Legal

Legal guide to video releases & the use and publication of Audio and Video Recordings

This guide deals with the use and publication of recordings. Once you've lawfully obtained a video or audio recording, how you intend to use and publish the recording can effect your legal liability.

This guide addresses the question of whether or not a release wavier may be needed for certain uses of a recording you have made.

Legal and How-to Guides for Independent Creators, Internet Users, nonprofits, and small businesses

Our educational guides are organized by category and title below. We also have the Fair Use app and 150+ video guides available.  You can check out our video legal guides by clicking here!  You can also buy our new book Don't Panic, a plain language legal guide that every creator and business should have when starting a project.

New Media Rights Guides are available to browse, read and learn from. They are organized by category and title.

Webtreats Glowing Neon Social Media Icons by Flickr user webtreats used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license

Best Practices for Creative Commons attributions - how to attribute works you reuse under a Creative Commons license

Find out how to cite or attribute Creative Commons work. Creative commons licenses allows you to share, remix and reuse the work legally, just make sure to check out the conditions of the license!

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

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.

New Media Rights files comments supporting EFF's proposed exceptions to DMCA Anti-Circumvention 1201(a)(1) provisions

New Media Rights has filed comments with the Copyright Office supporting EFF's proposal for two exemptions to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provisions. 

New Media Rights files comments in Copyright Office music licensing rulemaking regarding Section 115 Compulsory Licenses

On July 16 the Copyright Office released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking soliciting commentary on various issues concerning the treatment of digital phonorecord deliveries with relation to compulsory copyright licenses. A major piece of the discussion was the characterization of buffer reproductions of digital sound recordings under copyright law, an issue which could have a profound effect on innovation in new media. We have issued our comments to the Copyright Office and have posted them here.

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