fearing that Stig could either quit show, or be fired, with dispute needing to be settled either way before sixteenth series. A BBC spokesman confirmed to paper that "The BBC is in a legal dispute over publication of a book relating to Top Gear as this breaches agreed contractual and confidentiality obligations relating to show. On 22 August 2010, Sunday Times claimed to have unearthed more evidence that showed Collins was Stig, namely financial documents for his company Collins Autosport dating back to White Stig's entry to show. They stated documents reported in December 2003 an increase in profits, put down to "driving services provided for BBC, mainly in Top Gear programme", just a month after White Stig's first appearance. They also stated documents described this as "cornerstone year" offering "good long-term prospects for continuing income". When contacted over story, Collins merely stated "I can't speak to you. I'm going into a tunnel". The newspaper also claimed Collins earned between £5,000 and £10,000 per show and was unhappy at not receiving a fair share of revenue generated by Stig brand. Responding to report, BBC stated that is was "no surprise that Ben Collins' company listed Top Gear amongst its work as driver had appeared numerous times on programme and he often supplied other drivers for both programme and Top Gear Live".

Any columnist or commentator expressing some of sentiments on Moat's tribute page would quickly - and justifiably - find themselves facing wrath of Press Complaints Commission or Ofcom, or even criminal investigation for incitement to violence. Yet advocates of an unregulated internet commonly argue that blogs and social networking sites are no more than 'e-age' versions of a pub conversation. This is disingenuous. Rumours and gossip, slur and libel can be put up on internet for anyone to see, and whizz round world in seconds at click of a mouse.

The publisher was confirmed to be HarperCollins when legal action was confirmed to have commenced under High Court in London on 23 August, as BBC sued publisher for an attempt to profit from unauthorised use of Top Gear brand, maintaining that revealing identity would spoil viewers' enjoyment of show. The publisher responded, stating "We are disappointed that BBC has chosen to spend licence fee payers' money to suppress this book and will vigorously defend perfectly legitimate right of this individual to tell his story".

What Are the Laws Domestically on the Federal Level?“The text of the United States Constitution does not contain the word privacy. Therefore, it has found the concept of privacy to be protected by the number of the Amendments (Internet Privacy, ...