Is Your Cell Phone Video at the Game Illegal?

by Watchman on Aug 8, 2009 8:51 AM CDT Comment 17 comments

There's been a lot of talk aobut the new SEC Digital Plan and what it's going to make available...and a little talk about what it's going to take away. But in addition to impacting what highlights can be broadcast and even what online updates (Twitter, blogging, etc) news reporters can provide (from a public event!), it apparently may impact individual fans as well. Per Jack Lail (found via Instapundit) http://www.jacklail.com/blog/archives/2009/08/blogging-has-its-limits-in-the.html

Here's more from TuscaloosaNews.com. There are similar provisions in the "fine print" of tickets for those going as spectators, which they might find surprising as they're tweeting, texting, blogging or shooting cell phone video that comes under wary gaze of the SEC rights guardians.

I think those glorious shaky cell phone Rammer Jammer videos are technically banned under this new deal. Whether it will be enforced who knows? But in a world where our own school sues Daniel Moore....anything is possible. Ugh. Big Brother is watching you...

FanPosts are just that; posts created by the fans. They are in no way indicative of the opinions of SBN and the authors of Roll Bama Roll.

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I'm almost positive

that the SEC has no legal right to do that. If you are in a public place, you don’t have to get permission, it’s your legal right to do video, pictures, whatever. At least that’s what I was taught when I was taking journalism classes.

by jsholt969 on Aug 8, 2009 9:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think the issue is...

…taking the video or photos, the issue is posting them on YouTube/flick/whatever.

Roll Bama Roll

by Todd on Aug 8, 2009 5:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

but in that case it's your property to do with as you please.

the only thing I can see the SEC having control over is anything done by the media (whether it’s CBS, ABC, ESPN, etc). The only way it makes sense to me for them to be able to not let you put that stuff up on YouTube, flickr, etc, is if they don’t let you record it or take pictures in the first place. And maybe they have a legal right to do it, but it sure doesn’t seem that way to me. At least not what I’ve been taught.

And why do they want to control that anyway? For the most part they’re poorly recorded videos anyway. I can understand the stuff produced by CBS, ESPN, etc, but cell phone video? That’s ridiculous!

by jsholt969 on Aug 8, 2009 11:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bryant-Denny Stadium

Is not a “public place”. It’s a venue to which admission is bought and allowed to happen at the pleasure of the University. The way this is "enforced’ is:

a) By kicking people out (and revoking the future tickets of) people they see with cameras and/or
b) Threatened law suits of people posting the videos online

by PeteHoliday on Aug 9, 2009 1:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

is that a public place though?

by Zoltar on Aug 8, 2009 12:41 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It's property of a state university.

That seems pretty public to me.

I bleed crimson and white...I puke Vol puke orange. RTR

by SugarBowl93 on Aug 8, 2009 4:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

As long as it's not...

…a pubic place. That’s illegal.

by NiceLittleSaturday on Aug 8, 2009 4:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man I hope its not in a pubic place

hahaha sorry I had to have a little fun with that typo.

36-0

by Bamabrave4 on Aug 8, 2009 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Or was that a typo?

36-0

by Bamabrave4 on Aug 8, 2009 4:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If your...

…parents see this, then yes. Yes, it was.

by NiceLittleSaturday on Aug 8, 2009 4:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

hahaha

36-0

by Bamabrave4 on Aug 8, 2009 4:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, this is a tough question. If it is an Alabama limitation, the stadium is probably a limited public forum legally. That is, not as protected as a traditional public forum and not a nonpublic forum. However, if it is a NCAA/SEC regulation, it is likely that the stadium is a legal nonpublic forum. Tons of arguments to be made for either side, however, I think the greater issue is to whom the intellectual property belongs. I think that is a losing argument for fans. Your ticket merely gives you a license to view the game.

by BufordTJones on Aug 9, 2009 12:05 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tickets

As someone who works in ticketing, they can put anything they want on a ticket, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it would stand up in a court of law if ever challenged. They can put using the restroom and having fun is prohibited on the ticket text if they want to.

by Bobby Briggs on Aug 8, 2009 1:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Of course it would stand up in a court of law . . . to an extent.

If they add using the pisser to the list of forbidden activities, they are unlikely to be able to recover monetary damages from you for doing that, but they are perfectly within their rights to kick you out of the stadium forever.

by PeteHoliday on Aug 9, 2009 1:46 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs