For Free Speech Week (10/19-10/25/15)...Free Speech issues arising from Video Tombstones

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Sept. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- FREE SPEECH WEEK IS OCTOBER 19-25, 2015...

...IMAGINE SOME OF THE FREE SPEECH ISSUES THAT WILL ARISE FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE ONCE VIDEO TOMBSTONES START APPEARING IN CEMETERIES ON A REGULAR BASIS...

...AND... WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT SAY FROM YOUR OWN VIDEO TOMBSTONE?

...AND WILL IT BE TRUTH OR LIES?

"Who knows what people might say from their video tombstone, but some things are for certain...

1) Video tombstones will have a tremendous impact on many aspects of society..and..

2) Video tombstones will also create some fascinating Free Speech issues that could go all the way to the Supreme Court,"

says Robert Barrows, the inventor of a video tombstone called the Video Enhanced Gravemarker (U.S. Patent #7,089,495) www.barrows.com/invention.html

SO...WHAT KINDS OF THINGS WOULD YOU SAY FROM YOUR OWN VIDEO TOMBSTONE?

*Would you just say sweet things to loved ones?

*Would it finally be time to make amends?

*Would you say all the things that you never had the chance to say, nor the guts to say while you were still alive?

*And would it be truth or lies?

HERE ARE SOME OF THE FREE SPEECH ISSUES THAT MIGHT ARISE FROM "BEYOND THE GRAVE," THROUGH VIDEO TOMBSTONES:

1) What if someone confesses to a crime or makes an incrimination?

2) What if they say something slanderous?

3) What if they say something hurtful and cause emotional stress?

4) What if they say something anti-governmental? (Do the dead have free speech rights, too?)

5) And what can you do if they say something that is true or untrue or not so nice about you?

...How can you pull the plug and whom can you sue?

...Worse yet, how can you collect?

"Generally, cemeteries have the right of refusal over what kind of tombstones can go into their cemetery, and they also have the right of censorship over what can be said in an inscription on a tombstone. However, it is quite possible that censorship of video tombstone messages could develop into First Amendment lawsuits that might go all the way to the Supreme Court," says Barrows.

VIDEO TOMBSTONES WILL ALSO HAVE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON MANY ASPECTS OF SOCIETY:

1) Video tombstones will change the way we look at life and death.

When you start recording your own obituary while you are still alive, it will force you to examine things about your life you may not have even considered before.

2) Video tombstones will change the way that history is told.

Now you will be able to go to video tombstones and get the story from the people themselves.

3) Video tombstones will create some interesting changes in estate law...

People may have to specify that "Yes, they do want a video tombstone, or no they do not want a video tombstone. (The late Jeff Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal covered this angle of the invention in his April 7, 2005 Moving On column.) "And, Barrows adds, if the person does not make a video prior to their death, or if they do not specify who may make a video and what people can say in a posthumous video, will survivors be able to make a video to be played in  a video tombstone, and will there be any limits on the content of the messages?"

4) VIDEO TOMBSTONES WILL ALSO CREATE A WHOLE NEW GENRE OF STORYTELLING...PERFECT FOR MOVIES, BOOKS AND TV

Video tombstones are an ideal storytelling device for all kinds of stories, from horror stories and love stories to whodunits, to action/adventure stories, to stories about true confessions and also for historical pieces.

Along these lines, Barrows has also written a novel called "Cemetery of Lies."

"Cemetery of Lies" is a collection of intimate secret confessions, as told from beyond the grave, through video tombstones. "The stories are about life and love, sex and romance, good and evil, success and money, truth and lies and Heaven and Hell, with insights and reflections about almost every aspect of our lives," according to Barrows. "It's an easy read for a mass audience and the writing is sexy, provocative and humorous, too." You can see more about "Cemetery of Lies" at www.barrows.com/novel.html and you can see more about the video tombstone at www.barrows.com/invention.html.

5) In addition, video tombstones will also create two new industries:

A) Manufacturing video tombstones, and...

B) Producing content for use in video tombstones

6) Video tombstones will also make cemeteries fascinating places to visit

7) Video tombstones will also create some major new revenue opportunities for many sectors of the funerary industry including monument builders, funeral homes, perpetual care fund providers and cemeteries.


For more information about video tombstones and Cemetery of Lies, call Robert Barrows at R.M. Barrows, Inc. Advertising & Public Relations in San Mateo, California at 650-344-4405.