Entertainment Columnist Leaves Fox

(©2009 Fox News)

By Chelsea Halvorson

Fox News chief entertainment columnist Roger Friedman is no longer employed by Fox, according to the Associated Press. Why? Simply for giving "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," a positive review. There was just one problem: Friedman reviewed a pirated copy of the film.

The movie is not scheduled for it's official and legal release until May 1, but the leaked version began appearing online last week according to the Associated Press. The AP quoted Friedman saying that he didn't intentionally look for the movie online, but rather that he "encountered the movie during an unrelated Internet search and pressed 'play' to watch it."

The AP quoted Fox News on Monday saying that the company's representatives and Friedman "mutually agreed to part ways immediately." And although this early review gave very positive feedback on the pirated copy of the movie, the AP reports that the review was removed from the site on Friday. The AP quoted 20th Century Fox saying that the source of the film would be prosecuted, and it said that both the FBI and Motion Picture Association of America are investigating the leak of the film.

Questions:
- Is Friedman guilty of copyright infringement? Why or why not?
- If he had watched leaked clips of the movie on YouTube or another peer-to-peer file sharing site, do you think the outcome would have been the same? Why or why not?
- Does Fox News have a legal obligation to remove Friedman's post from their website? In doing so, does this violate any of Friedman's legal rights as a journalist?