Our 2022 Accomplishments

Giving Tuesday is here! Please take a moment now and make a donation.

In 2022, New Media Rights worked hard to provide important legal services to hundreds of artists, creators, and innovators throughout the world. We are happy to be back working in person and in our new office space on the California Western School of Law campus! 

This year we are particularly grateful for a $33,300 grant from the City of San Diego’s Economic Development Department to support our work with local San Diego small businesses and tech startups. A couple of years ago, the pandemic halted funding from this long-standing grant, so we are thrilled that the City of San Diego can now continue to support our work with the local community!

Please take a few moments to donate now to ensure that the essential legal services that we provide to hundreds of artists, creators and innovators throughout the world continue to exist.

With your support, we've done this and more 2022: 
  • Cited multiple times in the Copyright Office’s final rule for implementation of the procedures that are to govern the initial stages of a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) proceeding. The CCB will be a new forum where copyright small claims disputes can be heard. Our comments discussed law school clinic participation, concerns regarding how respondents receive adequate awareness of the claims against them, the need to collect data on CCB proceedings and revisit and improve CCB processes, and various grammar and typographical errors in the proposed rules.

  • New Media Rights also separately participated in a comment to the Copyright Office on behalf of law school clinics about the new CCB proceedings. The law clinicians’ comments raised a number of challenges with relying heavily or solely on law school clinics to provide legal support for clients with CCB matters.

  • Included in the Los Angeles Press Club’s list, “Legal Hotlines and Resources for Journalists in California,” for our work with digital-focused journalism legal issues, such as copyright and trademark issues, privacy policies, DMCA notices and content takedowns and other First Amendment issues.  

  • Featured in the new edition of California Legal History, the Journal of the California Supreme Court Historical Society, which is edited by Selma Moidel Smith, board member of the California Supreme Court Historical Society, and a champion of experiential legal education for nearly eight decades. Executive Director Art Neill wrote an article for the journal that covers our client, education, and policy impact. 

  • Provided consultations and legal services to individuals, projects and startups engaging in and developing web monetization technology under a $20,000 grant from the Grant for the Web

  • Received a $33,300 grant from the City of San Diego Economic Development Department to support our work with local San Diego small businesses.

  • Began a 3-year, $150,000 grant with the Rose Foundation related to consumer rights and education with consumer technology.

  • Completed a one year, $25,000 grant with San Diego based Prebys Foundation, supporting San Diego artists and creatives.

  • Continued our partnership with the San Diego Miramar College Regional Entrepreneurship Center (REC) to provide legal workshops and consultation sessions to early-stage startups.

  • Offered free 30-minute legal consultations to startups and entrepreneurs at March Mingle

  • Provided legal services to filmmakers seeking legal advice related to their social impact films and projects, including films about the bravery of and challenges faced by Detroit firefighters, the influence of immigrant family heritage on coping with loneliness and loss, how healthcare workers at a retirement community coped with the Covid-19 pandemic, San Diego Filipino artists and innovators, immigrant families redefining belonging in an era of rising nationalism, and how storytelling can be used as a tool for healing in the face of loss, trauma, and uncertainty. 

  • Reached the 2000th sale of our book Don’t Panic :) A Legal Guide (in plain English) for Small Businesses and Creative Professionals. Courses nationwide now use Don't Panic as part of their coursework, from UCSD, to Berklee College of Music, San Diego City College, Rochester Institute of Technology, San Diego State University, and more! You can get your copy of Don’t Panic today

  • Brought our expertise to the community with presentations and workshops at San Diego City College, San Diego Miramar College Regional Entrepreneurship Center (REC), California State University Northridge, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Champlain College.

In 2023 with your support, we plan to: 

  • Continue to provide free and dramatically reduced fee one-to-one legal services to 500+ underserved creators and innovators.
  • Sponsor and organize various workshops, clinics, and community events throughout the San Diego region and the United States about privacy law, copyright law and digital rights.
  • Work on policy initiatives. 

Please take a few moments to donate now. Even if a donation isn't feasible at this time, we would appreciate if you could take a moment to tell others about our work on social media, so that we can connect with some of the people who need us the most!

We wish you a happy holiday season and thank you for your support!

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