| The news media has proclaimed that the multimedia revolution is upon us. Multimedia technology will supposedly change the way we work, entertain, communicate, and educate ourselves. Telephone, cable, and entertainment companies are frantically jockeying for advantage as they prepare to invest billions to plug our homes, schools, and offices into the information superhighway.
This Article will explore some of the legal ramifications of producing multimedia programming. While state-of-the-art technology permits the development of diverse and innovative programs, there are many legal hurdles to overcome in making even a simple multimedia program. Since interactive programming requires more content than linear programs, hundreds of releases and, or permissions may be required to produce a single program. Determining and securing all the necessary releases and rights for a multimedia project can be a tiresome and complicated endeavor.
The legal issues cross disciplines and can become exceedingly knotty. The field encompasses publishing, telecommunications, computer and entertainment law, including intellectual property rights (copyright, patent, trademarks, titles), torts (right of privacy, right of publicity, defamation and unfair competition), and contract law.
Even drafting a simple employment contract can raise a bewildering array of issues. The multimedia producer wears several hats, blurring the traditional roles of writer, director, composer, editor, costume designer, and software developer. If one uses a computer to manipulate a character's image, changing appearance, dress, and the background scenery, one has performed functions traditionally handled by the writer, director, editor, costume designer, and set designer.
Before delving into a discussion of legal principles, one should first define the medium. Multimedia works are those based on multiple media sources such as video, text, audio, photos, graphics, and animation. They are typically stored in digital form on magnetic or optical media. Some multimedia programs are interactive, meaning that the user can interact and control the direction, pace, and content of the program. Current programming is based on CD-ROM technology. Modern CD-ROMs have large storage capacity (six hundred megabytes of information), are inexpensive to manufacture, compact, durable, and transfer information quickly.
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