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New Media Rights answers questions from the public and takes media inquiries regarding the law and technology.  Please contact us if you have a question and we'll be glad to assist you. Our free legal and how-to resources, as well as our free public media studio and equipment, are supported by donations by individuals like you, so please consider donating today!

Organizations like the RIAA and MPAA (record and movie industry interest groups) spend millions of dollars demonizing new media technology and it's users. They portray illegal downloaders as criminals in slick TV ads and seem to see little difference between illegal downloading and armed robbery. Almost every conversation concerning new media is skewed before it even begins....

Hey, have you heard of BitTorrent? The technology can deliver massive files in a short amount of time and has incredible potential as an educationl tool, as well as helping businesses deliver content to consumers at lower costs---What? No, I don't worship the devil, what are you talking about? Yes, I'm a citizen, why do you ask? Do I want pepper spray in my mouth? Are you crazy? --RUN RUN RUN ahhhhhhhhhh..........(damn you BitTorrent)

New Media Wrongs is our attempt at leveling the playing field (to whatever degree we can) by pointing out where new media has been unfairly attacked, litigated, persecuted, portrayed falsely, skewed, or smeared, as well as keeping an eye on developments that are damaging to the long term growth of new media and new media rights.

 

 

Mera Szendro Bok's picture

The mega-merger of Comcast and NBC: a lethal marriage

Submitted by Mera Szendro Bok on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 18:31

Read about the Comcast-NBC merger and what's at stake. Some public interest groups that are calling this the beginning of the media "mega-merger" era warn that consumers will be losing out because this deal will lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation. The deal will certainly alter the media marketplace and merging the country's largest cable company with a large TV broadcast company, giving Comcast control of 20% of American television viewing hours according to the latest Daily Finance reports.

The largest building in Philadelphia

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art neill's picture

How service providers deny users the right to counternotify for content removed by DMCA takedown notices

Submitted by art neill on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 18:44

DMCA pic

New Media Rights recently heard from a blogger who received notification that a takedown notice was sent to their service provider, a website that hosts individuals blogs, and that the user’s content was removed.  However, the blogging service didn't

1) Identify the individual who requested the information be taken down OR

2) Specifically identify the infringing material

What's the problem?  This essentially destroys a users right to counternotify, allowing overreaching large content companies to control and remove Internet speech at will. 

Learn about the problem here, and learn how to fight back if you have content removed by a DMCA takedown notice.

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RIAA Asks Schoolkids To Assist With Propaganda

Last week, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced an update to Music-Rules!, its flagship "curriculum" for teaching copyright law to schoolkids.

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art neill's picture

Youtube puts ads on videos without permission

Submitted by art neill on Fri, 07/31/2009 - 16:57

Youtube's filtering technology may be causing advertisements to appear on content without permission.  Besides the possible contract violations, the ads create catch 22's when uploading openly licensed (ie. Creative Commons) content to Youtube.   Youtube could have a significant effect on the future openly licensed video content.  This is appears to be a slap in the face to open content and step in the wrong direction.

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art neill's picture

RIAA wins $1.9 million judgment in retrial of alleged filesharer Jammie Thomas

Submitted by art neill on Thu, 06/18/2009 - 17:24

A retrial of Jammie Thomas, who has been unique in her refusal to settle with the RIAA's filesharing gestapo, has ended with an even greater jury verdict against her. This time, instead of $9,250 per song allegedly shared on Kazaa, the jury found her guilty of "willful" infringement at $80,000 per song. As if you weren't already scratching your head at the current state of copyright law (think the failure of the DMCA to account for fair use, copyright term of 70 years plus life of the author)

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Principal Censors School Paper: Claims "Old English" Font Promotes Gang Activity

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Bring Me his Head and Hands: Unconstitutional Internet Proscription

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Somebody’s Looking For A Fight

Maureen Dowd finished up with Hilary Clinton; now she’s on to Google, with this trenchant presentation that misses the point while disseminating all sorts of hogwash: Dinosaur at the Gate (pdf)

Google is in a battle royal over whether it has the right to profit so profligately from newspaper content at a time when journalism is in such jeopardy.

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First Circuit Webcasting Argument Stems From Long History of Rules on Cameras in Courts

On Wednesday, April 8, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston heard oral argument (mp3) on whether a trial of a Boston University student sued for music downloading, Sony BMG Music v. Tenenbaum, should be allowed to be webcast
live.  Federal district judge Nancy Gertner had agreed to allow the webcast, but the recording industry plaintiffs appealed.

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art neill's picture

California AB 632 - misguided legislation would overburden social media and undermine user privacy

Submitted by art neill on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 12:26

The California Legislature is considering a bill from Assemblymember Davis regarding "Internet-based social networking: privacy" that is wrong for social media websites large and small, and does little to protect their users. The Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media passed a slightly improved version of the bill on March 31, 2009 (5 to 3), which means it is on to the Judiciary Committee, where it hopefully will be stopped.

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